Eurostar Displays Out of Date

[leytongabriel]

The video display panels in the Eurostar I was on today was still telling passengers they had to wear face masks. Which of course was being totally ignored.

Also advertising meal and breakfast deals in the buffet car at a cheaper price than they charge now e.g. £6 for breakfast , now £6.80. I wonder if you wanted to make apoint you'd have the legal right to demand to pay just the price advertised in the carriages? They'd probably says computer won't accept it ......

 

[rvdborgt]

Also advertising meal and breakfast deals in the buffet car at a cheaper price than they charge now e.g. £6 for breakfast , now £6.80. I wonder if you wanted to make apoint you'd have the legal right to demand to pay just the price advertised in the carriages? They'd probably says computer won't accept it ......

AFAIK they're not allowed to charge more than what they advertise. I'm sure though, once you make a point of it, they'll correct the advertising. So that will only work once.

 

[Bletchleyite]

AFAIK they're not allowed to charge more than they advertise.

In the UK they are, it's an invitation to treat which they don't have to follow through on, assuming it's a mistake and not deliberate (deliberate false advertising is illegal in the UK). However Belgian law could well be different.

 

[rvdborgt]

In the UK they are, it's an invitation to treat which they don't have to follow through on, assuming it's a mistake and not deliberate (deliberate false advertising is illegal in the UK). However Belgian law could well be different.

AFAIK it's EU law, which of course the UK does not have to follow anymore. As long as the advertised price looks realistic (so not unrealistically low), they have to honour it.

 

[FOH]

If you travel in Business Premier the screens are almost certain to say Standard Premier too. It seems no-one cares really

 

[AlterEgo]

AFAIK it's EU law, which of course the UK does not have to follow anymore. As long as the advertised price looks realistic (so not unrealistically low), they have to honour it.

It's not "EU law" to force a retailer to honour a price before the sale happens. It never was when we were in the EU.

 

[Benjwri]

In the UK they are, it's an invitation to treat which they don't have to follow through on, assuming it's a mistake and not deliberate (deliberate false advertising is illegal in the UK).

Although it doesn’t have to be a mistake, as they still have a duty of due diligence, such a case as this wouldn’t be worth the time in prosecuting when a conviction wouldn’t be guaranteed. However if Eurostar are/have been alerted to the price issue and don’t fix it within a reasonable time that would be another matter.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I noticed on my last few Eurostar journeys that most of the stuff on the screens seemed out of date (including various Covid-related things, as pointed out). Not that many people seem to actively look at them - it's just that they can be so much in your line of sight that you end up staring at them involuntarily.

 

[zwk500]

Are the screens still saying that Passenger Locator Forms need to be filled out? I've stopped looking at the screens as they seemed to loop through only about 5 mins worth of a display, and none of it was particularly helpful. A lot of it seemed to be stuff that would be better on a paper poster as well.

 

[Brooke]

I’ve also noticed they’re completely out of date, but also ignore them.

The only thing I find interesting or entertaining is the display (somewhere?) which says how fast the train is moving.

 

[zwk500]

I’ve also noticed they’re completely out of date, but also ignore them.

The only thing I find interesting or entertaining is the display (somewhere?) which says how fast the train is moving.

It's one of the slides the screens scroll through. I find the use of a whole slide somewhat unecessary for this - the current speed would be better in a title line along with dual clocks.

 

[londonbridge]

In the UK they are, it's an invitation to treat which they don't have to follow through on, assuming it's a mistake and not deliberate (deliberate false advertising is illegal in the UK). However Belgian law could well be different.

I seem to recall hearing they don’t have to honour the advertised price if it would be reasonable to assume a mistake had been made, ie something advertised at £4.95 when it is clearly usually sold for £49.95.

I remember once seeing a Woolworths newspaper ad for a dvd release which was advertised at an offer price and the small print had the dates, which was only for the first week of release. I went in after a couple of days and they were selling it for full price, £5 higher than the offer. The assistant didn’t seem to know about the offer, so I went back in with a copy of the ad and they gave me it for the offer price. It had been released on Monday, I went in on Sunday and had a look and the shelf ticket still said full price. I often wondered how many copies were sold at full price to people who were unaware of the offer.

 

[Taunton]

The video display panels in the Eurostar I was on today was still telling passengers they had to wear face masks. Which of course was being totally ignored.

