Episode 5 Rip Off Britain: Holidays

Tenerife so that we can all get in the holiday mood because this week

we're investigating unpleasant experiences that some of you have

had with your holidays. And making sure that whatever you're spending

be it pounds, euros, dollars, anything else, you are really

getting value for your money. course. Now, you know whether it's

at home or abroad, holidays, rarely come cheap and they can take an

awful lot of time and trouble to organise in the first place. But of

course, sometimes it's the planning that is all part of the fun. But

you do need to be sure your hard- earned cash is buying you exactly

what you expected. And I'm afraid you've been telling us about

situations where it's done nothing of the kind. Absolutely. We'll be

hearing some really outrageous stories about people who don't feel

they got what they paid for. Or for that matter for anything at all.

We'll try to find out why and we'll have some excellent advice to stop

the same thing happening to you. Coming up: The innocent holiday

makers being threatened with court action for money they don't even

owe I was very distressed about it and I felt we were being harassed.

And, why this couple's travel company left them stranded in the

middle of the night at a hotel that had been closed for months. I was

absolutely dumfounded at their total lack of interest. We've got

your money, tough. Sometimes you tell us about companies that aren't

simply giving bad service, they don't seem to be providing any

service at all. And here's one that appears to be a classic example of

exactly that. Their website says that they offer "creative travel

solutions", but who would have guessed that creativity meant that

some customers have paid hundreds of pounds for cheap flights and

then received absolutely nothing in return? I do not understand how

people can do this to other people. I asked them, how do you sleep at

night? When we search the web for the best flight prices, we don't

always look quite so carefully into the reputation of the companies

offering them and that can end up costing you dearly, as it has Dev

Day and his fiancee Shalu. They needed flights to Kenya after being

invited to a wedding. A friend that I went to school with was getting

married and they chose Mombasa as the destination. So we were

delighted to go, delighted to be invited. For me it was an

unmissable event. Dev and Shalu were among dozens of friends and

family who were invited to Kenya to celebrate the big day and word very

quickly spread about a website that seemed to be offering a really

great deal to get them all there. It belonged to a company called

Azzy Travel Ltd, not to be confused with companies of a similar name.

lot of the wedding party had mentioned Azzy and we hadn't come

across them before. It looked like a good travel website, the price

was fairly decent so we decided to book with them. Meanwhile, in

Nottingham Dr Narendra Sharma was after flights to the same wedding

and also heard there were low fares being advertised by Azzy Travel.

looked at the website. They looked quite impressive, they looked quite

legitimate. So Dr Sharma called them to book the flights. But,

unusually, they wouldn't let him pay by credit card. The only way we

had to give them money was by transfer of money through my bank

account which I did on the same day. In London, Dev and Shalu were also

surprised to be asked to pay by bank transfer and not with a card.

It was a bit strange when they asked for the payments to be made

by bank transfer. You know question marks were raised but since there

was such a big group doing it you tend not to question these things.

So, Shalu went ahead and transferred the money for two

flights to Azzy Travel's bank account, just as Dr Sharma had done.

But that didn't mean any of them got their tickets. They were told

they'd be sent them via e-mail, but nothing showed up in their inbox.

