Accommodation/Bureau De Change Don't Get Done in the Sun

Every year, millions of us jet off abroad on holiday.

But if things go wrong your two weeks in the sun could become a fortnight to forget.

And many things can ruin your precious break

-from cancelled flights to horror hotels.

-They take no responsibility.

Worse still, there are scams, tricks and cons waiting to trap the unsuspecting tourist.

They're taking a little bit more off you so you have to be careful.

But if you know what to look for, you can avoid these holiday nightmares.

-So we're here to make sure you...

-Don't get done in the sun.

Coming up on today's show:

how one man booked a dream holiday apartment only to find he had nowhere to stay.

This was when I started to worry.

The family who went on a city break to Rome, but got stuck in a hotel miles out of town.

There was nothing around the hotel, nowhere to eat, no bars.

And I'll be showing you how not to get tricked into taking counterfeit cash whilst abroad.

Do you have change of a fifty?

When you book a holiday, near the top of the list is always, "Where am I going to stay?"

Fortunately, these days there's more choice than ever for accommodation.

And it's easier than ever to find places to suit your lifestyle.

Well, at least, that's the theory.

Meet Lee Taylor from Dagenham in Essex.

In September, 2011, he booked a holiday in Gran Canaria for him and five of his friends.

The flights were booked direct with the airline and accommodation booked separately

through Mantrav International, not to be confused with similar-sounding companies.

We went onto the Mantrav website and found a place called Club Mancha,

something a bit more upmarket than we usually stay in.

Because they were doing a good price, we went for that and used them.

-0624...

-It wasn't the first time Lee had booked with the company.

Thank you. Bye-bye now.

I'd no qualms or thoughts of, you know, using anyone else.

They advertise in the community magazines regularly

and as I'd booked through them before I wasn't expecting any trouble.

Lee paid the company £733 deposit by credit card

and began to look forward to his week in the sun. But two months before his holiday an issue arose

-with his accommodation.

-We were told from Mantrav that things weren't going to be going ahead

with Club Mancha because they'd had some problems with the site

and they were withdrawing their property sales and holiday bookings

and they would be moving us to another complex.

The complex they were moving us to is Los Almendros. We've stayed before. That was an equally nice place.

I knew it very well.

At this stage Lee felt there was no reason to doubt them and paid the outstanding balance of £850,

although this time he couldn't pay by credit card.

I didn't really give it much thought apart from receiving an email

saying they couldn't take card bookings due to IT issues and would prefer a bank transfer. I did it.

It's unusual for an established travel company to be unable to take credit cards.

ABTA is a professional association for travel agents, which can offer customers protection

if something goes wrong with their holiday.

If you can't pay by credit card, should that ring alarm bells?

If you're running a company, you'll want to have credit card facilities or you'll turn away lots of business,

so it might well mean they can't get credit card facilities. They may say to pay direct to their bank account.

That is potentially very problematic. If they got into difficulties,

it's as though you handed them a load of money, in cash.

Sure enough, with just a few days before he was due to jet off to Gran Canaria,

-Lee was hit with a bombshell.

-I got an email from someone I've never heard from before,

saying they were unable to provide accommodation in Los Almendros

and they were doing everything possible to find us accommodation for when we landed on Wednesday.

The email was from a company called Zyra Group which said it owned 70% of Mantrav International.

Lee emailed and called Zyra Group to find out what was going on, but got no reply.

Worried that they might have to abandon the entire holiday, Lee took matters into his own hands.

I decided to look for accommodation ourselves.

Luckily, cos we've been there before, we were able to find somewhere

so I again paid out

just under two grand on my card, so that all of us could go on holiday.

By now, Lee had paid out a total of £3,500 on accommodation alone.

Finally, the night before they left on holiday, he received an email from Zyra Group telling him

that he'd get a full £1,500 refund on the accommodation booked through Mantrav International.

I felt let's just go out there, have a good time and when I come back there will be a cheque waiting

-as the refund from my original holiday.

-But when he got home, there was no sign of the refund.

I think this was the time when I really started to worry about money and things.

The fact that nowadays there are so many ways we can book accommodation should, in theory,

be good news for us holidaymakers,

but in cutting out the travel agent and the tour operator,

are we in danger of leaving ourselves unprotected?

Many travellers opt for a happy medium and use an independent agent

who can help find the right accommodation to suit their needs.

AITO is the Association of Independent Tour Operators.

How can consumers ensure that they are getting the best protection possible?

They have to make sure that the organisation they're booking with has a bond of some description,

which is an insurance policy against them going into liquidation and the holiday not being delivered.

So if you book a flight-inclusive holiday, you should look out for the CAA's ATOL.

-You might look for ABTA's bonding scheme.

