The Consumers’ Association has the Advertising Code Committee to look at this. Fletcher has been at loggerheads with the Consumers’ Association for some time now. The hotel chain was also under fire due to the limited validity of the vouchers. The Consumers’ Association had even threatened a lawsuit.
Fletcher therefore decided to extend the validity period last month. Expired vouchers can still be exchanged. The vouchers will remain valid for at least two years from now on.
“If we make it easier for consumers to use the overnight promotional vouchers by extending the validity period, we would be happy to do so,” Fletcher CEO Rob Hermans said. Fletcher made the adjustments after the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) took action and after it had lost several proceedings before the Advertising Code Committee.
Hundreds of thousands
The hotel chain has sold hundreds of thousands of vouchers in recent years, for example via Albert Heijn, DPG Media, SocialDeal and Ticketveiling. Some vouchers expired after a few months. According to the Consumers’ Association, this is contrary to 2022 legislation that requires such vouchers to be valid for at least two years.
Fletcher is not completely rid of the Consumers’ Association yet. Customers are still faced with additional costs if they have purchased a voucher. For example, the hotels charge reservation costs and an amount for ‘handling fee and tax’. According to the Consumers’ Association, it is unclear what these costs entail.
2023-12-28 09:18:56
#Consumers #Association #Fletcher #Hotels #conceals #extra #costs #vouchers
