Episode 1 Rip Off Britain: Holidays

Who's left you feeling ripped off

when it comes to travel and holidays?

You couldn't wait to tell us your holiday disasters.

Don't understand how people can do this to other people.

I wanted to cry then. More than enough.

So, whether it's a deliberate rip-off, a simple mistake,

or a catch in the small print,

we'll find out why you're out of pocket

and what you can do about it.

Keep asking the questions, you know, go to the top if you have to.

We do get results. I mean, that's the interesting thing.

Your stories. Your money.

This is Rip Off Britain.

Hello and welcome to Rip Off Britain,

where we fight your corner

when you feel you've been let down or left out of pocket.

All the situations we'll be investigating this time

are to do with holidays or travel,

whether that's to somewhere sunny abroad like this,

or back home in the UK.

And today we're going to be tackling something that we know

from all your letters and e-mails makes you absolutely furious.

And that's those unexpected costs

and extra charges that come to light only after you've already

signed on the dotted line and handed over your cash.

By which time, of course, you're told you have no choice,

you just have to pay up.

Now those extra costs can make all the difference

when you've tightly budgeted for the cost of a trip.

And although in some of the cases we'll be hearing about it's the

principle of having to pay more that makes you really, really angry,

in others, as you'll see, the consequences can be devastating.

Coming up - why this couple is furious about being asked to pay

a cancellation fee for hundreds of pounds

when it wasn't them that cancelled their holiday.

To make such an excessive charge for something that was

not our fault leaves me absolutely astounded.

And we'll unravel the costs and complications

of checking in airline baggage.

It's all because they think they can make more money

out of you and me, the traveller,

and they don't care how confused we are.

Next, of all the stories you've sent us about travel insurance

not paying out, this is one of the most shocking.

Not just because of what happened at the start,

but also because of the amount of time it's taken

to resolve the situation.

And then there's the fact that the company in question

isn't some online firm offering bargain-basement cover.

It's one of the most respected names in the business.

For Robert Robb and his wife Patricia from Dundee,

Tenerife has always been a favourite destination.

They typically went there at least three times a year to visit friends.

We loved it there, basically, it was just quiet enough for us.

They had golf, bowling, everything I wanted to do.

We enjoyed the area so much

we were seriously thinking about retiring to the area.

Robert always has travel insurance when he goes away.

And on his last trip he'd bought, through a local broker,

an annual policy with Japanese company Tokio Marine,

not a household name in the UK, but a huge player internationally,

with policies highly regarded within the industry itself.

So, as the couple had had their share of health problems,

it gave them peace of mind as they planned their next trip.

I declared my type two diabetes and slightly high blood pressure.

Patricia declared her high blood pressure

and a few other conditions she had.

We made a clear, defined declaration of our conditions.

But their visit to Tenerife in August 2009

was far from the relaxing break they had been looking forward to.

I just heard a noise from the bedroom and went through

and found Patricia on the floor.

A friend called an ambulance straight away.

Patricia was rushed straight to hospital.

And as all Robert wanted was for his wife to be looked after,

he didn't immediately worry about which one she went to.

In fact Patricia had been taken

to one of the island's private hospitals

where her serious condition would also mean a serious bill.

Patricia was whisked straight in,

and, of course, with the language barrier

I was taken to an interpreter's office,

giving them all the details, giving them the insurance,

giving the medical card, filled out all the forms

and, erm, sat and waited.

Within an hour, doctors broke the devastating news to Robert

that his wife had had a brain haemorrhage.

I was just in shock, I think,

because you did not expect somebody to have a serious thing like that,

especially at 40-odd years of age.

With Patricia still in intensive care, the last thing Robert wanted

was to have to worry about how the hospital bill was going to be paid.

But after five days he discovered that his travel insurance

wouldn't pay for any of the costs.

From Tenerife, Robert tried to contact the insurance helpline

to get some answers.

All they would tell me is that I would have to

put a complaint in once I got back to the UK.