-AITO also offers financial protection for holidays

booked through its members. So when you're looking for a holiday

it's vital you make sure the company is fully bonded by one of these organisations.

Because Mantrav International was not a bonded company, there was no financial protection for Lee.

It meant he was £1,500 out of pocket after the company failed to provide the accommodation

he'd booked and paid for.

When I realised I was going nowhere with Mantrav and I wasn't going to be getting my money back,

I just thought the best thing to do was to take some legal advice

so I spoke to solicitors from Which

who advised me to go down the County Court claim.

At the time of Lee's booking, Mantrav International's website boasted

"100% financial protection" and that it, "acted as an agent for ATOL holders".

But in 2012, the company came under the scrutiny of the Advertising Standards Authority.

What did the ASA find

when it looked into Mantrav?

Well, we received three complaints from members of the public

who were concerned that Mantrav were advertising in a misleading way.

In particular, they made claims about having 100% financial protection and being ATOL-protected.

When we looked into this, we found that there was no evidence

that Mantrav were either ATOL-protected or that the financial bonding they were talking about

would have any impact on the public.

So we took action against Mantrav and they removed those claims.

Lee took Mantrav to the Small Claims Court to try to get his money back.

They sent the court letters back to the court saying that they weren't responsible for it

because they weren't the trading company. The court deemed it that they owed me money.

So the court found in Lee's favour, but so far he's still waiting for his money.

Later, we hear from a holidaymaker whose mystery hotel turned out to be a big disappointment.

Not only was it 30 minutes outside of Rome, but there was nothing around it, nowhere to eat, no bars,

or anywhere to get a drink.

And Lee finally gets some answers from Mantrav International.

We all want our money to go as far as it can, especially abroad,

but there are people out there who will target your spend, so you need to be on your guard.

Counterfeit currency is a favourite way for conmen to catch out holidaymakers

and although you might think you're way too savvy to get stung,

I'm going to show you just how easy it is to be caught off guard.

In the second half of 2012, 280,000 fake euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation.

There are quick checks you can do to spot a fake, if you bother to look at the note in the first place.

I'm going to ask people if they'll give me change for a note.

The question is whether or not they'll ask if my note is real.

'Time to put my acting skills to the test.'

Sorry, guys, does anyone have two tens or change of twenty?

-He's got money.

-He has. You're a star! Thank you so much.

'Bingo. I have a trustworthy face because these holidaymakers didn't bat an eyelid

'in handing me two 10 euro notes. I could have easily passed them a fake and they'd be none the wiser

'until they tried to spend it. Time to come clean.' We're the BBC.

There's a lot of fake notes going round and a stranger may approach you

and say, "Have you got change?" Just be aware that not everyone is honest at the moment

and there are a few fake notes going round. If you'd like these two 10s back for my 20...

-Do you want your 20 back?

-No, I'm fine. I totally trust you.

'It never occurred to me'

that what she was asking me or was exchanging for my money could have been a fake.

I took her at face value.

'Spurred on by my last success, I pop into another room and try my luck with a fifty.'

Do you have change for fifty? Are you putting that accent on for me?

-I'm from Birkenhead.

-Ah! The other side.

-Hang on.

-OK, let me just check.

-Are they?

Is that real? Hang on. Is there a watermark?!

You're a star. Thank you.

'Maybe he just feels at home with my accent, but he made no attempt to check if that note was real.'

I've given him a fifty. And he really worked hard to get me that change, bless him.

I feel kind of bad now. I'm going to say, "I could have been scamming you."

And they're from my side of town.

-Can I disturb you for a second?

-What?

-You know that note I gave you.

-Yes.

-It could have been a fake note.

-Have you thought about that?

-No.

You need to check. People are coming in and because I'm in the same bar doesn't mean I am trustworthy!

But I am, I am! 'It only takes a few seconds to check a banknote.

'Feel the raised print. Check the watermark and security thread can be seen from the front and back.

'Tilt it. On the front, you'll see the shifting image on the hologram.

'If it doesn't have these features, it could be a fake.

'So far, these holidaymakers aren't really exercising any caution.

'Let's see what else I can get in the evening rush.'

-Do you have any change?

-I don't.

-Change of twenty?

-Sorry, guys, do you have change?

-Er...

-Of twenty?

-What a gent. Thank you so much. Twenty.

-All right.

-Thank you.

-Are they real?

-We made them this morning!

You've done a good job.

That's a perfect example of someone being really nice.

'A guy I hadn't asked called out, reached out and gave me two tens.'

He hasn't thought, "Is it a fake? Is it real?" He was just doing a completely gentlemanly thing,

which is really kind, but is that when you're going to get caught out?

Sorry. Can I just have a quick word?

