CheapTickets.com and Access America CheapTickets.com Uses "Click Switcheroo" To Trick Customers Into Purchasing Insurance, Internet
I recently used the travel website CHEAPTICKETS.COM to purchase airfare for a vacation trip. When I reviewed the confirmation e-mail I received, I was surprised to see that I had been charged over $60.86 US for AccessAmerica travel insurance. This little charge was buried in the e-mail receipt, where it could be easily overlooked.
Since I had not opted for any insurance, I immediately called the AccessAmerica customer service number to demand that they cancel this bogus charge. From the way the phone person responded to my complaint, it was clear that my call was one of many similar ones that shed received from other outraged customers. After canceling the insurance, I reviewed the websites construction, and discovered the following deceitful practice:
After choosing air tickets, one must click through several pages: first a page trying to sell you a hotel booking; next a page to enter the names and details of the persons traveling; next, an extended marketing page trying to sell a long list of travel-related additional items: car rental, airport transfers, excursions and the like. Each of these items for sale appears in a box according to this sample scheme:
_______________________________________________________________
Excursion to
Description of the excursion or other item for sale
A chart of various purchase options if they exist
And then, in the lower right corner of the box:
[ ] Add to trip
_______________________________________________________________
Note that the box to purchase is set unselected as the default. To be clear: ONE MUST CLICK on the Add to trip box to select the item. If you dont click, you havent purchased anything.
However, at the top of the next page comes a box that says:
______________________________________________________________________
Recommended: Add Trip Protection
This item changes the total
trip cost
Trip protection covers:
Trip costs if plans change or are cancelled for a covered reason like illness, injury, layoff and more
Emergency medical, dental, and medical transport costs
Travel delay costs and baggage loss, damage or delay costs
Also includes 24-hour hotline with award-winning customer service (
[x] Yes, add trip protection for $amount they want to cheat from you
[ ] No thanks
________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you missed the trick, dont feel bad. Let me help you: note that, after presenting you with option after option THAT REQUIRE A CLICK TO SELECT, CheapTickets presents you with the option to Add Trip Protection, but with the default set (in small font) the OPPOSITE WAY from all the items offered on the prior pages. You must notice this detail and unclick the box in order NOT to purchase the insurance.
If you fail to see that little click in that little box, then CheapTickets is about to help AccessAmerica (Jeff Hyman, Vice President of Travel Operations) to sneak a charge onto your credit card. It is then incumbent on you to catch this little trick in order to have the charge reversed. And youd better be quick about it: if you dont cancel the insurance policy within ten days of the purchase, Access
This bit of subterfuge, if not illegal, is clearly dishonest business practice of the worst type. I WILL NEVER USE CHEAPTICKETS AGAIN, EVEN IF IT MEANS PAYING MORE SOMEWHERE ELSE. I suggest you all do the same.