So as time passed with no sign of the tickets he'd paid �1,350 for Dr

Sharma chased Azzy Travel to see what was going on. They said, "Yes,

your e-ticket will be issued on Monday." Monday came and went with

no tickets so he rang Azzy Travel again, this time speaking to a

manager. He said there was a problem, the airline was actually

over booked so we have to find alternative dates. So we agreed on

an alternative date with an understanding that tickets would be

issued to me the same day. But they weren't. And in London Dev and

Shalu were being led a very similar dance as they tried to get hold of

their tickets. They said that our tickets would be issued, we would

just have to be patient. So we kind of waited until the end of the week

and nothing came. No e-mails. went to the point when I was

calling them two to three times a day and nothing. And with the

wedding getting closer, Dr Sharma had also had enough of Azzy

Travel's constant reassurances that his tickets would soon be on their

way. I said, "No, I want the tickets now. If you can't issue

today, what is the hitch? Cancel my tickets and I want a full refund

now. He said, "Since the tickets can't be issued today, your refund

will be available soon." But you guessed it, just like the tickets

the promised refund didn't arrive. So faced with the prospect of

missing the ceremony both sets of wedding guests felt they had no

alternative but to cough up the cash for a second time and buy

tickets to Kenya from someone else. Ultimately it is such a good

friend's wedding we had to make the decision should we just go anyway

even if we don't get the money back? I rang KLM airline and they

gave me a ticket within five minutes of being paid on credit

card. The wedding itself was the unforgettable experience they'd

hoped for. When we got there for the one week, for the whole week we

forgot about the Azzy situation. But when they got home, there was

still no joy getting their promised refunds. Four times a week I would

call them and they would say the cheque had been put in the account,

"Your cheque is being processed, we are banking your cheque today, the

money should be in your account." They were lying through their teeth

Other members of the wedding party who experienced the same sort of

problems with Azzy Travel did get them resolved after threatening

legal action, but it seems the company has a bit of a track record

of this kind of thing. A quick search online turns up plenty more

customers who also claim that after they handed over cash they got

absolutely nothing in return. wrote to Azzy Travel for an

explanation, but they didn't respond to any of the letters or e-

mails we sent them. So we decided to phone the company and see if we

could get an explanation as to why some customers have paid thousands

of pounds for flights but never had their tickets. Just a moment

please.Thank you. But over a number of fruitless calls it soon became

clear exactly what Dev, Dr Sharma and other unhappy Azzy Travel

customers were up against. Do you know when he might be free? That's

right, yes, I'd like to speak with him now if I may? Wait there.

Regarding what? Regarding Azzy travel? What's Azzy travel? We've

had an awful lot of people get in touch with us telling us they tried

to book tickets through Azzy travel, you ask them for money, they send

you money and they don't ever get their tickets, can you explain why?

You are speaking wrong, we are not that type of people. We are giving

refunds exactly right. We made more calls to Azzy Travel later and

eventually they did answer some of our questions, blaming problems on

difficulties the company has been experiencing with the internet and

one of its phone numbers. They also said though refunds are generally

paid within a week, they sometimes take longer. But there's good news

for Dev, Shalu, and Dr Sharma. After we got involved, and they'd

also looked into action through the small claims court, their money was

finally refunded. On top of that, when we passed on the names of

other customers who hadn't had their tickets they were given their

money back too. Meanwhile, though Dr Sharma is relieved to have got

his money back at last, in future, he'll be wary of buying anything

without the protection he'd get by paying with a credit card. I have

strong advice for all my friends and colleagues and public in

general - never to transfer money electronically for any purpose. Use

your credit card or debit card and use a travel agency which is well

reputed, trusted or with one which The last thing that anyone wants

when you go on holiday is to fall ill, or need medical treatment.

Which is why most peple who travel in Europe recognize that an

essential part of their travel kit is one of these. You can take it to

any of the 27 countries in the European Union, plus a couple more

besides, and if you need it, you're entitled to the same state-funded

medical care as all the locals. The European Health Insurance card, or

E.H.I.C card, was introduced in 2006 to replace the old E-111 form

that used to do the same job. Everyone needs their own individual

card, and though it doesn't replace the need for travel insurance, it

won't cover you if you need to be brought back to Britain. Unlike

that travel insurance, the card still covers you if you've got any

pre-existing conditions. Four million of us apply or renew one

every year. But does that mean everyone who might need one knows

they should have it? Do you know they should have it? Do you know

what this is the European Health Insurance card? Guess what I don't

know what it is. I have one but I'm not even sure I know what it is

actually if I'm perfectly honest with you. Can you tell her what it

is? I've no idea. I just had it when I lived abroad. Is it like an

E111?Exactly. Well, if I was to be injured or had to go to hospital

when I'm abroad, then I'd have to when I'm abroad, then I'd have to

use it then, right? I thought everyone automatically had one to

be honest. I thought you had to pay for it. A key thing to remember

about these cards is that you don't have to pay anything at all to get

one. But that hasn't stopped some people appearing online saying

something rather different. In fact, they are trying to make you part

with your cash to get your hands on something you can get for

absolutely nothing. When David and Rose Atkinson found their cards had

expired, they did what most of us do these days if we want to find

something. They went online, typed the letters EHIC into a search

engine, and clicked on the first site to come up. The first one that

came up looked fairly authentic, first website, so I went on to the

site filled the forms in, found out that I had to pay and I paid for

the two which I think was about �7.50 each. That doesn't sound much.

