Episode 4 Rip Off Britain: Holidays

We asked you who has left you feeling ripped off when it comes to your holidays.

The amount of money that it's cost is just astronomical.

It wasn't just the money - it was their attitude.

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.

Your stories. Your money. This is Rip Off Britain.

Hello and welcome to Rip Off Britain,

and today we're bringing a bit of sunshine and sea into your homes.

We've even persuaded Gloria to go in for a paddle. Fun!

And that's because we've come to the island of Tenerife, which is the largest of the Canary Islands,

and throughout the programme we're going to be looking at some of

the holiday horror stories that you've been telling us about.

Because so often when a holiday disappoints or doesn't come up

to expectations, it could be because you've had to end up paying

rather more for that holiday than you originally anticipated.

And that's exactly the point,

because sometimes the final price of your holiday turns out to be far more

than when you first saw it advertised,

and maybe that's because there are hidden charges in there

that perhaps weren't in your budget in the first place.

Either way, whether you're holidaying at home or abroad,

we're going to have some unmissable advice for you

to ensure that none of that happens to you.

Coming up: how your phone can rack up sky high charges

when you're abroad, without you realising.

When they said it was over ?3,000, I nearly had a heart attack.

I went, "No, there's got to be something wrong here."

And the big name cruise company with a price match promise that you say they don't keep.

I felt really angry, angry, angry.

I thought, "They're not listening. Why?"

Well, as we've pointed out on the programme before,

these days it's as if we're all travel agents. We sit in the comfort of our own home

in an armchair, cup of tea on the go, with a computer booking holidays.

Now, if you choose a company that you've never heard of before,

and you've based it all on price,

there may be other details that you want to take into consideration.

Because it may not seem crucial at the time, but believe me,

these details long-term can have huge implications if something goes wrong.

49% of us now book a holiday online,

giving up the high street names to sift through countless

less familiar businesses on the internet as we hunt down the lowest price.

And here's one that guarantees to try and find you just that.

Promising "the same holidays for lower prices",

West Yorkshire-based company Sunsave.com,

not to be confused with other companies of a similar name,

say that they have outstanding quality, service and value -

which is what tempted Dave Peebles from Muirkirk near Glasgow to book with them.

I went on the website for to book a holiday to Marmaris in Turkey for 12 days.

Basically chose the flights, chose the accommodation,

and it came to a full price of ?388.

That you were happy with?

I was very happy with that price.

So I put in the credit card details

and thought I'd booked it.

But, another screen came up saying that these prices were not live,

and that an adviser would actually contact me.

The site not being live

means that the price you see online

won't necessarily be the one that you finally pay.

So when the adviser DID call,

she explained that the cost of the holiday had crept up.

Only by a few pounds though, so Dave was happy to go ahead.

This is a recording of the conversation he had with the Sunsave adviser.

So twice Dave had asked to clarify the price,

and twice he'd been left feeling that he was correct

in his understanding of the total that he had to pay.

But he hadn't registered that quick mention of the euros.

So, as far as you were concerned with that conversation,

you'd made a little tweak here and there for your extra accommodation,

but as far as you were concerned, done and dusted, holiday booked.

Yes. Now, when you saw your bank statement...

Shock horror.

Shock horror indeed.

A total of nearly ?695

had been taken off Dave's credit card -

?260 more than he'd expected.

So did you get in touch?

I got in touch straight away, and explained that I thought there had been a mistake.

I was then told that no mistake had been made,

and that that was the price

and that I had agreed to it on the telephone conversation.

It's true that during the phone conversation the adviser DID tell Dave

that he would have to pay for one of his flights in euros.

But she DIDN'T give him a combined price for the total that he'd have to pay.

And even listening back to the call, Dave feels it was unclear.

With me I think the confusion came in where they brought in this...euros.

Basically I thought I had actually been quoted in pounds,

but listening to the conversation you eventually find the plus 292 euros.

Despite his protests,

Sunsave were adamant that Dave had been treated fairly.

And Dave is equally adamant that he hasn't.

How do you feel now about this whole Sunsave experience?

I'm very angry about the way that the whole situation has went,

from being overcharged...