With Tokio Marine refusing to foot the bill,

the hospital said they would no longer continue to treat Patricia,

and that the couple would have to settle the bill

of over 9,000 euros already run up.

So Patricia was faced with a difficult move across the island

to a government-funded hospital where,

thanks to her European Health Insurance card,

she wouldn't have to pay.

I basically felt that she was just being turfed out from the hospital

into the car park, waiting for an ambulance

and then we were zoomed up the road.

I really didn't think she should be moved at that time.

Before they set off, Robert also had to settle that huge bill,

and he had no other choice but to pay on his credit cards.

Having to pay for the thing myself

and then trying to solve the entire situation.

If you can imagine what that feels like, it is terrifying.

Now seriously short of cash,

Robert couldn't afford to stay near Patricia's new hospital.

He ended up staying in apartments borrowed from friends,

up to 60 miles away.

And he had to keep making the journey to the hospital

for the next 11 days.

Went to the hospital to see Patricia.

She couldn't make herself understood,

so I drew up little diagrams for her in the hospital

because there were no interpreters in that hospital,

pointing out when she wanted food, drink, to go to the toilet,

or she felt unwell, and she could just point with her left hand

for the nurses, exactly what she wanted. Erm...

(Difficult.)

At last, doctors decided Patricia was well enough to fly.

But with no insurance footing the bill,

there was no question of a "medical evacuation" to get them home.

They had to travel on an ordinary flight.

Just that we'd left there. I just was so glad to be going home.

But when they were safely home,

Robert still had that massive credit card bill to clear.

The only way he could raise the money was to re-mortgage their home.

And he still couldn't understand why their insurance

hadn't covered them when they needed it most.

I finally got told we hadn't declared all our medical conditions,

which was a complete surprise to me

because we believed we'd declared all our medical conditions

and our broker had all the medical conditions in...

as far as we were concerned

he had a copy of them all and he passed them on to Tokio Marine.

He arranged it.

But Tokio Marine insisted

they hadn't had the necessary information from anyone,

and without it, the couple simply weren't covered.

The insurers and the insurance broker,

I just felt they'd completely washed their hands of me,

which of course we didn't agree with,

and then we had to start fighting the case,

and the only way to fight the case, you can't afford a lawyer,

so you have to go through the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman took on the case but it can be a slow process.

Though they ruled in the couple's favour, the company appealed.

And it was only in August last year,

three years after it all happened,

that the Ombudsman told Tokio Marine

they had to honour the claim and pay out

on the grounds that Patricia's pre-existing conditions had nothing

to do with the brain haemorrhage she'd suffered on holiday.

I had no idea whether I was going to win the case or not

and he guided me through it.

When I finally found out I'd won the case I was quite elated.

The payment covered most of the medical bills and some

of the expenses that Robert incurred whilst Patricia was in hospital.

Robert feels it should have included compensation

for the three years of stress and worry he had fighting the claim.

But when we contacted Tokio Marine, they were very clear that,

though sympathetic about all that had happened,

they still don't feel they should have had to pay anything at all.

They maintain they were told nothing

about the couple's medical conditions,

and stressed that an insurance contract...

They also told us

that a qualified medical expert had confirmed their view that Patricia's

pre-existing conditions were linked to the events in Tenerife.

As such, they were...

We also contacted the broker who'd sold the policy,

and though he wouldn't comment in detail as the complaint is ongoing,

he disagreed with what Robert remembers, saying he wasn't aware

of the couple's medical conditions.

He doesn't keep records of such things,

and it was up to them to pass on that to the insurer.

Meanwhile, though delighted the Ombudsman found in their favour,

Robert and Patricia are frustrated

that getting this resolved has taken so long.

He says it's stressful for me

but he had it all on his shoulders when we were in Tenerife.

To think we went away with two credit cards, the EHIC cards,

and insurance cards,

we basically did belt and braces,

and to think we still had that problem

I still find it incredibly difficult to believe.

We did everything we possibly could.

Now whether you're someone who travels light,

and I hold my hand up, that's not me,

or you pack everything but the kitchen sink,

if you're going abroad, you'll usually need to take some luggage.

