‘Cheapest tickets’ claims on ScotRail website were misleading – watchdog

An advert on ScotRail’s website which claimed customers could “get the cheapest tickets” and would be “unbeatable on price” was misleading, a watchdog has ruled.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) examined ScotRail’s website as part of wider work on advertising in the rail industry.

The advertising regulator looked into text on the website from August this year.

During the ASA investigation, ScotRail had said the text was not misleading and said claims like “get the cheapest tickets” were a call to action.

However, the ASA upheld the complaint about the advert.

The ruling said: “We considered that the claims ‘get cheapest tickets’, ‘book direct for our best price’, and ‘unbeatable on price’ discouraged consumers from searching elsewhere for cheaper tickets.

“However, they provided no evidence that, through purchasing tickets separately on the ScotRail website, they would always beat competitors’ prices.”

The ruling continued: “We welcomed the changes ScotRail had made to their wording of parts of their website.

“However, because we had seen no evidence to demonstrate that consumers could obtain the lowest available price by booking directly with ScotRail, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”

The rail operator says it has already updated its website to reflect the ASA’s ruling, which ordered that the advert must not appear again.

Claire Dickie, ScotRail’s commercial director, said: “We acknowledge the decision by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and have already taken steps to update the wording on our website.

“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.

“ScotRail remains committed to offering great value for money and helping customers find the best fare for their journey, including through the removal of peak fares, a wide range of discounts, and simple, easy-to-use booking systems.”