But there was more to pay too. then requested another �5 for

express clearance and as we were planning on going within two or

three weeks we decided that the best thing to do was to pay up.

Didn't think any more about it Now, there's no shortage of websites to

help you get your card. Among them you'll find the one you really

should be going to, this one, the official NHS one. But there are

also plenty of other sites that will charge a processing fee for

handling your application. It won't be a lot of money, just enough to

ensure you don't get suspicious. Unaware he didn't need to pay a

penny for his card, David, like so many others, went ahead and handed

over his cash. It was the next week before he realized he didn't need

to have handed over a penny when he happened to get chatting in his

local Post Office. We were still waiting for the cards to arrive and

I just happened to mention about EHIC renewals and they said, "You

should have done that here," and I said, "I see they're now charging

for them," and they pointed out that they are free. And that's when

the alarm bells started ringing. It wasn't just the money it was the

fact they had obtained our personal details which we are not too happy

about. Personal details including NHS, national insurance numbers,

where we are, our Barclaycard details. When I investigated I

found that this wasn't the official government website. Companies like

the one whose site David used are doing nothing illegal, they

maintain that all they charge for is helping people with their

application, not for the free card itself. And some of them, including

the one David found, dosay in the small print that you can get the

card from the NHS for free. But the Department of Health has reiterated

that you don't need to use such sites, telling us they recommend

people use the official EHIC application website, which is

entirely free of charge. They say third-party websites still have to

use the EHIC application system, therefore it's cheaper to go

straight to the official website. If you're not on the internet,

don't worry, you can pick up the relevant form at your nearest post

office. But if you do have access to the web and you really do want

to get the best out of your European health card, go to a site

you can trust. Go to our site. You will find everything you need to

know all on the website. Next, how important is your choice of hotel

if you're going abroad? Most people would say it's fundamental. So if

you've carefully selected the one you want and it seems you've booked

it as part of a package, you're obviously going to expect that

that's where you'll be staying. But that's not how things turned out

for the next families who contacted us. And the way they found out

could hardly have been worse. was turning into a nightmare.

Holidays shouldn't be nightmares. couldn't believe what had actually

happened to us. We were in a state of shock, really. I just had to

turn around to my mum and say, "I want to get out of here." These

people had all organised their holidays through an online company

called Travelsoon. Dave and Jan Brookes had booked after seeing on

the site what looked like the perfect hotel. It was a fortnight

all inclusive in the Club Aqua in Gumbet, Turkey. It looked amazing,

just what we were looking for. I saw quite an idyllic place with a

nice pool and the rooms looked good and comfortable and clean and we

thought we'd struck gold. So last May, they set off for Turkey. After

a five hour delay at the airport, they landed in the middle of the

night and immediately got on the bus supposed to take them to their

hotel. We boarded the bus, they took us to a hotel in Gumbet which

we thought was the Club Aqua only to find out it was the wrong hotel.

And unfortunately it wasn't simply a matter of the bus taking them on

somewhere else. Because Jan and Dave were about to discover some

terrible news about their hotel. found the Club Aqua hotel and

adjacent hotel security guard met us and said that the Club Aqua had

been closed. The Club Aqua was shut for refurbishment. But that vital

information hadn't been passed on to Dave and Jan who now had nowhere

to stay. I wanted to cry then, I'd had more than enough and to be

perfectly honest if they'd turned round and taken me to the airport

to put me on the plane back to Manchester, I'd have been happy at

that I'd had enough. Tired, hungry, and with no bed for the night, the

Brookes had to ask the transfer driver to help them find a hotel.

And when they found somewhere they had to fork out for it themselves.

