Advertisment
The advertisement was seen on the advertisers’ website. Text on the website included:
“Introducing… Irish Ferries Loyalty Programme
Join today and start collecting straight away. It’s our way of saying thanks for choosing to travel with us.
Log in or sign up for Irish Ferries Club membership and enjoy the benefits straight away.
Collect points when you book directly with us
Once you’ve travelled, your points convert to €/£ which you can use to save on your next booking.
Access our tiered programme that provides a range of travel benefits.”
And
“Recognised with Irish Ferries Club Tiers
3 tier structure:
There are three Irish Ferries Club membership tiers: Green, Silver and Gold, each with a unique combination of savings and travel benefits.
All new Irish Ferries Club Members are automatically awarded Green tier Membership.
Advancing tiers:
Members are automatically moved up to a higher tier once they have travelled on bookings made directly with Irish Ferries and reached the eligible spend threshold for the next tier.
Find out more about each tier benefits in our guide below.”
The terms and conditions outlining what eligible spend consists of were available on clicking ‘Join Irish Ferries Club’ on the website. The terms and conditions relating to eligible spend were:
“3.3 Irish Ferries determines which fares, fare elements and packages are eligible for earning points and reserves the right to amend at any time what constitutes eligible spend for earning points.
3.4 It is not possible to earn Club points:
• where your membership is not confirmed prior to travelling on a booking.
• on the value of any bookings paid for with points or with Tesco Clubcard Boost.
• on the value of the elements of a booking relating to: administrative dues, environmental, service and amendment fees, and overnight reserved seats or cabins on the Ireland-France route.
• on any SailRail bookings
• on Landbridge or coach fares and any non-ferry element of other bookings. Exclusions may be applied to other fares at our discretion.
• On any freight/commercial bookings.
• On reservations with 10 people or more.”
Complaint
The complainant considered the advertisement misleading as not all the spend was eligible for the loyalty scheme. The complainant also stated that they believed the percentage of ineligible spend was large, therefore a higher spend was required to that advertised to reach the different loyalty tiers.
Response
The advertisers said that the terms and conditions of how the loyalty and rewards programme worked were clearly outlined in both the advertisement and in the terms and conditions. They said that each reference about how a reward was calculated referred to ‘eligible spend’ and not to the ‘fare’ or ‘fare paid’ and that there was no link, either implied or promoted, between the ferry fare paid and the eligible spends for rewards.
They said that the terms stipulated that by becoming a member of Irish Ferries Club, a member consented and agreed to be bound by the terms and conditions. They explained that it was standard industry practice to award points based off eligible spend. They further outlined that sections 3.1,3.3 and 3.4 of the terms and conditions stated which parts of a fare were omitted from eligible spend.
Conclusion
Complaint Not Upheld
The Independent Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Council noted that the advertisement had stated that loyalty points were earned through eligible spend. They considered that the terms and conditions were accessible from the advertisement and that the terms and conditions contained a section that explained what was excluded from eligible spend. In the circumstances, they did not consider that the advertising was misleading on basis suggested in the complaint.
Action Required
No further action required
