Quality Matters: Your prices and charges

Does this apply to you?

Most likely, Yes.

The Consumer Protection Act 1987 covers all statements of price and affects the entire hospitality business sector. It covers all statements of price whether in an advertisement, brochure, leaflet, website, email, text message, or those given by letter or orally in person or over the telephone. Therefore, it will normally apply to all accommodation providers.

What does the act state?
The Act makes it a criminal offence for accommodation providers, among others, to give guests misleading information on the prices charged for accommodation and any related facilities, services or goods (misleading price indications).

The Act also makes it an offence not to do anything reasonably possible to correct a price indication that has subsequently become misleading if it is reasonable to assume that customers will still be relying on the original price information.

Good Practice

The Department of Trade and Industry has published a Code of Practice for Traders on Price Indications (which can be downloaded). It gives practical guidance on how to avoid giving misleading prices.

Compliance with the Code, while not an absolute defence, will tend to assist the trader in showing that he has not committed an offence under the Act.

Taking the example of hotels and restaurants, the Code suggests that, as far as possible, all non-optional extras (such as a service charge) should be included in the price and accompanied by a clear statement about what the price includes.

It recognizes that some items like cover and minimum charges cannot easily be included and suggests that charges for items like this should be shown as prominently as other prices on menus and price lists.

In any event the Code says that all prices given to customers should include VAT. The message is that customers should not get any surprises when it comes to paying their bill.