At this stage it was approximately 4.30 in the morning. There was no

help forthcoming from anybody I couldn't get in touch with the reps,

I couldn't get in touch with the agents, nobody, so basically all I

had to do was cough up the money and go to bed. Next morning Dave

rang Travelsoon for an explanation. And they were soon moved to a

different hotel. But of course it wasn't the one they'd chosen and in

fact was in an entirely different resort. I understand that things do

change, it happens and that is acceptable, but what isn't

acceptable is that they didn't have the manners or the professionalism

to tell us. Arriving in the middle of the night to find the hotel

you'd booked isn't even open may sound bad enough. But things turned

out even worse for Anne Mackay and her daughter Jo-Lee when they too

booked a holiday on the Travelsoon site. We were going on holiday to

celebrate Joe-Lee's 24th birthday. I was looking forward to the

holiday. I had never been on holiday with just me and my mum

before. And it seemed they'd found the perfect place. The Royal

Panacea Hotel in Turkey. The hotel looked really good on the website.

The rooms, everything about it looked nice, The scenery was really

nice as well When she showed me the pictures, the rooms looked

absolutely beautiful. It did look like a nice treat. And when they

got to the hotel it more than met their expectations. I was really

impressed. I couldn't believe I was staying in a hotel like that. I was

just so big. It was all marble, it looked absolutely beautiful.

Luxurious, thought I had gone to heaven. But just hours later there

was an unexpected knock on their hotel room door. The man at the

door asked us to go down to the reception to speak to the manager.

We were a bit worried what he was going to say. Just wondered why he

was wanting to see us. We met with the hotel manager at reception and

he just basically said, "You don't have a booking with us, you have to

leave my hotel now." The manager was very aggressive. He said it was

our travel agent's fault, not his fault, and for us to get in touch

with our travel agent Anne couldn't understand what the manager was

telling her. This was definitely the hotel she'd booked. So why were

they being turfed out? I was annoyed, angry and upset and I knew

that this was the hotel that we had booked and why was he asking us to

leave? It turns out the Royal Panacea was overbooked. So without

knowing about it Ann and Jo-Lee had been moved to a different hotel.

And the manager made clear they had no choice but to go there. He said

you have ten minutes, ten minutes to pack your stuff, I just wanted

to get out of there. They were even forced to pay for the cab to the

new hotel, which, though also classed as four star, wasn't quite

in the same league. When we got in there it stunk of faeces. It wasn't

nice at all. The balcony was tiny, the lamp on the ceiling was hanging

off the wall. It was just basic beds. It just wasn't the luxury we

So, how on earth did these booked and paid for holidays go so wrong?

Well, like many companies offering holidays on the internet,

Travelsoon isn't itself a tour operator. It's just an agent

offering services organized by other parties. So, a holiday that

looks like a complete package can, in fact, be made up of lots of

different arrangements involving a whole chain of other companies.

You're reliant on each of them passing the right information on.

And, in these two situations, that didn't happen. In Dave and Jan's

case, Travelsoon say clearly there was a breakdown in communication

between themselves and their hotel supplier, which is deeply

regrettable. That supplier has explained the re-opening of the

hotel was delayed but they regret the inconvenience and

disappointment caused. Between them, the two companies will reimburse

the couple's extra costs and have As for the overbooking at Anne and

Jo-Lee's hotel, Travelsoon say they weren't told about it by their

supplier, who, in turn had booked it through another company, who

hadn't advised them either. Anne will be getting a partial refund,

plus money back for that taxi. Travelsoon also tell us their site

makes the nature of all bookings clear, and that provided they are

notified of any changes, they do pass them on to customers. But,

clearly, the nuts and bolts of a modern holiday can be more

complicated than they may appear. And these holidaymakers say they

won't be booking with Travelsoon again. Absolutely not. I wouldn't

even recommend them to me worst enemy. I was really upset that my

birthday had turned out like that. I didn't blame my mum at all. She

had booked a nice hotel and that Still to come on Rip Off Britain: A

ruined holiday, with no-one accepting the blame. I just think

that is totally wrong they are just sort of making excuses they are

As we've met people here in Tenerife, it's been reassuring to

hear that most holidays turn out the way we want them to. But not

everything goes smoothly. Barry and his family like to spend as much

We love Tenerife. We have a great reception each time we come over.

We use different websites to get flights but they can be expensive.

When you get through online, it is the added costs. Baggage and taxis.

The cost of using debit and credit cards is ridiculous. Budget

airlines are the cause of a lot of the letters and e-mails you send us.

But, recently, one of the big names has introduced a change in the way

they sell their seat - as our travel expert, Simon Calder,

I have to ask you, Simon. I have travelled with easyJet recently and

suddenly they are assigning me a seat. Is this a trend? Or is it a

trick? That is what some people have been saying to Rip Off Britain.

