The SNCF assumes everything while reversing course. It announces that it is putting an end to the criticized practice of “cashback” on its online ticketing site. For users of the online store, this resulted in the appearance of an advertisement just after purchasing a train ticket offering a refund of 16.87 euros. But the “pop-up” actually referred to a separate SNCF commercial site which required a subscription of 18 euros per month to benefit from the offer.
“Although this service has been used by some of our customers for several years, we have decided to end our collaboration with WebLoyalty [La société avec laquelle avait un contrat pour proposer cette offre commerciale] », indicated this Monday SNCF Connect, confirming information from BFMTV.
A type of legal “phishing”
Last year, the deputy for Vendée Philippe Latombe (Renaissance) questioned the Minister for Transport Clément Beaune on this practice, which according to him “could be similar to phishing”. “Cashback is a legal practice regulated by law, very common for an e-retailer and well known by consumers,” insists the SNCF. The railway group has until now always assumed this partnership, a source of income for it, despite criticism. For its part, WebLoyalty says it has taken note of “the decision of the SNCF to end the partnership relationship which [les] related “.