East Coast Train Line Misrepresentation

Tommo781

On 30th May I booked 6 Advance Tickets on East Coast Line for 21st August. The site said that the advance tickets were available to book for dates up to 24th August.

The site also says for Advance tickets "The earlier you book, the better the deal, so it pays to plan ahead."

On 31st May, less than 24 hours later, another friend said they might come too. So I went back on the website to see if tickets were still available, only to find the price the outward journey had reduced by 40%. I checked by inputting for 6 tickets again (without buying of course) to find the price was definitely 40% cheaper.

I have contacted East Coast Line, who basically say - tough. We can reduce the prices more if we want to, and pointed me to the terms and conditions which says Advance tickets are non refundable. If we changed the tickets, it would cost £60 - £10 per person), which is more than the reduction.

So be warned. "The earlier you book, the better the deal, so it pays to plan ahead" as stated on their website is not the truth.

Sharp practice I call it.

Livingthedream

This seems to be happening quite alot at the moment with East Coast and has been reported on MSE before;

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3905741

With East Coast blaming supply and demand, ie not many people take up the original release of advance tickets so therefore they release a cheaper tier of advance tickets a couple of days latter.

Or as you put it, their at it, using a 'sharp practice' to catch out rail travelers and make a couple/alot of quid(s) more. Unfortunately they have provided a service at a price that you agreed on, so they haven't done anything legally wrong.

Maybe send a letter to BBC Watchdog or write to Passenger Focus

Tommo781

Livingthedream wrote: »

This seems to be happening quite alot at the moment with East Coast and has been reported on MSE before;

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3905741

With East Coast blaming supply and demand, ie not many people take up the original release of advance tickets so therefore they release a cheaper tier of advance tickets a couple of days latter.

Or as you put it, their at it, using a 'sharp practice' to catch out rail travelers and make a couple/alot of quid(s) more. Unfortunately they have provided a service at a price that you agreed on, so they haven't done anything legally wrong.


Maybe send a letter to BBC Watchdog or write to Passenger Focus

Thanks a lot. I didn't realise it had already been reported on MSE. I searched, but must have missed it.

Should I merge my question with the other thread, and if so, how do I do it?

Livingthedream

Tommo781 wrote: »

Should I merge my question with the other thread, and if so, how do I do it?

I wouldn't worry about it to much, perhaps having 2 threads might inform people not to rush in and buy tickets straight away on the East Coast website. But to check and see if the tickets once release are cheaper a few days later a bit of a gamble but could be worth it especially if East Coast release another cheaper tier a few days later.

yorkie2

Livingthedream wrote: »

This seems to be happening quite alot at the moment with East Coast and has been reported on MSE before;

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3905741

With East Coast blaming supply and demand, ie not many people take up the original release of advance tickets so therefore they release a cheaper tier of advance tickets a couple of days latter.

Yep, they've been doing that lately. Best to wait if the price seems high

Livingthedream wrote: »

Maybe send a letter to BBC Watchdog or write to Passenger Focus

If EC are forced to stop doing this, it is likely that they'll just keep the high fares and not lower them sadly.

They've been doing this for tickets sold throughout the period that Olympic tickets have been available (that's for bookings from around 2 weeks before the Olympics actually start)

Livingthedream

yorkie2 wrote: »

If EC are forced to stop doing this, it is likely that they'll just keep the high fares and not lower them sadly.

I can understand what your getting at, however, it doesn't make what East Coast is doing right. It's a dirty trick, designed to catch out an unsuspecting/inexperienced traveler who thinks that when they get the email notification from East Coast their getting the cheapest price, it should be exposed.

But not by me, something about biting the hand.............;)

Tommo781

yorkie2 wrote: »

Yep, they've been doing that lately. Best to wait if the price seems high

If EC are forced to stop doing this, it is likely that they'll just keep the high fares and not lower them sadly.

They've been doing this for tickets sold throughout the period that Olympic tickets have been available (that's for bookings from around 2 weeks before the Olympics actually start)

Livingthedream wrote: »

I can understand what your getting at, however, it doesn't make what East Coast is doing right. It's a dirty trick, designed to catch out an unsuspecting/inexperienced traveler who thinks that when they get the email notification from East Coast their getting the cheapest price, it should be exposed.

But not by me, something about biting the hand.............;)

Thanks very much for your replies.

I didn't actually think the price we paid was high. What I DID think was that it was the best price I was going to get, as their web site expressly says “The earlier you book, the better the deal, so it pays to plan ahead.”

Clearly they are lying, because the next day the price had reduced by 40%!

So my objection and complaint is that they are liars, deliberately mislead the customer - and yet seem to get away with it.

If they were made to stop doing this, at least the result would be transparency. And, of course, there are other providers.

I have now complained to Passenger Focus. I'll report back when/if I hear anything.

Again, thanks.

Tommo781

Well, it has taken a long time - but result! Passenger Focus phoned this morning and said they had been dealing with this at the highest level in East Coast, as they totally agreed with me. East Coast have agreed to send me a refund for the difference between the price I paid and the lower price advertised the very next day, and have changed the wording on their website. It no longer says "The earlier you book, the better the deal, so it pays to plan ahead."