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Fareportal OneTravel, CheapOair Investigation Overview:
- Who: Fareportal Inc. will pay $2.6 million to the State of New York following an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
- Why: James determined Fareportal used deceptive marketing practices to get consumers to complete travel-related purchases on websites such as OneTravel.com and CheapOair.com.
- Where: The investigation was conducted by New York’s attorney general.
The owner of travel websites OneTravel.com and CheapOair.com will pay $2.6 million to the State of New York following an investigation into its marketing practices by the state attorney general.
The investigation determined online travel agency Fareportal Inc. misled consumers by using deceptive marketing tactics that gave them the false belief that hotel reservations and airline tickets were quickly selling out.
New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed the findings in a report filed on Mar. 10 in which she determined Fareportal’s marketing tactics created a “false sense of urgency” meant to get consumers to complete a purchase.
“Fareportal included a number of misleading messages on its online platforms that indicated that the supply of airline tickets was limited at a particular price regardless of the actual number of airline tickets that were available,” James said.
To create a sense of urgency, James says Fareportal would add a “misleading message related to the available supply of tickets for the top two flights returned from a search.”
Fareportal Misleads Consumers About Available Tickets
The amount of tickets Fareportal would say were left would depend on how many a consumer had searched for with the company claiming there was only one more than what they needed at that offered price.
“The messages conveyed the false impression that the listed tickets could sell out at that price at any moment,” James said.
Fareportal would use similar misleading messaging as it pertained to hotel room availability on some of its other online platforms as well, according to James.
In addition to the deceptive marketing tactics, James found Fareportal had been profiting off of service fees added to the price of a ticket at the time of purchase that was later canceled. James noted that these service fees would “ordinarily be refunded” in the event the ticket was ultimately canceled.
“In the years 2017 through 2019, Fareportal averaged over $5 million in annual revenues from such cancellation fees,” James said.
Per the agreement, Fareportal will also be required to ensure all the messages it relays to consumers about product availability are based on accurate date and use accurate comparison prices when offering discounts.
A separate class action lawsuit was filed against CheapOair in 2020 over claims the company charged customers more than what was listed as the “Final Total Price” on its website or mobile app.
Have you purchased airline tickets or hotel accommodations from a site or platform operated by Fareportal? Let us know in the comments!
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26 thoughts onCheapOair.com, OneTravel.com Owner To Pay $2.6M Following AG Investigation
I purchased a oneway ticket for my brother. He was not able to fly due to personal and valid reasons. I have asked for a refund and a waiver from Air Canada, but according to Onetravel, Air Canada refused the waiver after a weeks wait. I have checked Air Canada’s website and they have a backlog of 3-6 months. The ‘customer support’ department supports only their employer which should not be in business. They owe me $1,143.00
They charged me 99.60 and then 91.20 EXTRA and I caught it and called them on it. When I asked for a refund they said no and put me on hold. TRASH company.
I cancelled my booking due to unavoidable circumstances back early July still waiting on refund of $2396.66
I just paid for 3 tickets to Europe through Cheap o air vis Swiss Airlines. We received doctors orders to quarantine as my kids got sick. We have medical orders to isolate from the pediatrician. Cheap o air refused to give us a refund or credit. We were hoping to be able to reschedule for a future date. I’m a hardworking single mother who lost $2500.00 just like that to CheapOAir, aside from having to take care of 2 sick kids during their school thanksgiving break, who on top of it all, just lost their father unexpectedly in 2020.
Thanks CheapOAir for providing customers with the lowest grade/cheapest customer service!