And I'm afraid that's a lot more complicated than it used to be.

Now we know from your letters and e-mails

just how frustrating many of you find it

when nowadays you'll often have to pay for the privilege

of taking a bag on a plane.

And that's made even worse by the fact that no two airlines

seem to agree on what size and weight they'll let you check in

or indeed carry on board.

I just guess, I never weigh mine.

My partner always weighs his case but I never weigh mine.

We've got, like, 20 kilos, one hand luggage...

erm, baggage what you put through the hold

and we've got two hand luggages of ten kilos.

So it is a bit confusing.

Big bags are big business for the airlines,

but it isn't always obvious when you're comparing flight costs

how much taking your bags will add to the price.

Because even if the cost per bag is clearly displayed,

and sometimes it's not,

it can be much harder to fathom what weight that bag can be

or whether your baggage allowance can be spread

between different members of the group.

However reluctantly, most of us have got used to the idea

of having to pay to check in a bag if we book with a bargain airline.

But you know, it's the sheer inconsistency of the rules

that you've told us can leave you feeling confused, angry,

and very often out of pocket.

Airlines have wildly different policies on baggage.

For instance, the standard allowance for a checked-in bag

on a Thomson Airways package holiday is 15kg.

But with rival Monarch you can carry up to 20.

Book with the budget airlines and it's an equally mixed picture.

Although you'll always have to pay to check in a bag,

with EasyJet it can be 20 kilos.

Yet fly with rival Jet2 and you can pack a bit extra.

They allow 22 kilos.

It's all very confusing. And getting it wrong can cost you dear.

The problems and the charges really start to hit

if you haven't been able to squeeze it all into your allowance.

Because if bag charges are a useful little earner for the airlines,

excess fees can be a goldmine.

Stray over the limit and Flybe charge you at least £12

for every kilo you are over.

With Thomas Cook Airlines it's a heftier £14.

The question is,

why can't the airlines just agree a common set of rules?

That way we'd all know exactly how much we should be packing.

You might want to ask an older person about the good old days

when there was a consistent weight limit around the world of 20kg.

That has gone years ago. What you've got now is every airline

setting its own policy for its own commercial reasons.

The budget airlines want to set the bar as low as possible.

15kg cos then they can charge you more for carrying more.

An airline like British Airways wants to say,

"We're a bit of a cut above the rest,

"23kg to you, sir or madam."

And then you have the Arab gulf-based airlines,

Etihad, Emirates saying,

"Even in Economy, you can carry 30kg of luggage.

It's all because they think they can make more money

out of you and me, the traveller, and they don't care how confused we are.

One way to avoid getting caught out at the airport is to invest in

some luggage scales so that you can weigh your bags before you set off.

Now they usually only cost a few quid, they're quite neat,

but they could save you a lot of bother and expense

when you actually get to the check-in desk.

But you may also need a tape measure.

That is where this is actually quite useful

because you have got the weighing and the tape measure.

Whereas with the bags you want to check in

it's weight that's the issue,

when it comes to hand luggage it's size that really does matter.

Once again, pick an airline, pick a different set of rules.

With carry-on bags, even the main scheduled carriers can't agree.

For instance, BA will let you take a bag a full ten centimetres wider

than KLM would allow.

To keep all the airlines happy,

you'd end up with a house full of different-sized bags!

The rules may vary,

but one thing most airlines would agree on is that,

provided you stick to them,

carrying on your hand luggage is free.

Or at least that was the case. But not any more.

Wizzair, a low-cost carrier

flying to cities in Eastern Europe, has broken ranks.

On this airline you don't just pay for putting a bag in the hold,

there's a charge if it can't go under the seat in front

and has to be put in the overhead locker!

And as if all that wasn't complicated enough,

baggage costs can even vary depending WHEN you fly.

Last year, Ryanair charged more for carrying luggage in high season

than they did for the rest of the year.

And Wizzair charge extra in the holiday periods as well.