Well, it looks like Sunsave's "outstanding service"

could cost you a lot more than you anticipated.

But at least they say they do understand just how important a holiday is to the customer,

so when you get when you get to your destination,

everything's going to be perfect - isn't it?

Well, it wasn't for Angela Dawes.

She'd plAnnd one last big family holiday with her daughter.

It was possibly going to be the last time that Brittany came away with us.

She didn't like coming on holiday with Mum and Dad on her own.

We couldn't afford to always pay for a friend to go on holiday.

But this time, they were bringing along one of Brittany's friends,

and Sunsave.com seemed to have the perfect holiday for all of them,

on the Greek island of Rhodes.

We was booking with a company that was reliable

because of the guarantees that they advertise.

They advertise that they're ATOL-protected,

that there's a guarantee with Sunsave. It's on the website.

Suitably reassured, Angela called the company

and it was only then that she discovered, like Dave,

that Sunsave's website ISN'T live,

and the price of her holiday was actually higher - around ?300 higher.

And it turned out that rather than booking a traditional package holiday,

she was being sold a collection of separate bookings.

I assumed it would all be one package,

but once I found out that it was a separate booking completely

I went along with it because that appeared to be how they did things.

Now, you might think that that doesn't matter.

But in fact, booking in bits as it were can make all the difference.

Because it means that you won't have quite the special legal protection that a package holiday provides.

The travel agent made it seem as though it was all perfectly normal,

and it was only when we got to the resort itself and things started to go wrong,

we realised then that things weren't as they seemed.

The problems began as soon as they tried to check into their hotel.

The person behind the desk explained to us

that we'd actually been transferred to another hotel,

and they explained to us that we'd been notified of this

over a week ago in the UK

and that we'd agreed to go to the hotel.

At which point I absolutely categorically said no.

This is not what had happened, we had had no notification at all

from the UK or anybody else

giving us any details of any change whatsoever.

But it was no good.

Angela and her family were moved to a different hotel,

one that didn't have the facilities she'd paid for.

They made the best of it but the holiday was a huge let down.

And it was only when Angela got home and complained to Sunsave

that the consequences of it not being a package became clear.

The company told her she didn't have a contract with them

but instead with the suppliers of the individual bits of her holiday.

They've kept saying the same thing, "You have no contract with us.

"You have booked with us but your contract is with the supplier."

Angela has now been offered SOME money back

by one of the companies involved in her booking.

But these aren't isolated cases.

Indeed, Sunsave has previously come to the attention

of the Trading Standards near their West Yorkshire base,

who told us that they have been working closely with the company

to reduce the number of consumer complaints made about their business.

When we contacted Sunsave, they told us the company

was now under new ownership

and the new management has worked tirelessly

to ensure that situations like the ones we've heard are not repeated.

They do agree that Angela's experience "was not satisfactory"

and say they provided information

to help her claim against the accommodation provider.

And they tell us they've now changed their systems

so that all holidays are now sold as a package with one single receipt,

and Sunsave take full responsibility for the holiday.

They stressed their aim is to...

As for Dave's case, while they say the accuracy of online pricing

is one of the biggest challenges facing the entire industry,

they've apologised

and agreed a goodwill gesture to compensate for what happened.

But Angela doesn't feel any of that makes up for the fact

that the trip she'd planned so carefully was ruined.

It's a whole year of our lives, waiting for a holiday,

planning for a holiday, that has just gone.

That moment's gone. It's devastating.

Come on!

If you've taken your mobile phone on holiday or abroad with you recently,

and let's face it, these days that's exactly what most of us do,

you might have just paused a fraction before you went,

just recalling those stories

of horrendous bills for making phone calls and accessing data

while you've been away.

Now, an awful lot of holidaymakers get caught out by that,

which is precisely why the European Union want to do something about it.

Like most 18-year-olds,

Rhoma King's mobile phone is barely out of her hands,

but she tries to be careful not to spend too much.

Because I can use the wi-fi here at home, I don't normally go overboard.

Sometimes I go over, like about ?30 max.

Although the contract is in her mum's name,

Rhoma pays for it through her part-time job, which she juggles

with studying at college and helping out in her parents' chip shop.

