Airbnb faces Australian consumer lawsuit over accommodation prices
( June 8, 2022, 00:56 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: Online rental platform Airbnb is facing an Australian consumer lawsuit over allegations it misled users into believing prices for Australian accommodation were in Australian dollars, when in fact, for many site users, prices were in US dollars. In a media statement announcing the Federal Court of Australia lawsuit today, the watchdog said the site's use of the dollar sign in thousands of representations didn't make it clear that prices were in US dollars. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the alleged conduct "meant that consumers were deprived of the opportunity to make an informed choice about whether, and at what price, to book their holiday accommodation on the Airbnb platform." Not only did some users pay higher prices than expected, some consumers found themselves out of pocket as a result of currency conversion fees charged by their credit-card provider.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's statement follows; The regulator's Concise Statement filed before the Federal Court of Australia is attached. ...
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