In the end the only way to cut through all this without being

hit with unwelcome extra charges is to make sure you really check the

airline's small print on baggage before you even start to pack.

Maybe that extra pair of shoes isn't such a good idea after all.

Gloria, I must listen to my own advice.

Now, while millions of Brits flock to resorts like this one

every year, there are plenty more who have just as good a time

by taking their holidays in the good old UK.

And an increasingly popular way of doing that is in a static caravan.

Now nearly seven and a half million breaks

are taken in them every year,

and many of those will be by people who've bought their caravan.

That way, not only can they take a holiday whenever they choose,

but there's also the option of helping cover the costs

by letting it out when they don't want to use it.

Of course that all sounds ideal, and for many people it is,

but a problem can be that the rules about how and when you're allowed

to let your holiday home out are set by the park where you keep it.

And I'm afraid that can produce some very unwelcome surprises.

The British coast and seaside is as beautiful

and dramatic as anywhere in the world.

And many people who've found a spot they particularly love

have found a way to go back there as often as they like

by owning a static caravan.

There are 275,000 of them across the country.

And when Trevor and Elina Jenkins from Hereford began thinking about

joining the ranks of static caravan owners, it was because friends

told them about a way the investment can be made more affordable.

We had friends who had caravans in the past,

and we have had caravanning holidays and we just decided

to look for one and maybe subsidise it with subletting.

With money tight,

Trevor was taken with the idea that by renting out the caravan

when he and his family weren't using it, he could cover his costs.

Subletting, that was a way of paying for our holiday.

It would work out that we had a free holiday every year

and the ground rent would be paid from subletting.

Delighted with the idea,

Trevor started looking online for something in his price range.

And a holiday park on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent caught his eye.

Called Harts, it's part of the Park Holidays Group

and is a long-established site very popular since the 1940s.

Trevor and Elina drove down to take a look.

My wife loved it. She fell in love with it.

They have got a swimming pool, Jacuzzi.

They've got a club that has nightlife so, yes,

everything that we wanted was there.

Trevor and Elina had a budget of £6,500,

a substantial chunk of their life savings.

That wouldn't get them one of the latest models,

but there were still a few within that price range they could see,

including a 13-year-old one that caught their eye.

They were in good condition.

It had a fridge, a freezer, a built in radio.

So it had all the facilities

you would need for a holiday.

Confident the caravan could be let out to cover his annual costs,

Trevor bought it. But unfortunately,

his understanding of how the subletting would work

turns out to be wildly at odds with the holiday park's.

And that's all to do with the age of the caravan.

Like many parks, Harts won't generally sublet any

that are more than ten years old.

But they may relax this rule

if the caravan is in exceptionally good condition for its age,

and there's likely to be a high demand.

And there was certainly no doubt on that last point.

We were told before we decided to buy

that the park was particularly busy,

which it was when we went down to have a look,

it was absolutely packed.

So Trevor signed up to buy the caravan

at a cost of almost £4,000,

plus £2,500 to cover the park's fees and costs.

When we shook hands and walked away, we thought we had a good deal

and that we would have our holiday or two every year

and it wouldn't cost us a great deal of money in the future.

When he left, Trevor was under the impression

that the caravan he'd bought would be sub-let for him indefinitely.

In fact, the park had only agreed to do it for a year.

For the first year, all went as Trevor had hoped.

His caravan was rented out problem-free,

and the income did cover his costs.

We went down, had a holiday.

We spent a week down there and, erm, we came back.

Erm, the caravan was being rented regularly

and everything was going great.

It was only last summer, part way through the next holiday season,

that Trevor realised the deal wasn't what he'd thought it was.

Beginning of August, we had a letter from head office.

Ground rent bill for two thousand, three hundred and something pounds.

Trevor had believed that the park's annual bill would once again

be offset by the money raised from sub-letting the caravan.

Alarm bells started ringing.

He got straight on the phone to the holiday park.

That's when we were told

that the caravan had been taken off...

..the list for subletting

and it hadn't been let at all in 2012.

