Eurostar was reprimanded by regulators for “misleading’ adverts, after they found that only a small percentage of tickets were sold at the promised £39.
, the train company, urged customers to “treat themselves to a European getaway starting at just £39 per way” in advertisements sent by email.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), however, said that the promotion was misleading on Wednesday after a customer complained that they could not find a ticket for this price from London to Paris.
The cancellation of Eurostar services for thousands of passengers last weekend was due to flooding that blocked the Thames Tunnel and caused the route to Kent.
The trains were back in service the following day, but due to limited seating capacity many travellers needed to rebook their journeys days later . This forced some to spend thousands on temporary accommodation.
The watchdog found that only a “very small percentage” (of tickets) were sold at the advertised price.
The ASA said: “Consumers expect to be able to purchase tickets at the ‘from price’ across a variety of dates and time slots within this period and have a good chance of obtaining a ticket at that price.”
“However… because we believed that a large number of tickets were not available at the “from” price, we concluded the claim was misleading.”
According to the ASA, from August 16 through December 13, only 9,500 seats in standard class sold by Eurostar between London & Paris were being sold at the advertised £39 price.
The same price was available for another 6,500 tickets from London to Brussels or Lille, as well as 13,500 tickets from Brussels and Lille back to London.
According to a Telegraph report, only 1-2pc (or fewer) of Eurostar tickets were sold at the £39 price.
In that period, 1,400 services with an average of 900 passengers per service – or almost 1.3 million seats – would’ve run from London to Paris. Around 60pc are in standard class on a Eurostar train.
Eurostar refused to comment on these figures.
Eurostar, when challenged by ASA at first, initially claimed that its terms and conditions clearly stated that there would only be a limited number of tickets available. The company said that it had also received no complaints.
Eurostar reported that a total 39,000 seats were made available across all routes at the “from” advertised price, giving customers a good chance to get the advertised deal.
The ASA concluded that most consumers would have interpreted Eurostar’s advertisement to mean “a significant portion of fares will be available for purchase at £39”.
The watchdog considers 10pc as the minimum threshold to make such a claim.
Eurostar was told to adhere to this rule when launching similar promotions in the future.
Eurostar’s spokesperson said: “We take into account the ASA ruling, which is related seat availability during part of the promotion period. We are committed to ensuring this scenario doesn’t happen again.”
Eurostar faces increased competition from rivals who plan to launch their own London-Paris service, including Spanish firm Evolyn and Dutch startup Heuro, as well as Virgin tycoon, Sir Richard Branson.
Since 1994, Eurostar has had a relative monopoly over rail travels between London and Paris. Campaigners have long called for more competition to lower fares.
GetLink is the owner of the 31-mile Channel Tunnel that Eurostar uses. GetLink is looking to encourage other train companies to use this Anglo-French link.
GetLink announced last month that it would reduce the time required to introduce new London-Europe train services by five years. Cologne, Frankfurt and Geneva are among the new destinations targeted.
The move comes at a time when the European high-speed rail system is being liberalised, allowing competitors to bid for tracks.