In fact, she'd been so busy in 2012 that her parents decided

they'd surprise her with a very big Christmas present.

My mum planned for me to go on holiday to the Philippines

to see my grandparents. I was over the moon.

And of course, Rhoma took her mobile phone with her,

but aware of the danger of running up expensive bills,

she found other ways to keep in touch with her parents and friends

back home in Plymouth.

I took my iPad with me, I took my laptop with me

and also my phone, just in case an emergency comes up.

Once in the Philippines, it was those other devices,

and her gran's wi-fi, that Rhoma used rather than her mobile.

So she was surprised, a few days into the trip,

to receive a text message from her operator, Vodafone,

warning her that she was using data on her phone.

Thanks to EU legislation,

all phone companies are now obliged to cap the amount you can spend

when you're abroad so that you don't unwittingly rack up massive charges.

They have to text you when you're getting close to the limit.

By replying to the text, you can lift the cap,

and carry on using data.

But, convinced she wasn't using data anyway,

Rhoma didn't really understand what the text was saying.

I don't know what it's about.

It just says that I was exceeding my data allowance.

Rhoma didn't think too much more about it

until a few days after Christmas,

when she - and, back home in Plymouth, her parents

Richard and Lani, whose name the contract was in -

all suddenly had their phones cut off.

We didn't know what was going on,

and it wasn't until Lani went into the Vodafone shop to find out

what was going on, they informed her that there was a massive...

amount had been built up on the account.

Rhoma returned from the Philippines

to discover that the family had been sent a huge bill

for more than ?1,600.

I was really shocked about the bill,

because I couldn't pay that amount of money.

But when Richard contacted Vodafone, they explained the bill was correct.

And that when they'd texted Rhoma -

whether she'd understood the consequences or not -

she had texted back

saying that she wanted the cap on her data usage lifted -

in other words, giving them the green light to charge her more.

But it's clear from the number of people contacting us

with similar stories that text messages like these -

and, indeed, the whole issue of using mobile data abroad -

is something that is all too confusing

and can also prove to be very expensive.

Natalie and Farid Merzouk

also found themselves with an eye-wateringly large bill

after a weekend in Spain in October 2012.

Well, my sister lives in the south of Spain with her husband,

and it was just a short break to go and see them,

just to stay in their house.

In the past I would, you know, send some text messages

to my family to let them know that I was there,

maybe quick phone calls, and the bill has never been large enough

for me to worry about.

Or at least not until this time.

But Natalie and Farid say they only realised there was a problem

after they got home, when their phones were cut off, too.

I said, "Can you tell me why you've cut us off? This is weird,"

and they said, "There's unusual spending on your account."

I said, "Really? Well, how much is it?"

And when they said it was over ?3,000, I nearly had a heart attack.

I went, "No this has got to be something wrong, here."

Sadly not.

The bill showed that over the four days they were in Spain,

Farid's phone had racked up more than ?3,000-worth of data.

The couple couldn't understand how that could be,

because after studying the bill

they are adamant they were not using the phone

at the times Vodafone says the charges were mounting up.

On the Saturday, 6:35, having dinner - they charged us.

On the Sunday at three o'clock in the morning they charged us.

Monday at one o'clock in the morning they charged us.

And Monday at 1:40, when we were shopping in Nerja,

they charged us and that's where -

literally, one, two, three, four, five...

Five charges, which came to ?3,127.

Vodafone's reply, just as in the case of Rhoma's huge bill,

was that either Natalie or Farid had sent a text

authorising the company to lift the cap on using data,

leading to those big bills.

But what surprised Natalie most,

was that Vodafone said the text had been sent four months previously,

when Farid had been on an entirely different trip abroad.

There is a chance he might have received a text message

from Vodafone, but there is no way that he would have responded to it.

Because why would he? Why would he change the service,

which allowed the bills to reach that high?

Vodafone investigated and said the bill was correct,

and the company warned they would instruct debt collectors

if it wasn't paid.

But even if, as they say, Farid had replied to the text -

which he doesn't remember -

should those instructions have also applied for a separate trip

four months later?

Natalie asked the communications ombudsman to investigate.

But, after an agonising three month wait,

the ombudsman found in favour of Vodafone.