I was absolutely dumbstruck.

Trevor maintains he was never told

that the caravan would only be sub-let for one year,

something the holiday park "utterly refutes."

They've told us...

And they have...

That's partly because accommodation let for holiday guests must,

by law, be inspected on an annual basis before each season,

and subjected to various safety checks.

They've explained they were able to let it out the first year

because Trevor had only just bought it from them.

But they're adamant the arrangement was made sufficiently clear,

and that they'd written to Trevor several months before

last summer's bill explaining that he wouldn't be able

to take part in their sub-letting scheme the next season.

Now Trevor insists he never saw that letter.

But regardless of how

such a fundamental misunderstanding occurred,

the caravan is no longer paying for itself,

and he's stuck with an expense that he simply can no longer afford.

We just can't afford to keep it. We're going to have to sell it

or get it moved off, which is going to cost us even more money.

Trevor could continue sub-letting the caravan himself,

although to do so he'd have to take on

all the arrangements and responsibilities.

Or he could upgrade to a newer caravan.

But either way, that means costs that he wasn't expecting.

Which it seems isn't that uncommon.

Experts say, as with any large purchase,

it's crucial to do your research, and if necessary take advice,

before signing up to something that may not be quite what you think.

Meanwhile for Trevor,

what looked like an affordable way of enjoying regular trips

to the coast has quickly become a millstone he can't afford.

As far as selling it is concerned, we may end up having to scrap it

and paying for it to be removed from Harts site.

Perhaps I will go down with a sledgehammer,

break it up and get rid of it myself.

Still to come on Rip Off Britain,

a holiday company whose prices

can turn out a lot higher than you bargained for.

What you see on the internet is not the actual price you're going to pay.

If you're after somewhere just that little bit different

when planning a holiday, you don't have to spend a fortune

or compromise on comfort.

Take the good old youth hostel.

These days you're more likely to enjoy all the mod cons

than endure cold, shared dormitories.

There are now thousands of hostels worldwide, many of them

equivalent in standards to a good hotel.

There are hundreds of great places to stay in Britain

and abroad where you're going to be spending relatively little,

you are going to be staying very comfortably,

And you're not just going to meet young people.

In fact you're much more likely to meet older people, particularly

if you go off around the world to backpackers hostels where,

actually, I think the average age is probably upwards of 50.

If that's not your thing, the internet has unlocked all kinds

of possibilities when it comes to finding somewhere memorable to stay.

A really popular one is renting somebody's spare room.

It's a great idea! It's not the same as B&B,

it's actually quite a lot more relaxed than that and sometimes

you might even find that you get the whole place to yourself.

Simply not the kind of experience

you could possibly have found in a hotel.

And if you really want a home from home,

how about swapping your house with someone else

and get to stay in another part of the world for free?

Very simply, when you're on holiday, by definition you're not using

your house or your flat and somebody else could.

And of course there's plenty of people

who want to come to Britain.

They may well want to stay in your place

and it's simply a matter of putting the two together.

Almost always it's a very, very successful way

of travelling and spending less.

Next, a company that, considering it's hardly a household name,

is one that you've been making quite a few complaints about.

Not least because some of you say that after you've thought

you'd already booked a holiday at one price,

they've suddenly said you need to cough up more.

Last autumn, Merriel Brewer and her husband Mel

had more reason than most to be looking forward to a break.

They hadn't had a holiday for several years

because of poor health.

He was diagnosed with leukaemia

and had a bone marrow transplant in 2009.

It was only this year that they gave us the OK to travel.

In the last three years, I've had two hip operations

so we couldn't travel in any case with me as well,

so we've just had a little bit of a rough time over the last four years.

To put that right, Merriel wanted to book somewhere special,

so where better than the Turkish resort they'd been to

on honeymoon nine years ago?

We had a fabulous holiday on our honeymoon.

We chose the same place, really, it was like a second honeymoon.

A friend recommended an online booking site called Holiday Gems.

So Merriel logged on and was delighted to be able to book

the same apartment complex that they'd stayed in before.

