ScotRail 'cheapest tickets' ad found to be misleading, watchdog rules

A ScotRail advert claiming consumers could get the “cheapest tickets” online was found to be misleading.

The rail firm has been ordered to withdraw the claims by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which upheld a complaint.

In August, adverts on ScotRail’s journey planner section of its website said it was “unbeatable on price” and commuters should “book direct for the best price”.

The ASA said ScotRail had no evidence to back up those claims, and the rail operator confirmed the wording on the website had been changed.

An ASA statement read: “The ASA considered that consumers would understand the claims’ get cheapest tickets’ and ‘unbeatable on price’ to mean that by using ScotRail’s journey planner, they would be able to purchase tickets at the lowest available price for their chosen journey.

“We also considered the claims implied it was unnecessary to look for cheaper tickets elsewhere, and that the additional claim, ‘book direct for our best price’, added to the impression that Scotrail’s prices could not be beaten. We considered that those were “lowest price” (or ‘best price’) claims.

“As such, they had to be backed up by suitable evidence to show that ScotRail would always beat, and not merely match, competitors’ prices.

“We considered that rail ticketing was complex, and most consumers were unlikely to have knowledge of the rules which governed how ticket prices were set.

“Overall, consumers were likely to understand that ScotRail was able to offer competitively priced tickets, which they did by monitoring their fares against their competitors, including third-party retailers.

“We therefore expected ScotRail to hold evidence to substantiate the claim ‘get cheapest tickets’, ‘Book direct for our best price’, and ‘unbeatable on price’.”

A spokesperson for ScotRail said: “Our aim is always to provide clear, accurate information to customers, and we regret that the website messages did not fully reflect the ASA’s requirements.

“We take great care to ensure all promotional material meets advertising standards and expectations and will further review our processes to make sure we maintain the highest standards of compliance.”