The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has ruled that Alton Towers’ Rainy Day Guarantee offer broke ASA code.
The offer saw guests able to claim a free return visit in the event of rain disrupting ride availability during their visit.
But the ASA ruled that the requirement for one hour of continuous rain was not sufficiently clear.
The page has now been removed from Alton Towers’ website, pending a review of the offer for 2024.
In its ruling, the ASA said that the advert breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Qualification) and 3.54 (Guarantees and after-sales service).
In response to a guest complaint over the Rainy Day Guarantee not being honoured, the ASA ruled that the offer “materially misled” customers, or was likely to do so.
‘Materially misleading’
Alton Towers said in its response that it had “good” ride availability for the day in question, at 93%.
The day reportedly saw intermittent showers over a period of four hours, including a 27-minute heavy downpour.
The Galactical rollercoaster’s 50-minute stoppage was the most lengthy, being attributed to “guest comfort”.
The Thirteen ride also saw 40 minutes of downtime, due to a longstanding issue of ceasing operation in wet weather.
Merlin Attractions Operations, the business entity which runs Alton Towers, said it would bring back the Rainy Day Guarantee in 2024.