The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has taken advantage of the fact that summer is in full swing to remind consumers that airlines and travel agencies cannot charge for correcting a passenger’s name if it contains a typo.
That is, when there has been a spelling or typographical error in online bookings. This is a right to rectification. However, the consumer must prove by providing their ID that it is not a change of passenger.
Charging for a typo is against Article 12.5 and 16 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
THE AEPD RESOLVED A CASE OF EDREAMS
The AEPD has already resolved a matter on this subject in a complaint against the online travel agency Edreams. The complaint explained the case of a consumer who purchased plane tickets online and, after detecting an error in his name, contacted customer service to rectify it.
However, she was charged an extra 50 euro for this change. So she decided to file a complaint, considering that Article 12 of Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 was being breached.
The passenger also stated that the name was still misspelled in the booking confirmation dated March 7, 2019, despite the additional charge having been made.
On December 10, 2020, the AEPD admitted the claim and began investigating to clarify the facts. But as soon as it responded, Edreams acknowledged the facts.
The airline stated that the right to rectify data was free of charge and that there was no fee associated with correcting such errors. A change of passenger was a different matter. Its internal policy accepted typographical errors, the reversal of first and last names or the change of maiden name to married name, especially in certain countries such as France or the United Kingdom.
THE AGENCY COMPENSATED THE PASSENGER
Edreams explained that, after internal investigations, they had verified that they had indeed been charged 50 euro by mistake on March 14, 2020. They therefore finally proceeded to contact the passenger to refund not only that amount, but the entire trip as compensation.
The airline also stated that, in order to prevent this from happening again, the agents had received two training sessions on data protection, one of which was the correction of errors in passenger names.
Edreams regretted what had happened “in this exceptional case” and stressed that it was working “tirelessly to improve its processes with the aim not only of complying with regulations, but also of strengthening the trust of its customers.”
The AEPD stated that it highly valued the measures adopted by Edreams and the compensation to the passenger. Therefore, despite ruling that it had infringed article 12 of the GDPR, it decided not to impose an administrative fine, but rather a warning.
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