Sorry.

-Right. I asked for change and you were really kind and handed me two tens.

-Yeah.

-Was my twenty real or fake?

-I have no idea.

I put it in my wallet. You did ask me that.

-If mine was...

-Yeah. Well, I have to check, you know?

-Yeah.

-Did you check yours?

-No.

-Do I look trustworthy?

-Yes.

Well, I am!

'Of course, no one was left out of pocket by my experiment

'as it's a crime to be caught with fake notes. So mine were real, but nobody checked.'

In no time at all, I ended up swapping 90 euros altogether.

If my notes had been counterfeit, I'd have been quids in.

So keep an eye on your currency or your holiday could cost you a lot more than you bargained for.

Problems with accommodation could ruin your two weeks in the sun,

which is why most of us prefer to know exactly what we'll get before we fly,

but some companies offer us the chance to do things a little differently.

From finding a spare room in someone's apartment

to booking a luxury holiday villa or even swapping homes in another country,

plenty of websites offer a vast array of accommodation for adventurous holidaymakers,

but do your homework.

If you're booking your own accommodation, what advice is there?

Research, research, research.

You're probably going to be spending more money on this hotel than you are on any other purchase this year,

so it's in your interest to take some time in researching online,

looking at photos, reading reviews, even posting questions in forums

where you can get a response to any question within 24 hours.

Yes, knowing as much as you can will give you some peace of mind,

but it's also possible to get a great deal by booking a secret or unnamed hotel,

the details of which you don't find out until you've paid.

In October 2012, Debbie Dye from Felixstowe in Suffolk decided to book a family trip to Rome.

We looked at lastminute.com because we'd previous experience of booking with them

-and had always been quite happy.

-Keen to find a bargain, Debbie looked at a top secret hotel,

a deal which boasts up to 45% off the standard room rate,

but doesn't reveal the hotel's name until you've booked.

The hotel was described as "comfort and luxury in a prime location".

Prime location on a weekend city break. What would that mean to you? Proximity to tourist attractions?

Good local restaurants? Easy access to the city centre?

We took that to mean it was going to be in central Rome and comfortable.

Top secret hotels, also called mystery or undercover hotels,

are available on several websites.

What they do is allow hotels who know that on a typical night they won't fill all their rooms

to sell off some really very cheaply, but without tarnishing their price promise

that you'll always find the best deal through our website. It's a great opportunity for offloading

"distressed inventory", basically rooms that won't otherwise get full.

And they can be a great idea for travellers, too.

As a consumer, it's a lovely concept. First of all, it's got a frisson of something clandestine,

something exciting. You don't quite know what you are getting.

What you probably will be getting, and most of the time it's a success,

is a hotel of a much higher star rating than you might be used to for a very good price.

And that, of course, is a great benefit for the consumer,

but because you don't know the name or the location, you could get stuck somewhere you don't want to be.

Confident that she'd got a good hotel in a central location,

Debbie went ahead and confirmed it.

The holiday cost £1,300 and that included the flights as well for three of us.

But once the name of the top secret hotel was revealed, Debbie began to worry.

Once we received the email confirmation, we knew which hotel we'd be staying in.

We went to an online holiday forum to investigate a bit more about the hotel.

The forum told us that the hotel was relatively near the airport, but 30 minutes from the Colosseum

and the other sites of Rome. We were a bit disappointed with this

as it wasn't what we'd been led to believe.

So far from being in or near the city centre and all its attractions,

they'd be miles away, near the airport.

Before she left, Debbie did contact lastminute.com,

but the booking was non-refundable so the family decided to go

and try to make the best of their holiday.

We hadn't really got a clear preference for location, other than it being central, so we could go out,

go back to the hotel, get changed to go out for dinner.

That was made quite difficult by the location of the hotel.

It was 30 minutes outside of Rome and there was nothing around the hotel,

nowhere to eat, no bars or anywhere to get a drink.

So not quite the comfort and luxury in a prime location they were expecting.

The problem that I find most often with mystery or secret hotels

is the location. And very often it will say "centrally located" or "well located".

Now you might say, "Hang on. Being 3 or 5 miles outside the city centre isn't central or well located."

The hotel company, the mystery agency will quite possibly turn round and say, "In our opinion it is.

"What are you going to do about it?"

As well as being far away from the main tourist attractions,

Debbie felt other aspects of the hotel weren't up to scratch.

The room was in a quite poor decorative state.

There was ripped wallpaper and damp patches between the bedroom and bathroom.

If you were going to go for a mystery hotel, write down every word in the description

and do an internet search. Chances are the hotel will use exactly the same words on their own website

and you'll be able to identify the hotel.

If you tap that form of words into one of the online review sites,

you'll very often find that you actually get the name of the hotel.

