Politics · Spain · 1 day ago
Spain investigates bus company over ticket prices and cancellation refunds
Spain's consumer authority has opened a case against a bus company over how it sells tickets and handles cancellations.
The company has not been named, and the case concerns bus travel in Spain.
The authority says the company may add management fees only near the end of online checkout, so customers do not see the full price from the start.
Spanish law requires such fees to be included in the price shown from the beginning of a commercial offer.
The authority also suspects the company does not return management fees when trips are cancelled, and says the contract terms used to justify this may be unfair.
If the alleged practices are established, fines could reach €100,000 for misleading pricing and €1 million for unfair contract terms, or be based on the illegal gain.
The case has not decided whether the company broke the law, and the authority will determine the outcome through the sanctioning process.
Spain’s consumer affairs ministry has opened a sanctions case against an unnamed bus company over its ticket prices and cancellation refunds.
The ministry says the company may add booking fees only late in the online purchase process, leaving customers without the full price from the start.
It also says the company may fail to refund booking fees when a journey is cancelled.
Potential penalties could reach €100,000 for misleading price practices and €1 million for abusive contract terms, or be calculated as multiples of illicit profits.
The ministry said opening the case does not determine the final outcome of the proceedings.
- Who
- Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 opened the case against an unnamed bus company.
- What
- The company is being investigated over possible misleading ticket prices and failure to refund booking fees after cancellations.
- When
- 7 November 2026.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- The ministry says the company may reveal booking fees only late in the purchase process and may not return them when journeys are cancelled.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A law promoted by the Consumer Affairs Ministry was approved, requiring management fees to be included in the price from the start of a commercial communication.
Consumer Affairs opened a case against a company selling tickets for planes, trains, ferries and buses over potentially misleading prices.
Consumer Affairs opened a sanctions case against an unnamed bus company over ticket prices and cancellation refunds.
- Company
- Name not disclosed
- Price practice
- Booking fees allegedly added late in the online purchase process
- Cancellation refunds
- Booking fees allegedly not refunded after cancelled journeys
- Potential price-practice penalty
- Up to €100,000 or four to six times illicit profits
- Potential abusive-terms penalty
- Up to €1 million or six to eight times illicit profits
- Legal basis
- Articles 83 and 87 of Spain’s General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users