The Federal Court has found in favour of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in its case against STA Travel, handing the student and youth travel agency $14m in penalties for misleading advertisements in the marketing of its Multiflex Pass product.
Between March 2014 and August 2019, STA Travel was found to have misled consumers in its advertisements for the airfare add-on, claiming flights could be changed without fees or charges. Approximately 64,000 consumers are understood to have purchased the Multiflex Pass in that period, in the belief that they would not have to pay anything for flight changes.
However, STA Travel often charged hundreds of dollars for such changes, even if the airline itself did not impose fees for the changes.
ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said the outcome of the case against STA Travel and the imposition of $14 million penalties were a timely reminder to all travel businesses not to misrepresent the cost applicable when travel services are charged.”