I booked a holiday for a week,

flying from Bristol on the 9th October to Gumbet, Turkey.

Or at least she thought she'd booked it,

especially when an e-mail confirming what she wanted

pinged into her inbox.

Merriel assumed that all was now done and dusted.

And, with their budget limited, she was delighted

that they'd found a holiday at a price they could afford.

After I had put all the card details in and paid for it,

we were both very excited about it because we haven't been away

for four years and we just needed a break together.

But two days later, Merriel received a call from Holiday Gems.

She was told the flights she wanted had now gone up in price.

And, if she still wanted the holiday,

she'd have to pay the extra.

I was quite annoyed when I had the phone call,

because I thought it was all paid for.

But he said it had gone up and I thought,

"Oh, well we'll wear that one."

Merriel was given the option to cancel,

but not only did they really want the holiday,

they'd already arranged to meet friends there.

So she ended up paying £120 more than she'd expected.

Unhappy, Merriel decided to check what price Holiday Gems

were currently advertising for her holiday.

And a quick look online revealed

that the website was still showing it at the same price

that she was originally quoted,

with no mention of extra charges.

I was just annoyed. I said,

"Why should I be paying more than it was advertised on the internet?"

Because everything had been budgeted

and we had saved, you know, over the last four years to go.

But it seems that Merriel's experience is not a one-off.

Now, Holiday Gems may not be one of the biggest names

in the industry, but it is one that has cropped up

a surprising number of times in our postbag this year.

We've heard from people all over the country who have booked a holiday

through the Holiday Gems website only to find that the price they've

been quoted online is not the one that they've ended up paying.

Amongst the viewers we've spoken to

is Tony Gallagher from Hertfordshire,

who after choosing a family holiday to Gran Canaria

was contacted the next day and told that

he couldn't fly from his chosen airport unless he paid another £400.

Then there's the Raines family from Cumbria.

They'd gone for a week's holiday to Crete, but a few days after booking,

dad Stephen got a call from Holiday Gems saying

it would be an extra £150 for the flights.

With plenty of other people telling us similar experiences,

what is going on?

Well, the explanation is tucked away

in the company's Terms and Conditions, where it states that

when you enter your card details on the Holiday Gems site,

you're not buying a holiday there and then,

but "making an offer" for them to book the holiday you've picked.

They'll then check if they can get the travel you've chosen

at the price quoted.

And if they can't, and prices have gone up,

they'll then contact you asking for more money.

But the people we've spoken to didn't realise any of that

at the time when they were booking.

Their site isn't live.

What you see on the internet is not the actual price you're going to pay.

They don't actually explain everything to you.

So it's clear that the price stated on the website is just a quote

and not the final price you'll pay?

Holiday Gems say yes.

They're adamant it's all made very obvious and that

as you have to tick the box

saying you've understood the Terms and Conditions...

They reiterated that they're simply an online travel agency,

and as such are wholly reliant on their supplier's prices,

which...

If the final amount turns out to be different than the initial quote,

they stress customers can either simply authorise them

to take any additional payment, or...

But while our postbag suggests not all customers do find things

quite as clear as the company thinks,

stories like this are a reminder that before you ever tick the box

saying you accept any company's Terms and Conditions,

you really do need to read them and understand exactly what they are.

You've sent us a lot of letters and e-mails about your holiday gripes.

So we've brought some of them with us to Tenerife

to run past our travel expert Simon Calder

and fellow travel writer Fred Mawer.

One is an issue that comes up time and again.

Fred, I'm going to say two words. Single supplement.

You're smiling, because you know we get loads and loads

of letters and e-mails about this.

This one is from Beryl Foreman of Leicestershire who says that

she went on a cruise, wanted a single cabin,

was told that she had to pay a supplement

whereas if she only paid an extra 400 quid

she could have taken someone with her and got a spacious double cabin.

And actually, we hear this so often.

It's not just on cruises,

it's on every kind of holiday you can imagine.

People who travel alone pay more and get less.

