The Google adverts helping to rip-off consumers

FightOrFlight

Customers are fleeced by paying more for services, such as the congestion charge and visas, than they need to.

agrinnall

As you don't seem to have a question or the inclination to make any comment on the link perhaps you should consider posting this in the Money Savers Arms.

mo786uk

In answer to the unasked question - the congestion site is very much on the border of actually breahcing the law as it does provide a disclaim.

The law does not protected hasty custoemrs.

So even though a lot of people may well be too trusting and get misled, the alw doesnt necessarily protect against it.

nitra

The law however does take a dim view on deliberately misleading people which imo that website certainly is doing.

mo786uk

Ahh, but does it mislead when it tells you in black and white whats going on?

I agree that it will mislead the avergae person who is i na rush and mayben ot familiar with the congestion charge website. Of the consumer protection laws, a judge hassaid they are not there to assist people who are uninformed and hasty.

George_Michael

nitra wrote: »

The law however does take a dim view on deliberately misleading people which imo that website certainly is doing.

How can the congestion website be "deliberately misleading" when on the main page there are these 2 paragraphs in the same font as everything else. (the bits in bold were made that way by me)

For the avoidance of doubt, please note that this website is neither owned by nor affiliated with Transport For London (TFL), and you may also make your congestion charge payment direct on their website, online, by sms, or at other nominated high street shops and garages. Londoncongestion.com levies a service fee for checking and processing your application via this website. This fee also provides you with the services and guarantees as described below. If you do not wish to pay for a processing service fee, please use one of the suggested alternative means of submitting your congestion charge payment.

Why use our service when there is an additional cost over and above the standard congestion charge rates? Our service includes valuable additions to processing your congestion charge application which are not available from Transport for London:

mo786uk

Lets be honest - the person who made the website knows exactly what they are doing - taking advantage of perhaps a limited group of people who are not famililar with the TFL/congestion charge procedure.

In particular tourists from abroad and peopel who don't go to London and probably don't even know who TFL are.

The wbesite also ocmes up top of rankings and above the TFL site as they have an advert they pay Google for.

I don;t necessarily think legislation should protect the lowest common denomiator, but I do think it should be designed to stop this type of practice.

ValHaller

Having read the story, the issue to my mind is not one about consumer law - it is about the morality of Google taking money from these sites to boost the listings of these ripoff companies. Effectively Google are knowingly profiting from deception of consumers by others.

mr_fishbulb

mo786uk wrote: »

I agree that it will mislead the avergae person who is i na rush

There is an actual legal term - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_moron_in_a_hurry

tomwakefield

Devil's advocate for a minute.

Google are selling advertising space, which people are using to advertise a product/service (which they are providing, albeit not at the cheapest price).

Is this different to one shop advertising on TV that they sell product X is £20, when you can get it for £18 from another shop?

meer53

Google aren't allowing people to be fleeced.

People click on the links quite willingly, Google aren't forcing anyone to do this are they ? These companies provide a service, it's up to you to decide whether you want to pay them or not.

For example, i can buy a coat from New Look for £20. I can buy a coat from Harrods for £2000. Both companies advertise on the internet, who shall i blame for clicking "buy" on the Harrods site ? Google, because i use their Chrome browser ?