Are they just trying to squeeze more money out of us. It is very

interesting. EasyJet, Britain's biggest airline in terms of

passenger numbers. Over the past year, what they have been doing is

testing out the idea. What they have been doing is, over the last

year, testing out the idea of whether it is a good idea to assign

seating. Now people are saying, hang on, it is just a trick to

squeeze more money out of us. They want �3 to assign a seat, more than

that if you want extra leg room or a seat at the front. It is not as

bad as that. My reading of it, if you are a family, you have booked

together, you can expect to be seated together, as long as you

don't mind whereabouts on the plane, you should be all right. We shall

see. They don't absolutely guarantee it. They do say they will

try. But while it may be getting easier to sit together, you've told

us there things about booking with any airline that drive you

absolutely mad. This summer, when we went to Lanzarote, we were sort

of when we were booking the flight, we were just looking at first, and

every time we looked online, it had gone up another �20 or something.

Our daughters were going, so it ended up a lot more than what we

envisaged by the time we booked it. So, yeah, there is something going

on, isn't there? Now, most of us come back from a trip abroad with

nothing more than some pleasant memories. A few good photographs,

perhaps a bigger than normal credit card bill and the odd souvenir that

really seemed to be a good idea at the time but will end up gathering

dust in the corner. So, spare a thought for those who've been left

with a much less welcome reminder of their holiday. They're being

chased for a bill of hundreds of pounds that, as far as they were

aware, the company they travelled with should have already taken care

of. Unfortunately, that was only the start, because what arrived in

Sri Lanka, a paradise island shaped like a tear drop in the Indian

Ocean. It was once described by explorer Marco Polo as the finest

island of its size in all the world. And Les and Pauline Marks from

Gravesend would definitely agree. It's a beautiful island as you fly

in over the palm trees and the sparkling water. Why do you lose

your heart to these places? But Sri Lanka took ours anyway. The food is

very good, the people are very helpful. Yeah, it's just everything,

Keen to introduce the island to their friends, John and Shirley,

with whom they share a passion for cricket, the couple organised a

trip to Sri Lanka at a time when England would be playing a Test

series. And Pauline went straight to the company with whom they'd

booked trips to the island with before - Mercury Direct. I didn't

actually look anywhere else for this holiday because we had been

pleased with Mercury before and they had the hotel that we wanted.

So, Pauline booked and paid for 14 nights at the Villa Ocean View

Hotel, going for an all-inclusive package at a total cost of

�1,089.50 each. We're pensioners. It's nice to know that, once you

have paid up front, you have paid for everything really. With their

costs covered, the only additional spend was in order to hear the

whack of leather on willow at the Test match. I don't think we saw a

wicket fall all day long and the ladies actually fell asleep. I did,

yes. Both of them were like this. But England's performance on the

pitch didn't hamper the rest of the holiday. I enjoyed it even more

this time because we can show John and Shirley things they hadn't seen

before. We found the hotel comfortable, the food was good. As

far as the hotel is concerned, we had nothing to complain about.

at least, not at the time. But four months after getting home, long

after their tans had faded, Pauline and Les received something through

their letterbox that really took the colour from their cheeks It was

A shock to receive the letter. thought there had been a mistake.

The letter was from a Sri Lankan lawyer, claiming their hotel bill

was unpaid, and they'd need to pay 966 US dollars to settle it, or

face going to court. That's the hotel bill that Les and Pauline

assumed had been settled months ago by Mercury Direct. I e-mailed

immediately and said, you know, "Have you got the right room

number? Because we booked our holiday all-inclusive with Mercury

Direct Holidays." Les and Pauline couldn't understand why they were

being hit with a bill for a holiday they'd already paid for. It seemed

unbelievable. It all started to become a bit frightening.

couple rang Mercury Direct to find out what was going on and were

reassured to be told that they should ignore the letter they'd

received from Sri Lanka, which was all apparently down to a dispute

between the two companies. They had an issue with the hotel, and

nothing to do with us. We shouldn't be involved so just forget it,

ignore it. But a few days later, another letter came through the

door. I think, when we received the second letter, which was an

acknowledgment of the fact they were very aware that we had bought

and paid for an all-inclusive holiday with Mercury but, hard luck,

Mercury hadn't paid, so now we are coming after you. Down to you, yes.

