Cheap fares site slammed by ASA

Thetrainline.com has been censured by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for claims made in an advertising campaign.

The site, which helps travellers find the cheapest possible rail fares, was reprimanded for exaggerating savings that could be made on the site.

More than 20 people complained about the adverts, one of which was shown on TV and three of which were posters.

The ads all claimed that people using the site could make a saving of 39 per cent.

When challenged by the ASA, TheTrainline.com said that the 39 per cent figure was based on the average saving made by someone buying an advanced ticket through the site in comparison to buying a ticket from the station on the day of travel.

However, the ASA was not satisfied by TheTrainline.com's arguments.

"Because the TV ad did not explicitly state that the basis of the comparison was tickets bought in advance versus tickets bought on the day of travel, we considered it was likely to mislead viewers," the ASA said in its judgement.

The ASA said that the adverts must not be run again in their present form.

Only yesterday, a Parliamentary body criticised rail operators for making some of their cheapest fares available only on the web.