Expedia, a travel site and trip planner that helps travellers book trips and accommodations, was involved in a legal dispute with a passenger from Vancouver who claimed he was overcharged.
In a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal dispute involving the popular travel website, a customer who booked flights claimed that he was expecting to be charged $3,977.72.
When he looked at the receipt, he noticed that he had been overcharged by thousands, totalling $8,308.52. He claimed the difference between the amount he thought he’d pay and the amount he was charged, which was $4,330.80.
Expedia claimed that he was notified of the amount he’d be charged and denied liability.
The passenger booked two tickets to fly from Vancouver to Hong Kong via Tokyo through Expedia. The customer claimed that the listed trip price on the website was $3,977.72. He told the tribunal he agreed to the cost and hit the ‘complete booking’ button.
It wasn’t until the next day that he realized how much he had been overcharged. He told the tribunal he called Expedia immediately, but claimed that they refused to assist him. The customer didn’t want to cancel his travel plans and proceeded with the booking before turning to the tribunal for a refund.
He was also able to provide several pieces of evidence to the tribunal in the form of screenshots that showed various prices for the bookings.
“The first shows Expedia’s website on June 9, 2023, the day after purchasing tickets. I infer he resubmitted his travel plan information into Expedia to generate a new quote for a similar itinerary. The image shows an itinerary for return travel for 2 passengers to Hong Kong, via Tokyo, with a quoted price of $3,977.72,” the tribunal noted.
A few days later, he took another screenshot that showed that the trip price had increased by a few hundred dollars.
“He says he provided this to show that the price fluctuated a little, but not by more than $4,000,” the tribunal decision states.
Expedia informed the tribunal that, based on its checkout process, the customer was notified of and agreed to the airfare price before making the purchase. However, Expedia did not explain the checkout process or how it asks customers to agree to a price.
Due to these factors, the tribunal sided with the customer, agreeing that he had been overcharged.
The tribunal ordered Expedia to pay the customer $4,937.69 within 21 days of the tribunal decision, which includes a refund for the overcharged amount and tribunal fees.
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