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Webjet is now covered by the ASX ticker WJL after it was demerged from a bigger company this year.
It’s just published a note to the share market acknowledging the proceedings against the company the ACCC, alleging ‘misleading’ conduct over promoting cheap flights.
Here is part of its statement:
Webjet Marketing has fully cooperated with the ACCC prior to the issuance of these proceedings and has already voluntarily and proactively undertaken a number of steps to further improve its disclosure of pricing and fees. So far as Webjet Marketing is aware, the ACCC concerns do not relate to its current fee disclosure and pricing practices.
And more:
Millions of customers have chosen to book through Webjet Marketing during the period in question and we have very rarely been contacted by customers complaining about our disclosure of fees. Webjet Group is confident there is no widespread customer dissatisfaction with our offering, disclosure, service or pricing.
The ACCC is seeking a range of remedies including pecuniary penalties and it is not yet possible to determine the financial implications of any outcome from the proceedings.
As the matter is subject of proceedings in the Federal Court, Webjet Group will not be making any further comment at this time.
Three key regulators have conducted unannounced visits to farms in the Gatton region of South-East Queensland as part of an investigation into the exploitation of workers.
Seven farms were inspected yesterday, including broccoli, onions, pumpkins, and shallot farms.
The regulators are scrutinising the practices of farmers and labour hire providers make sure they are paying proper wages, superannuation, and ensuring employers and migrant workers are meeting their obligations.
Investigations are ongoing.
Do you know more?
Contact Rachel Clayton at clayton.rachel@abc.net.au or clayton.rachel@protonmail.com
The consumer watchdog alleges the travel website promoted cheap flights to people for years right up to November 2023 and didn’t include enough information in the advertising about the extra charges they’d face.
More on the allegations:
The Webjet Fees were not disclosed in Webjet’s social media posts. Although the Webjet Website, Webjet App and most promotional emails contained information about the Webjet Fees, it was typically only accessible by scrolling towards the bottom of the relevant screen, was in fine print and not sufficiently clear or prominent.
“We know how much Australian consumers value air travel to stay connected for work, leisure or to visit family. During this time of cost pressures, many consumers are carefully considering travel arrangements and seeking to save money. A statement about the lowest price must be a true minimum price, not a price subject to further fees and charges before a booking can be made,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
Webjet is also alleged to have breached consumer law by displaying a confirmation page online and sending a confirmation email after taking payment for a completed flight booking when in fact, in respect of 382 bookings, it had not booked the flight with the airline.
In these cases, Webjet later allegedly sought additional payment from the consumers to complete the booking, or offered the consumer a refund for the flight, despite having earlier confirmed the booking.
Have you booked a flight with Webjet in the last few years through one of its deals? Email me on terzon.emilia@abc.net.au or em.terzon@proton.me
The consumer watchdog has lodged action against the online travel website in Federal Court, alleging Webjet didn’t tell customers about extra fees they’d have to pay when promoting cheap flights.
Here’s what they’ve just released to the media:
The ACCC alleges Webjet breached the Australian Consumer Law when it made statements on its app, in marketing emails, on social media and on its website about the minimum price of airfares which omitted compulsory fees charged by Webjet.
The statements included “flights from $x” when the price quoted excluded Webjet’s compulsory ‘Webjet servicing fee’ and ‘booking price guarantee’ fee which ranged from $34.90 to $54.90 per booking, depending on whether the flights were domestic, NZ/Pacific flights or other international flights.
These statements were made for various periods of up to five years between November 2018 to November 2023.
We’ll get you more on this breaking story soon!
More from ABC’s Peter Ryan:
Talk of tariffs might be eyeglazing to many, but it could make your morning coffee more expensive.
Coffee futures have surged by 4.6pc on supply worries, exacerbated by concerns that coffee might get caught up on any trade war.
US roasters are battening down as they respond to Donald Trump’s promise to impose import tariffs on a range of goods coming into the US and coffee might not be excluded
There’s also hot and dry weather in Brazil, which means global supplies might get even tighter.
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Unlike here in Australia, inflation is not going down in the US.
Their monthly indicator on consumer prices just shows they rose slightly in October.
With inflation still above the US Federal Reserve’s inflation target of 2 per cent, economists are betting the pace of US rate cuts in 2025 will be slower than expected.
Around the world, record high inflation is continuing to slow and central banks are cutting interest rates except of course here in Australia.
America’s central bank, the US Federal Reserve, has been leading the way but there’s been a snag in expectations overnight with US inflation not falling as fast as expected.
More on this from ABC’s senior business correspondent Peter Ryan.
Good morning! Emilia here with you for the next few hours.
Updates to the code governing how supermarkets treat their suppliers are one of… 30 bills that Labor is trying to get through parliament on the final sitting week of 2024.
The new code is mandatory and supermarkets could face multi-million dollar fines for breaching it.
It is part of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Bill 2024.
Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh said the government’s intention was for the penalties to principally apply to supermarkets.
Here is more information.
It’s been a month since Australia shut down its 3G network and some people in regional and rural areas are still struggling with the change.
Neighbourhood Houses have been flooded with requests for help and the switch has been costly for some who were forced to upgrade their phones.
More from reporter Alexander Darling:
Might want to double check your Bitcoin price
– Matt
Thank you sir, a 2 should have been a 9 … apologies to the crypto-fam
Fresh spending data out of the US points to a less likely chance of a rate cut.
The latest figures paint a picture of a strong US economy with consumer spending increasing solidly in October.
It means inflation has been stubborn and the Federal Reserve may be cautious about a rate cut.
Trumps tariff threat to Canada, Mexico and China also led to Goldman Sachs predicting a delay in the US returning to a 2% inflation target.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said the country will retaliate if Donald Trump goes ahead with his proposed 25% tariff on all Mexican imports into the US.
Sheinbaum said the move could kill 400,000 US jobs.
“If there are US tariffs, Mexico would also raise tariffs,” she said.
Mexico’s minister for the economy Marcelo Ebrard also called for better cooperation between the two countries instead of pitting them against each other in a tariff war.
“It’s a shot in the foot,” Ebrard said.
Ebrard warned the import tax would lead to lower growth in the US and double the taxes US companies pay.
He named Ford and General Motors as two companies that would be particularly hard hit and would have to up their car prices for US consumers.
Mexico’s car industry is its most valuable sector. The country exports the majority of cars and parts to the US.
Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for Trump’s transition team, toed the line and said the tariffs would protect US manufacturers and workers from “unfair practices of foreign companies and foreign markets”.
With Reuters
Australian small retailers are gearing up for a critical festive season that will determine their success for the year.
The Australian Retailers Association and American Express Small Retail Index show:
28% offering more promotions to meet increased demand for discounts.
About 26% are taking advantage of the shopping season and are putting on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales., including 16% for the first time.
About 54% aim to improve work-life balance next year.
Optimism for future trading is growing, with 41% feeling positive about 2025 conditions.
The Aussie Retailers Association Fleur Brown said she predicts a $69.7 billion pre-Christmas sales boost, driven by early shopping and increased spending on gifts, food, and recreational goods.
Black Friday may be tomorrow but most shoppers have probably already spent big.
The eCommerce company Shippit facilitates millions of orders a year for roughly 4,000 retailers and found, according to 20 million orders in 2023 and 2022 in November and December, sales activity began to spike six days before the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend.
This year, Shippit data shows a 40% week-on-week increase in booking volumes this November compared to last year.
The graph below shows the number of bookings every day before and after Black Friday.
Day 0 is Black Friday and the + numbers on the right-hand side are the days prior to BF.
Rob Hango-Zada, co-founder of Shippit, said over the last 10 years, Black Friday has become “the jewel in the Australian retail crown”.
“Rather than starting their deals and discounts on the Cyber Weekend itself, retailers are rolling out longer sales periods in a bid to attract shoppers who for large parts of the year have been more cautious in their spending.”
Insurance news and scandals have been everywhere lately.
Consumer affairs reporter Michael Atkin has this story up today detailing how some insurance customers who want to fight premium increases don’t have many options – with the financial services watchdog refusing to take on some cases.
Yesterday’s CPI data showed some of the largest increases in prices in the year to October involved insurance.
For more on what the latest CPI data means for rates, check out last night’s story on The Business from reporter David Chau
In case you missed it, the latest CPI data was released yesterday showing Australia’s inflation rate has hit its lowest level since 2021 – at 2.1% in the year to October.
For more on the latest data here’s a story from business reporter Emilia Terzon:
A federal inquiry into lending to first-home buyers is set to recommend the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) be given a new mandate to consider the struggle facing first-home buyers when it sets policies about how much banks can loan out.
This exclusive story from business reporter Nassim Khadem:
Good morning! This is reporter Rachel Clayton here to take you through Thursday morning’s markets live blog.
I’ll bring you the latest price action and news on the ASX and beyond – it should be a relatively quiet day after CPI data dropped yesterday but you never know when Trump may make another tariff announcement, so stay tuned all the same.
There was a flurry of activity on Wall Street overnight, especially in tech stocks, which could see the ASX rise slightly at the open this morning.
The Dow Jones index fell -0.3 per cent, the S&P 500 also slid -0.4 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite lost -0.6 per cent.
ASX futures were up +0.2 per cent to 8,457 at 7am AEDT.
At the same time, the Australian dollar was up +0.4 per cent to 64.95 US cents.
Brent crude oil was up +0.1 per cent, trading at $US72.90 a barrel.
Spot gold gained +0.1 per cent to $US2,635.88.
Iron ore rose 1.4% to $US104 a tonne.
And Bitcoin has seen another rise of +5.7 per cent to $US96,854.
