Default setting on train booking website: pricey tickets   

12306购票默认商务座 网友质疑铁路部门诱导消费

想购买高铁二等座，默认的却是商务座，即使先修改成二等座，选择旅客姓名后，也会自动跳转成商务座。由于高铁线路全程商务座一般比二等座要贵上千元，12306火车票购票网站的这一新现象，让许多旅客一不留神就花了冤枉钱，引发不满。昨日，有网友向本报反映该问题。[查看全文]

(ECNS) – The official rail ticket-booking website 12306.cn has been accused of setting the pricier "business-class" as the default option for consumers buying high-speed rail tickets online, Wuhan-based Chutian Metropolis Daily reported.

A netizen said on Twitter-like social platform Sina Weibo that he booked a high-speed rail ticket on the website recently, which turned out to be a business-class seat, even though he had chosen the "first-class ticket" option. "I just want to know why the website automatically selected a business-class ticket for me when first-class and second-class tickets were available."

Another netizen said he was buying a second-class seat from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou, which turned out to be a first-class ticket.

China's high-speed rail, including G trains and D trains, has three classes of seats on its trains: second-class, first-class, and business-class. Business-class tickets are much more expensive than the other two.

"It's a trap setting business-class ticket as the default option, intentionally urging consumers to buy a more expensive ticket," netizen "miaolingnvlang" said.

A man surnamed Li said he once unknowingly bought a first-class ticket, and when he canceled the ticket for a second-class one, he was charged 10 percent of the fare. "The rail does make easy money," he said.

A staffer at 12306.cn said through its hotline that consumers can fill in the guest information before choosing a ticket on the order page. The feedback from consumers will be conveyed to the website, he added.