Still same with Transport for London announcements at various points, likewise. Not a suggestion, but a command. Word "must".

 

[Bletchleyite]

I seem to recall hearing they don’t have to honour the advertised price if it would be reasonable to assume a mistake had been made, ie something advertised at £4.95 when it is clearly usually sold for £49.95.

They don't have to honour the advertised price regardless, because for something where you pay before you get it, it is an "invitation to treat" which can be declined based on the fundamental principle that, protected characteristics aside, a business can just decide it doesn't want to serve someone for any or no reason.

However they may be committing an offence if they deliberately or negligently advertise a false price or other falsehoods.

Where you pay after you've had the product or service, e.g. in a restaurant, things work a bit differently and I think you would have a reasonable case to say a contract was formed by the price on the menu, for instance. I think this is the situation you're thinking of. If you pay for a product at the offered price then a contract has been formed at that price, but the business can get out of the contract (and not deliver the goods, provided they refund) if it's obvious it was a mistake - this is the situation with e.g. tellies sold at £1 on Amazon.

 

[rvdborgt]

However they may be committing an offence if they deliberately or negligently advertise a false price or other falsehoods.

I expect this case would be out of neglect. As is clear from the other messages appearing on the screens, they probably haven't updated it in months.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I expect this case would be out of neglect. As is clear from the other messages appearing on the screens, they probably haven't updated it in months.

To be negligent I think it'd need to be more than just having forgotten, i.e. that you knew it was wrong and still didn't do anything about it.

However in English law that does not entitle you to the lower price unless you've already consumed it and pay afterwards or you've already paid and thus a contract is formed. False advertising is a separate offence. An advertised price doesn't, in English law, form a contract - it's what is known as "an invitation to treat", which can lead to a contract, but doesn't have to if either party decides otherwise.

 

[zwk500]

To be negligent I think it'd need to be more than just having forgotten, i.e. that you knew it was wrong and still didn't do anything about it.

However in English law that does not entitle you to the lower price unless you've already consumed it and pay afterwards or you've already paid and thus a contract is formed. False advertising is a separate offence. An advertised price doesn't, in English law, form a contract - it's what is known as "an invitation to treat", which can lead to a contract, but doesn't have to if either party decides otherwise.

For the sake of 80 pence it's much of a muchness. The 2 most likely scenarios are simply that the cafe attendant explains the price is wrong and the customer either doesn't buy it or pays the higher price. There's presumably a way for the POS system to process the lower price but the Cafe Attendant may not have the authority to do so for this situation.

If somebody wanted to really die on this hill then I'd expect the screens to be updated rather quickly afterwards.

 

[Benjwri]

There's presumably a way for the POS system to process the lower price but the Cafe Attendant may not have the authority to do so for this situation.

I'm pretty sure it's just a video being played and the prices are a part of the video, so the change would have to come from high up.

 

[zwk500]

I'm pretty sure it's just a video being played and the prices are a part of the video, so the change would have to come from high up.

It will be something like that (more likely a slideshow tbh), but there is presumably somebody in the media department who has the original file and could update the price. It'll be a back office job though.

When I said about the POS processing the transaction it'll be because the deal will be set up for £6.80, but nearly all POS have a 'misc' or 'other' option for putting through odd requests. However that can cause problems when cashing up and stock-taking so sometimes it can need supervisor's authority.

 

[Benjwri]

It will be something like that (more likely a slideshow tbh), but there is presumably somebody in the media department who has the original file and could update the price. It'll be a back office job though.

When I said about the POS processing the transaction it'll be because the deal will be set up for £6.80, but nearly all POS have a 'misc' or 'other' option for putting through odd requests. However that can cause problems when cashing up and stock-taking so sometimes it can need supervisor's authority.

Yeah most likely played as a video though as easier to start on boot. Knowing Eurostar though the issue will be it's made by a third party company they no longer employ.

Ahhh apologies, automatically read it as PIS. There certainly will be a way to put it through, and as you say it probably won't be unlocked for an Attendant, although most likely that's just to prevent abuse of giving out things at reduced prices or for free.

 

[Birkonian]

If you travel in Business Premier the screens are almost certain to say Standard Premier too. It seems no-one cares really

And vice versa I've noticed on a few occasions. Last week was most recent.