And the pressure kept mounting. More letters arrived with the Sri

Lankan postmark they had begun to dread. To make things worse, their

friends, Shirley and John, were also getting the same threatening

letters. Everything that has been sent to us has been sent to them.

Pauline and Les were desperate to get to the bottom of it all, and

terrified by the tone of the letters. I was very distressed

about it. And I felt we were being harassed. I felt it was unfair that

we had been involved in something through absolutely no fault of our

own. And then, the letters from Sri Lanka started to warn of much

scarier consequences. To then be told, that unless we pay this money,

court proceedings will be instituted against us in the

District Court for recovery of the money. And, following that, a

letter stating that our names and addresses were going to be

published in the hotel trade magazine as defaulters against the

The last thing Les and Pauline wanted was anything that might

threaten their ability to return to the island they love so much.

were marked down as defaulters, would we ever be able to travel in

Sri Lanka? Would it impact on Well, by this stage, they were

getting very worried. But when they went online, they found that they

weren't alone. Other people who'd stayed at the same hotel, after

booking with Mercury Direct, had left reports on the internet saying

they too were receiving the same threatening letters. I was very

concerned and very worried but comforted a bit by the fact that,

because I have been in touch with all these other people on Trip

Advisor, every bad thing that happened here, every nasty letter

that came was also going through their doors. We were all talking

about it together on the internet and it made you feel like you

weren't alone. We contacted both the hotel and holiday company

Mercury Direct to find out why their dispute has left innocent

holidaymakers harassed. The hotel reiterated its position that

they're owed money withheld by Mercury Direct but also claimed

that they'd sent people like Les and Pauline letters in order that

those former guests might persuade the holiday company to settle the

dispute. Which, of course, isn't how any of their letters came

across. For their part, Mercury Direct have told us they've found

the letters shocking and inappropriate and they can well

understand the stress and upset caused. They say that not only do

they disagree with the hotel's claims but it's enormously

regrettable their customers have been dragged into it all. They

advise anyone getting these letters to ignore them, saying there is no

valid legal claim against them and the letters sent are spurious.

They've made clear to the hotel what they think about its

oppressive conduct and their website no longer advertises the

But, until the two sides sort out their differences, Les, Pauline -

and everyone else in the same position - can only wait to see

what threats the next delivery will bring. You wonder what is coming in

the post the next day. You just don't know. So, yes, it has been

upsetting. Some nights you go to bed and you think about it. So,

When it comes to holidays, many of us are creatures of habit. We find

a hotel we like, so we stick to it. That way, you know what you'll be

getting, and there won't be any horrible surprises later on. But

that doesn't mean you can assume the facilities will stay the same

each time you visit, as our next viewers found to their cost. On

their return to a much-loved hotel, they weren't able to enjoy the very

thing that had made them want to go back in the first place. So, if a

major part of your holiday isn't going to be available, shouldn't

Year-round sunshine has made Tenerife a favourite destination

for Brits. And among the one and a half million people to visit last

year were Maggie, her sister, Kathleen, and her husband, Brian,

and also their friend, Maureen. They like to holiday together and

had enjoyed a perfect week relaxing by the hotel pool. We went to the

resort last year and it was lovely, absolutely beautiful. So we just

thought we'd go back again this year. As they wanted exactly the

same holiday experience, at the same hotel, it made sense to use

the travel agent they'd booked with last time - Broadway Travel of

Luton - not to be confused with other firms with similar names. So,

all was quickly arranged, and they looked forward to another

successful trip. It is a major treat for us because we are all

pensioners. We were really looking forward to it and it is a great

treat for us to go on holiday now. This is the hotel that they'd

enjoyed so much on their first visit. But, this time, the Dream

Villa Tagoro didn't live up to its name. Because, when they arrived,

it looked very different. We just stood on the top from the reception,

which is high up and looked down. And we just looked down at a

building site. The pool was gone, it was all fenced off, building

going on. The bar was gone, everything. It was awful,

absolutely awful. We couldn't believe it. Maggie and her friends

were devastated. And they were confused. Why had no-one told them

just how extensive the building work was? And, in particular, why

hadn't they been warned that the pool area they'd previously enjoyed

so much would be out of bounds? were let down. There's no other

word for it. Very disappointed. they left it until Brian, after

they have booked us all in and give us our keys, and then said, there

is a slight problem with the pool and that is really bad, really bad.