Oh, I felt awful. I cried on the phone. I rang them up.

With no alternative, Natalie and Farid are now paying back

that whopping ?3,127 bill in monthly instalments.

We can't afford it, basically.

We don't have that kind of money.

When we contacted Vodafone they said that their...

and removing the cap on data limits...

They stressed the only way it can be lifted is by a customer

either speaking to them directly or by replying to the text message

by texting back the word "STOP".

They reiterated that in both cases

they did get back messages

authorising that the cap on data usage be lifted.

In Natalie's case, they said they received two messages

on that earlier trip - one of which, whether she understood it or not,

was agreeing to have the cap lifted,

and the other to say she wanted to opt out

of receiving data notification altogether.

Vodafone then sent another message warning of high spending

four months later during Natalie's Spanish trip

but by the time she got it the couple were on their way home,

and the money already spent.

So, in both cases, those huge bills do still have to be paid.

But the issue of the text messages

and whether you've replied or even understood them,

is only part of the problem.

Both Natalie and Rhoma insist they weren't even using their phones.

So how is it possible for your mobile to run up huge costs for data

that you weren't even aware you were getting?

Could it be that our smartphones can sometimes be a little TOO smart

for their own good?

Mobile phones are getting ever more complex and sophisticated,

and very often what they're doing is downloading content

or updating apps in the background without us knowing.

Well, apparently, with a smartphone it doesn't really matter

whether you're making a call or not,

unless you have specifically switched off data roaming,

you could have an app working quietly away

in the background as usual

and racking up a huge bill while it's doing it.

To cut down on the number of people getting shock bills

like Rhoma and Natalie, the European Union want to standardise the costs

of data and phone calls across all of Europe.

It's just a proposal at the moment,

with some suggesting that it will come into force in 2016.

But until then, take your phone abroad

and you really do need to understand the costs, the risks,

and any warnings that you might be sent along the way!

I take my phone with me on holiday now but I switch it off.

I don't... I only switch it back on when I'm at the airport.

Still to come...

a holiday on four wheels

and a company that can take you on a very long and winding road

to know the final price you'll pay.

All I wanted from the start was, "This is what you owe,

"this is what you need to pay, this is when by."

But every time I got in touch, the amounts varied.

In the past few years,

Turkey has rapidly become one of the most popular

package holiday destinations.

But like anywhere in the world, if you're not in the know,

you could unwittingly risk losing all of your cash.

So, travel expert Simon Calder has come up with a few tips

to make sure that holidaymakers and travellers do not lose out.

Close to three million British people go to Turkey every year,

many of us for the beaches, of course,

but there's also dramatic landscapes and fascinating culture.

Plus the fine city of Istanbul, on the cusp between Europe and Asia.

I first went to Turkey 25 years ago,

and since then I've picked up one or two ways

of spending rather more than you intended.

To avoid that, Simon has some key advice

if you use your mobile phone while you're away.

Bear in mind that Turkey isn't in the European Union,

so therefore the normal cap on call roaming charges doesn't apply.

Your provider can charge more or less what they want.

Mine charges five times as much to make a call

as it does from neighbouring Greece or Cyprus.

It's never advisable to fall foul of the law in a foreign country,

but in Turkey you could find yourself with a fine

just for walking down the street, unless you follow one simple rule.

In Britain, of course,

you're not obliged to carry any kind of identification.

In Turkey, though, like many other countries, you are.

So, that means your passport.

The only acceptable alternative is a photocopy of the business pages,

you know, carrying that lovely photograph of you.

If you don't have a passport or an acceptable photocopy,

you could be fined.

Turkey's exotic cities are well worth leaving the beach for.

But scammers here can use an all too familiar trick

to get their hands on your precious lira.

One day, I was walking through the streets of Istanbul.

Just in front of me, a shoe shine man.

And he dropped his brush.

I said, "Excuse me, you've dropped your brush."

I picked it up and I gave it back to him.

He was so grateful.

He said, "I'll give you a shoe shine."

Luckily, I was wearing sandals.

That's because later I found out what the scam is.

You, the innocent helpful tourist, hand back the brush.

He says, "Oh, how kind of you. I'm going to give you a shoe shine."

