An international car rental booking platform has paid a penalty of $39,600 after the ACCC issued it with two ACCC infringement notices.
SIA Booking Group Corporation, which operates under the name EconomyBookings, allegedly breached Australian Consumer Law in the way it displayed prices to consumers on its website.
The ACCC alleges that EconomyBookings, in the booking process on its website, failed to prominently display the total price for car rental services as a single figure and made a false or misleading representation about whether a pre-selected optional extra was included in the rental price.
"Any business offering goods or services to Australian consumers must comply with Australian Consumer Law," ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said.
"Businesses must prominently display the total price of goods and services as a single figure, inclusive of selected optional extras."
"All businesses, including online providers, should ensure that their pricing displays do not mislead consumers, or they may face enforcement action by the ACCC," Mr Woodward said.
The ACCC alleges that in the early stages of the booking process, EconomyBookings displayed a price for a car rental on its website that did not prominently specify the rental price, including the pre-selected optional extras, as a single figure.
Pre-selected optional extras included "Last Minute Cancellation", "Roadside assistance" and "Full coverage" for insurance.
The ACCC also alleges that EconomyBookings showed a pre-selected optional extra in its online booking process for a car rental under a heading "Your car rental includes" next to a price that did not include the price for that optional extra.
"We allege that EconomyBookings made a false or misleading representation early in the booking process that the displayed price included the cost of the pre-selected extra option when it did not," Mr Woodward said.
In one example, the initial car price displayed was $147.10, but the total price charged with the pre-selected optional extras was $315.04.
Screenshot of the 'Options page' on the EconomyBookings website on 20 August 2025, showing the pre-selected extra options but the price of $147.10 does not include the options
Screenshot of the 'Details and payment page' on the EconomyBookings website on 20 August 2025 showing the actual total price of $315.04, which includes the pre-selected extra options
More information about the laws about how businesses must display their prices is available on the ACCC website.
Background
EconomyBookings is an online car rental booking platform, which provides a car rental price comparison and booking services for third-party car rental companies. The ACCC does not allege that the third-party companies were involved in the alleged conduct.
EconomyBookings is the operating name of SIA Booking Group Corporation, which has its headquarters in Riga, Latvia.
Note
The ACCC can issue an infringement notice when it has reasonable grounds to believe a person or business has contravened certain consumer protection provisions in the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
The payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the ACL. The ACL sets the penalty amount.