With all the group in their 70s, the pool area had been a key part

of the hotel's appeal. They didn't want to be negotiating their way

across the island to the beach. And though the hotel did organise

facilities they could use elsewhere, that wasn't what they'd booked and

paid for. By this stage, the friends were getting more than a

little cheesed off that their break wasn't going the way they'd hoped.

So, in desperation, Maggie tried to contact Broadway Travel back in the

UK, to see if she and her friends could be moved somewhere with fewer

cement mixers and rather more pool loungers. She just couldn't get

through. We just wanted to enjoy ourselves and we couldn't. We were

literally sort of phoning, phoning, phoning all the time. With no

prospect of being able to change hotel, the group had no choice but

to grin and bear it. We just literally wasted our money. OK, we

went out to the sun but you could do that anywhere but have a good

holiday. We didn't want to sit round a building site. Once back

home in the UK, Maggie contacted Broadway Travel again. We wrote an

e-mail too. Sent an e-mail and attached all the photos I had taken

and sent them to them. For six months virtually, it has been e-

mails backwards and forward, backwards and forwards and had no

joy from them at all. Because Maggie hadn't managed to get

through to the company while she was away, Broadway Travel disputed

that she'd even tried to contact them. We hadn't got through to them

but we were continually trying, you know. Three days and then we gave

up trying to get through to them. Broadway Travel also insisted to

Maggie that this wasn't their fault. Instead they blamed their

accommodation supplier, a company called Low Cost Beds, who they said

hadn't made them aware that the building works were under way.

Maggie contacted Low Cost Beds too. And so began a classic round of

pass the buck. They just didn't seem to want take responsibility.

They blamed Low Cost Beds. Low Cost Beds blamed Broadway Travel and

that's how it went on. I just think that that is just totally wrong.

They were just making excuses and they were just trying to get out of

it. One passes it to the other, then passes it back and they can't

do nothing. You are booking hotels for people then you have got to

find out what is going on in that hotel. We are really angry. Well,

we contacted both the companies Maggie's been dealing with.

Broadway Travel told us that, as the travel agent, they're just the

intermediary in all transactions. And again say they've no record of

any contact from Maggie while she was in Tenerife. And while she did

manage to speak to their supplier, Low Cost Beds at the time, that

company told us they couldn't help because their relationship was with

the travel agent, not Maggie, so any changes to the booking could

only be made by Broadway Travel. They told us the work at the hotel

hadn't been planned in advance but was urgently required after the

discovery of a leak in the pool. But there was good news too.

They've agreed to refund in full the entire cost of the

And though that does bring to end all the hassle, Maggie's still

frustrated at how the trip turned out. I felt awful because I did the

booking for us four people and I felt responsible. It was just

absolutely awful, ruined the Here at Rip Off Britain, we're

ready to investigate your stories on any subject, not just holidays.

Confused over your bills? Trying to wade through never-ending small

print? It is not been plain English. Unsure what to do when you discover

you've lost out, and that so-called "Great Deal" has ended up costing

you money? You get home in get your bail and it is �75 when it is meant

to be 35. You get ripped off, don't you? You might have a cautionary

tale of your own and want to share the mistakes you made with us, so

others don't do the same. We paid them good money to act in our best

interests. They did not. You can Or send us an e-mail to... The Rip

Off team are ready and waiting to The days when we all booked our

holidays through a high street travel agent are long gone. And

while we may now have a lot more choice of where to go and who can

take us there, there are also a lot more ways you can get caught out,

or end up losing your money. Too true, and in an age of booking

online with faceless companies you've probably never heard of, I'm

afraid you can't take anything at face value, and you really do need

to check exactly what you're buying before you hand over that hard

earned cash. If, for whatever reason, the worst really does

happen while you're away, or a holiday fails to deliver, then you

must do exactly as you would at home - gather as much evidence as

you can and arm yourself with all the facts that you need to fight

your corner once you get back home. And, if that doesn't work, bring it