An Australian cinema chain has been penalised for alleged “drip pricing” practices.
On Tuesday (June 25th), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that Dendy Cinema has paid a $19,800 fine for “allegedly failing to prominently show the total price, as a single figure, of movie tickets it sold online, in a practice commonly known as ‘drip-pricing,'” which is a breach of Australian Consumer Law.
The ACCC claims that Dendy, which operates 52 screens across six cinemas in NSW, QLD, and the ACT, instead displayed prices that didn’t include the per-ticket booking fee or a total ticket cost until the final stage of the online transaction.
“Businesses must be upfront about the total minimum quantifiable price of a product or service,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said in a statement.
“Consumers are sometimes lured into purchases they would not otherwise have made when businesses display only part of the price upfront and reveal the total price only towards the end of the purchasing process.
“By initially only displaying part of the total price for a movie ticket, Dendy has reduced the ability of consumers to make an informed purchasing decision.”
The ACCC has added that it is currently looking at pricing practices in the cinema industry to ensure there is no more misconduct.
“We encourage all businesses to review their online pricing practices to ensure they are complying with their obligations under the law, including providing the total minimum quantifiable price of products and services in their advertising and at the earliest opportunity in the booking process,” Ms Lowe said.
Dendy Cinema is yet to respond to the ACCC’s statement.