It is one of the big bugbears of travel at the moment.

If you want a single cabin on a cruise ship

you'll be paying through the nose for it.

-Something tiny, near the engines.

-Well, that's the double problem.

The double problem is you're likely to pay more, and also,

you're likely to get a much worse deal

because you'll be put, as you say, in the nasty cabin,

kind of inside cabin close to the engines.

And the other frustrating thing I have found,

when I've been travelling on my own,

is that even when the cruise ship isn't full

and there are lots of beautiful double cabins available

they still put you in the pokey single room.

So is there hope for the future that as more

and more people need to travel on their own

because of family or individual circumstances,

that more and more companies will realise that actually

there is money to be made from single travellers

and it's not just from charging them a supplement?

Yes, I think it comes down, it's the financial imperative that

if these companies realise that more single people are willing to travel

and likely to travel if they're not,

if they don't feel that they're going to be ripped off

then hopefully the holiday companies will see sense

and charge a fair price.

Now, if you cancel a holiday, it's not unreasonable

for the holiday company you booked with to perhaps charge for doing so.

But if it's the company themselves that cancel it,

well, is it still reasonable that it's you

that ends up being landed with a fee?

If you think not,

then spare a thought for people who found themselves

exactly in that position after booking a cruise

with one of the biggest names in the business.

For Peter and Ginny Pritchard from Milton Keynes

there's only one type of holiday. Cruises!

They went on their first one

to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary 25 years ago.

And they've been on plenty more since then.

What we like about it is the fact that every morning when you wake up

and you're in a different location.

You don't have to keep packing your bags

because you take your hotel room with you.

I just have to pack my bags, well, even he packs my bags for me

because I can't do it, so he says.

And off we go.

Always on the lookout for their next voyage, when the couple heard

that P&O Cruises had a new addition to their fleet, the Adonia,

they were very keen to try it,

and to take their good friend Peggy with them.

A new ship, some destinations that we hadn't travelled to before,

and we thought this would be absolutely great,

to get away, to take our dear friend with us, Peggy.

Peter went online to hunt down the best deal.

And he came across an agency called Planet Cruise.

With a website boasting several awards and numerous happy customers,

they seemed the perfect company to organise their special trip.

So Peter booked a ten-day cruise with them,

to leave around this time last year.

We booked the Adonia.

We were to sail on the 3rd January from Italy.

We were to fly out to Italy and to sail back through

many of the Mediterranean ports and back to Southampton.

But shortly before they were due to set sail,

they had some very disappointing news.

I received a telephone call just before Christmas

from Planet Cruise to say "You're not going after all."

It was absolutely mind-blowing.

P&O Cruises had cancelled the voyage,

because of "operational difficulties."

But, they said everyone would be entitled to a full refund because,

after all, it was their fault the cruise wasn't going ahead.

P&O offered us a refund, in full, of our monies

and in addition,

they offered us an additional 25% as a cruise credit to be

used against some future cruise with them to be booked on a later date.

Personally, I felt that that was most reasonable.

But when Peter called Planet Cruise, the company he'd booked with,

they told him about a clause in their small print,

which seemed to make P&O's offer not quite as good as he'd thought.

Unless we booked that other cruise through them

within a 12-week period that we would have to suffer

a deduction of £150 each

from the refund that P&O were offering.

We were not in a position to book another cruise at that time.

Included in Planet Cruise's Terms and Conditions

was a cancellation fee of £150 per passenger.

And Peter was told that

if a customer cancels a booked cruise for any reason,

whether it's their fault or not, they have to pay this fee.

So it seemed that if he didn't rebook

another trip with Planet Cruise within 12 weeks,

he'd be classified as cancelling,

and the fee would be taken off his refund.

And in his case, because he'd booked two cabins,

that would mean losing hundreds of pounds.

I fully appreciate that if, for whatever reason,

I decided that we wanted to cancel the cruise,

I fully expect that I am going to be penalised in some way

for having changed my mind.

But I didn't change my mind. We were simply told that we couldn't go.

