WIREDGOV

Third party retailers have responded positively to the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) report published in December 2023, which showed that some retailers were not sufficiently transparent about the additional fees they charged on their websites and apps during the ticket buying process.

ORR has had constructive and positive engagement from the seven retailers it wrote to with concerns about their use of ‘drip pricing’, which is when consumers are shown an initial price for a product or service before additional fees are revealed later in the purchase process.

Consumers can be disproportionately influenced by the first and most prominent price they see and can be drawn into paying more than they intended or needed to. UK consumer protection law requires retailers to provide people with the information they need to make informed purchase decisions.

ORR wrote to MyTrainTicket, Omio, Raileasy, RailEurope, Trainhugger, Trainline and Trainpal about drip-pricing in their purchasing processes. In their responses, several retailers stated that they have already made interim improvements and are planning more substantial changes in the short term. Two retailers have not yet implemented changes but will do so later in the year. ORR will monitor progress towards proposed changes and will hold the companies to account.