Once you've got that, you can work out where it is. That's what I do when I look for a mystery hotel.

Later on, both Debbie and Lee get some answers about their problems,

but will they like them?

It's really left a bad taste in my mouth.

Us Brits spend a whopping £12 billion abroad each summer,

but you'll not get very far without some of this.

Hard money. But keep your wits about you or you might find yourself short changed.

As we saw earlier, taking money from strangers on the street is high risk,

but you'd think using a Bureau de Change would be OK.

Well, you'd be wrong. The person handling your cash may not be as honest as they seem.

Liz Roberts is a foreign currency expert based here in Portugal.

Liz, you come on holiday and there's loads of places to change your money. How well is it regulated?

It depends who you're using. Banks will be regulated. However, chances are an exchange is not regulated.

Obviously, most are legitimate, but some can be a little bit unscrupulous, can't they?

Absolutely. One of my colleagues received fraudulent notes from one of these exchanges.

Yes, a common scam is to offload a fake note hidden in a wad of legal currency.

By the time you notice, you could find yourself in a whole heap of trouble.

If you report it to the police,

in some countries in Europe you could actually get arrested for holding fraudulent money

and if you go back to the actual place itself, it's very difficult to prove that note came from them.

Your best bet is to hand the fake money in at a bank and explain what happened,

but you will be left out of pocket. Most currency exchanges are legitimate,

but beware of pop-up exchange bureaux which can appear on beaches and in busy resorts.

I wouldn't have a clue.

I wouldn't be able to tell fake money.

Of course, cash is not your only option. For any option, the safest option is to use a credit card,

simply because of the consumer protection it offers.

If we want something in particular, not that we do a lot of shopping, we'll use credit cards.

I use a credit card. I trust my own home bank.

Of course, if you don't have a credit card and don't want to carry around large amounts of cash,

you could use a debit card, but these can incur charges and variable exchange rates.

There is another way - a pre-paid credit card. It may not have the same consumer protection,

but at least you know how much you are spending as you can load it with local currency at a good rate.

How does a pre-paid card work?

You can apply for them online. You won't be credit checked. They are a means to hold cash on a card.

You can top them up online using your debit or credit card.

It's instant and you can use them like a debit card.

Different pre-paid cards charge in different ways and on top of withdrawal fees,

they can charge reload, activation or maintenance fees, so do check the terms and conditions.

-In effect, I could load it up when the rate was good and save that until I go on holiday.

-Absolutely.

That would be very business savvy.

That's something else to add to your holiday checklist before you go.

So remember, don't leave it until the last minute to buy currency

or you could find you have less to spend on having fun. Cheers.

Whether you choose to stay in a hotel, an apartment, a villa or a B&B,

you've every right to expect that what you've booked is what you're going to get.

Booking flights and accommodation separately does give you a lot of flexibility,

but although your flights are still protected, your accommodation isn't.

So what can you do to make sure your holiday and your money is safe?

Look up your accommodation on an online review site.

If the hotel or villa is not reviewed by anyone, there's a chance it doesn't actually exist.

And remember that good reviews can be faked. Read as many as possible and not just the glowing ones.

Use an online map to confirm the location of your accommodation,

then click on street view to see that the property matches up.

And, finally, for added protection, make sure you choose a travel insurance policy which covers you

if your accommodation supplier goes bust or is unable for some reason to provide the room you've booked.

Lee Taylor took booking agent Mantrav to the Small Claims Court for failing to supply accommodation

after he'd paid. But 18 months on, he still hasn't got his money back.

I didn't hear anything from Mantrav, they made no effort to contact me,

no letters or anything at all.

I had to go for a warrant of execution to try to get my money back through the bailiffs.

But there was one ray of hope. Because he'd paid the deposit for his accommodation by credit card,

he was covered under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

I got my original deposit back of just over £700,

which was better than nothing.

But the £850 Lee paid to Mantrav International by bank transfer

is still outstanding. We contacted the company to find out why Lee's accommodation was cancelled twice

and when he would get his money back as ordered by the court. They said:

But since we contacted them, the company has gone out of business.

It seems unlikely now that Lee will ever see the rest of his money.

When I go on holiday again, I'll really think twice about booking it

through a third party on the internet, especially if I'm just booking accommodation.

It's left a bad taste in my mouth.

Might there be a better outcome for Debbie Dye, who was disappointed

when her mystery hotel in Rome was miles from the city centre?

When she returned from her holiday, she complained to lastminute.com.

They took a couple of days to respond and they offered me a 30% refund on the cost of the hotel room.

Lastminute.com also said it would be changing the description of this hotel on its website,

so a great result for Debbie. Remember, however you book, make sure you don't get done.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd