I have been trying for days to book a £520 train and hotel package to Lille in September via the Eurostar website. Each time I enter my card details and hit “continue” to pay, a pop-up window advises that the trip has increased by an extra £42. Each time I have cancelled the transaction and started again. Each day it’s still advertised at £520 on the Eurostar site, but the same price increase pops up when I try to pay. It seems Eurostar is counting on me not bothering to cancel and go through the booking process again.
CB, Congleton, Cheshire
Eurostar seems to think that if it makes the right noises, customers will overlook shoddy service. “We prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our customers and staff above all else,” it explained last week when asked to justify a new policy that prevents staff pushing the wheelchairs of passengers with disabilities.
Asked about this repeated last-minute price rise, it told me: “We prioritise providing a fast and seamless booking experience.” It went on to say that your experience had been a “rare occurrence” while simultaneously claiming accommodation prices, set by hotels, were “subject to frequent adjustments beyond our control”. It added that price changes during a transaction were the rarity, not price changes per se.
None of this makes sense. You say the last-minute price increase happened repeatedly over several days, so Eurostar had plenty of time to update the advertised cost. Back to Eurostar, which claims there are “many reasons” a price change is not reflected on the website.
This suggests that potential passengers must take pot luck when they book a deal. The good news? Eurostar, for what it’s worth, has promised to investigate further!
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