You think, "Oh, how nice, this is free." But it's not free.

And if you decline to pay, well, he might get very aggressive,

and find that he has got some very aggressive friends with him, too.

For more information on how to avoid scams

wherever you're going on holiday, visit our website...

Now, while you're soaking up the sun and enjoying the holiday

that you've saved all year for,

one thing that's sure to dampen your spirits

is to find out that others on the same holiday

have paid rather less than you did.

So, how do you avoid that?

Well, one of the biggest names in the business

has come up with a solution.

It's called a price promise.

Unfortunately, some of you have found that that's a promise

that's easier made than kept.

It's one of the best-known names on the high seas - P

First setting sail back in 1837,

when what was then known as the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company

won the contract to take the mail from Britain to Spain and Portugal.

The ships now ferry cruise passengers along the same routes,

but those Mediterranean waters have become rather choppy

for some of the passengers,

who were encouraged to book their tickets by a price promise.

One that was enough to convince Linda Cox and Des Nurding

to book their next cruise well in advance.

We were always told if you book early, you can save money.

By booking early, you get a certain amount off.

No strangers to the ocean waves,

Linda and Des have now been on ten cruises.

And one they'd planned for last year was meant to be extra special.

My 70th birthday was coming up in April.

We booked early, and we wanted it to be a special occasion.

We didn't want any party. We just wanted to be away by ourselves.

They chose a P cruise from Southampton

that would take them to some of the Mediterranean's finest cities,

including Barcelona and Florence.

Well, we chose the Mediterranean cruise.

We thought the weather would be kind to us.

We were having lousy weather in England

and I thought, "Let's go somewhere warm,"

so we went to the Mediterranean.

The couple booked eight months in advance,

and were confident that they'd secured the best fare

because of the price promise that came with it.

The price promise was the main reason that we booked it,

because with a price promise,

you should be sure of what's going to happen.

P's price promise means that if the price of the same cruise

and same grade of cabin drops as the departure date approaches,

any difference in price will be passed on -

not in cash, but in other ways,

such as on-board spending money or a cabin upgrade.

Now, crucially for Des and Linda,

the promise only covers reductions

to what the company calls their Vantage Fares,

which come with added extras.

It still allows P to offer cheaper, more basic fares

nearer to sailing, which they call Getaway Fares.

But for Des, there was no doubt about what he'd signed up to.

My understanding with the price promise

was that if the prices came down...

..we were going to get an upgrade or extra on-board spend.

So, Des wasn't worried when, four months later,

he received a brochure from another travel agent advertising P cruises

which seemed quite clearly to show the same type of fare

that they'd booked, for the same cruise,

but at ?395 less per person.

A significant ?790 in total.

But Des assumed that the price promise would now kick in.

When we seen the Vantage Fares coming down in the pieces of paper

and the brochures that were coming through, I thought surely they -

you know, they'll give us that extra on-board spend or upgrade the cabin.

Linda and Des wrote to P to ask that the price promise be honoured,

sending a copy of the brochure they had received,

which showed - plain as anything - that the cheaper fare

WAS a Vantage Fare like the one they booked,

and therefore should get them those on-board benefits.

But the company disagreed,

and over a series of letters across six months repeatedly insisted

that what they'd seen advertised was a Getaway Fare,

and therefore wasn't covered under the Vantage Fare price promise.

It was no good ringing them.

I thought it was the best thing to send a letter.

We sent a few by recorded delivery, as well, to make sure they got them,

and we thought, "Well, they're not reading them,

"they're not listening! Why...why?

I felt so angry about it, I really did.

By this stage, with all the hassle

of trying to get the price promise honoured,

the gloss was starting to come off

what should have been an unforgettable trip.

But Des and Linda were still hopeful that when they arrived on the ship,

the confusion would be cleared up and they would be given the upgrade

that they felt they were owed.

We thought they'd still honour it we really did.

We thought they'd sort of say, "Oh, well, they've kept onto us enough,

"and we'd better do something about it."

And they didn't do so.

Although Des and Linda did go on to have a great time on the cruise,

they still feel they've been treated unfairly.

So, are they right?

Well, when we contacted P, it finally agreed that, yes,

the fares Linda and Des saw were Vantage Fares,

but they were...

