Need to know
- Flight Centre is promoting tour deals on its website with countdowns claiming they're about to expire
- CHOICE has found several of these offers are having their expiry dates extended, sometimes on a daily basis
- Some travellers are unhappy and advocates say the tactic can put pressure on consumers to buy without shopping around
We'd love it if our holidays lasted forever, but it'd be even better if we could book a trip knowing the provider's claims that it's a time-limited deal were reliable.
CHOICE member Amy* was planning a family jaunt to Europe last month when she came across a tour of the continent being sold through Flight Centre.
She says a countdown timer accompanying the offer on the company's website claiming the "deal" would end in four days grabbed her attention.
"I called them up immediately," she says. "I was thinking, if there is a deal, because it's quite a large amount of money, I would definitely lock it in'."
Amy was about to spend tens of thousands of dollars on booking spots for four people on the tour until she discovered Flight Centre's deal price was the same as that being offered by the tour operator, Trafalgar.
Amy was about to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the tour until she discovered Flight Centre's deal price was the same as that being offered by the tour operator, Trafalgar
Several days spent discussing offers with both companies and shopping around further led her to make another discovery, this time about Flight Centre's countdown.
"Their deal date just kept extending," she says. "There was no expiry. It just went on to the next day and the next day… rolling on [and] making people believe there is some urgency to book."
We've found some of the countdowns and expiry dates Flight Centre puts on tours to be unreliable. Image: Flight Centre.
Never-ending promotions
It's not the only Flight Centre deal we've seen with remarkably malleable "expiring soon" dates.
CHOICE found four international tours being sold through Flight Centre that had their countdowns extended, sometimes for multiple days in a row.
These countdowns told consumers they only had a certain number of days, hours and minutes to book and warned the offers would "expire very soon".
These countdowns told consumers they only had a certain number of days, hours and minutes to book and warned the offers would 'expire very soon'
Most countdowns claimed the tour offers would close in a few days' time, but when we visited the same page the following day, their end dates had been extended by up to three days.
The tours are to popular destinations such as Europe and the United States and cost thousands of dollars per person. They're supplied to Flight Centre by third-party companies including Trafalgar, Costsaver and On The Go Tours, but we didn't see any timers when we viewed these tours, or similar ones on those companies' websites.
While the Flight Centre countdowns were only visible when visiting the pages on a desktop computer, customers using a mobile device were still told deals would "expire soon" and wouldn't be available after a certain date.
We didn't see the same countdowns when we visited the websites of the tour suppliers. Image: Trafalgar, Costsaver, On The Go Tours.
Tour marketing frustrating consumers
Amy thinks Flight Centre's countdown tactic could push people to spend quickly without thinking.
"It's just disingenuous," she says. "It's not good for consumers like myself. I'm expecting I've got to act."
"It's just disingenuous ... It's not good for consumers like myself.
Flight Centre customer Amy
She's also unhappy with Flight Centre's description of the tours as deals, when in her experience the price was the same with the original tour provider.
Flight Centre tells CHOICE their use of the word "deal" refers to "a product or package that represents good value for money".
Consumer advocates say the tactic could discourage aspiring travellers from looking for better deals.
'Potentially misleading'
CHOICE deputy director of campaigns and communications Andy Kelly agrees with Amy that the countdowns could deter aspiring travellers from shopping around.
"It's disappointing to find Flight Centre hosting a number of potentially misleading countdown timers that reset when they approach zero on its website," he says.
"Time-limited offers place pressure on consumers to purchase now, but when that pressure is artificial, consumers might miss out on better deals and lose trust in making purchases online."
Our discovery comes less than a year after the ACCC launched legal action against bedding company Emma Sleep for allegedly making false and misleading representations while adopting similar tactics.
Time-limited offers place pressure on consumers to purchase now, but when that pressure is artificial, consumers might miss out on better deals and lose trust in making purchases online
CHOICE deputy director of campaigns Andy Kelly
The consumer regulator alleges the retailer put misleading countdown timers on its website that instilled an "artificial sense of urgency" in shoppers.
For its part, Flight Centre told CHOICE that the tour suppliers were the ones setting and extending the deadlines displayed on its website.
But when we followed-up with these businesses, Trafalgar and Costsaver referred us back to Flight Centre. On The Go Tours didn't respond to our questions.
Flight Centre says expiry dates are included to guarantee an advertised price or inclusions, and countdowns are given to these dates to show consumers how long they have to book. It denies it's putting artificial pressure on customers.
*Last name withheld
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