Outraged at the prospect of paying a cancellation fee

for something he didn't cancel, Peter also contacted P&O Cruises.

P&O informed me that they were duty bound to return our payment

to the cruise agent rather than direct to us.

Feeling all this was unfair, Peter decided to contact ABTA,

The Association of British Travel Agents,

to see if they could help.

ABTA's advice was for him to take his case

to their arbitration scheme, but it would cost him!

They wanted me to send an arbitration fee of £180

and I didn't dare to risk spending another £180

on top of the £600 that they had already charged us.

Not willing to risk losing any more money,

Peter and Ginny decided the only thing for it was to do

what Planet Cruise had said, and book another cruise right away.

But sadly their friend Peggy

wasn't able to reschedule the cruise within the time frame.

So when she got back her share of the original cruise costs,

it was minus the amount of the cancellation charge.

I thought the fact that they was taking that money off of me,

I was really angry about it.

And it's very unjust.

When we contacted Planet Cruise they were adamant that in the end,

the cancellation charge wasn't applied.

They accept that...

..in the way...

but insist that...

They say a sum equal to the cancellation fees,

including Peggy's,

was discounted from the price of Peter's replacement cruise,

so no-one is out of pocket.

Peter disputes that,

but either way, his main beef is that he doesn't feel

there should ever have been talk of a cancellation fee at all.

Or that the company should have been able to use the threat of it

to encourage him into making a new booking.

Planet Cruise is a member of ABTA

and makes clear that it abides by strict codes of conduct.

But when we discussed the case with ABTA,

they agreed that a cancellation charge should not have come into it.

It is wrong. It's wrong and it's a breach of our code of conduct.

My understanding is that the customer has had a full refund.

If she hasn't then she should get it

and we will certainly take that up with the companies.

But this actually is a classic case, isn't it, of somebody...

you freely admit that Planet Cruise has done something incorrect here,

that they should never have charged a cancellation fee,

so it suggests to me that there's not much monitoring going on

as far as ABTA's concerned.

Millions of holidays are sold by our members every year.

We do have monitoring procedures in place and they're very effective.

What measures do you take to make sure that an ABTA member

sticks to your code of conduct?

The most common way that members are punished, if you like,

if they do something wrong, if they breach the code

would be through fines.

We also have what's called a code of conduct committee.

That code of conduct committee has a lot of bite

and members have been and can be fined

or even expelled from the Association.

Meanwhile Peter and Ginny hope to arrange

another cruise with Peggy in the future.

And though they can't wait to set sail again, next time,

they'll be much more wary of the small print.

I think the treatment that we've received from Planet Cruise

has been abysmal.

To make such an excessive charge

for something that was not our fault

leaves me absolutely astounded.

Here at Rip Off Britain, we're always ready to investigate

your stories on any subject, not just holidays.

Confused over your bills?

Trying to wade through never-ending small print?

We should read it, but it's not in plain English.

It should be simple, you know, ABC, very basic stuff.

You might have a cautionary tale of your own, and want to share

the mistakes you've made with us, so that others don't do the same.

We paid them good money to work in our best interest. They didn't.

You can write to us at...

Or send us an e-mail to...

The Rip Off team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.

Well, I think we all know that holidays can be

expensive enough at the best of times.

So the last thing you want is to be hit with extra costs

that you hadn't expected.

But it does seem that all too often,

pinning down the exact price that you're going to pay

is still far more complicated a process than it really should be,

-don't you think?

-Couldn't agree more.

It's particularly frustrating

when you've actively sought out what you think is a really good deal,

only to suddenly be told that you've got to pay more

and there's absolutely nothing that you can do about it.

So it's easy to see why so many of you have told us

that you find that truly unfair.

We'll be looking at this topic again, so keep your examples coming.

And in the meantime, don't forget, we've plenty of advice,

not just to do with holidays, on our website.

Well, we're out of time for today,

but we'll see you again soon to investigate more of your stories.

So until then from all of us...

-Bye-bye.

-And thanks for being around today.

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