..and...

However, P apologise for the fact

this was not fully or correctly explained to the couple

in all of the correspondence.

The company told us they'd be contacting the couple direct,

and will also be contacting the company

that sent Linda and Des the special offer to...

But Des and Linda aren't the only disgruntled customers

to contact us after finding that P's price promise

was hard to fathom.

Dozens of other cruise passengers have also written to us about it,

and although not all were comparing the correct fares,

it does seem that this offer is not always being understood

as clearly as the company might like to think that it is.

But confusion is set to end.

P tell us that from this spring,

they've changed their entire fare pricing structure

following feedback from customers.

I felt really angry, angry, angry, you know?

They'd have to give us a very good deal to make us go back to P again.

Yeah, definitely.

JULIA: Last summer, Rip Off Britain went on the road again.

This time we were in Liverpool, and not just with our Pop Up Shop.

Put your hand up if you think you could save about ?10 a year

by switching.

We were also giving out plenty of free consumer advice

on the streets outside.

And, actually, we're going to particularly talk about

taking your mobile phone on holiday.

No story is too big or too small for Rip Off Britain,

and over here we have our gripe corner,

where people can come and get things off their chest.

When you have a complaint against a budget airline,

you can only contact them by e-mail, and there's no personal contact,

and they just keep sending a standard e-mail back.

I parked my car at the airport to pick someone up for ten seconds,

and they sent me a bill for ?60.

Booking flights online is something that really gets Annoying

because I think when you leave the website and go back up

they knock up the prices because they know you've already looked online.

That last complaint is one we hear a lot.

So, is it true?

Stephen was another customer who called in with the same concern.

Me family are looking to go on holiday soon,

and we've heard this kind of rumour type thing,

that when you visit a travel website and look at something,

and then if you go back and revisit it,

that sometimes the price goes up and it is sometimes worth,

like, deleting your internet history,

er...I just wondered if there was any truth to it.

Good question. Well, it's a fantastic question, Stephen,

and I am pleased to say that the answer is no.

It's a great urban myth.

Basically, when you're looking at that flight

from Liverpool to Malaga,

there's a number of seats they want to sell at ?50,

a number at 70, a number at 80,

and all that happens is people like me or Gloria come along

and we actually book them at ?80,

and by the time you come and have a look the next day, they've gone up.

Does that help you in your mind? Yeah, that's great.

Thanks a lot. Make up your mind.

So, they're not watching you yet, but they might be soon.

You can find full details of all Simon's advice

from our Pop Up Shop on our website...

Now, as you know, last summer in the UK was one of the hottest ever,

and maybe it is all that sunshine that's prompted people,

rather than going abroad, to stay at home

and explore the marvellous things that we have in our own country,

and one of the best ways of doing that

is to hire a campervan or a motorhome,

and then you can take to the road with great freedom

and not have to stick to all those rules and regulations.

However, several people who used one particular hire company

have told us that their holiday didn't turn out quite as carefree

as they'd hoped, largely because the final amount that they had to pay

was nothing like the price they were originally quoted.

There was a time when the only options for taking a break

close to nature were to spend hours wrestling with tent pegs

or fiddling with the towbar on your caravan.

But then came the motorhome,

bringing with it the freedom of your own mini hotel on wheels.

And that appealed to Mick and Ann Downey

when they started planning their summer holiday.

We have been camping quite a few times,

but we feel like we're getting a little bit old for camping now

so that's why the campervan was more appealing.

So, Mick and Ann searched online

and found rental company UnbeatableHire.com -

not to be confused with companies with similar names -

and it did seem to live up to the name.

And it was unbeatable, price-wise.

I mean, at least ?100 cheaper than where else I could find.

The Downeys were quoted ?1,170 for just under two weeks

with the motorhome.

Happy with the price, Mick booked it, paying a deposit of ?99.

But five days later he was surprised to receive an e-mail

from UnbeatableHire telling him that he would have to pay ?100 more

than he was originally quoted.

The extra costs were down to insurance.

One of the questions asked was,

"Have you had an accident in the last three years?"

Well, I had. I had a little bump,

and they asked me, "Have you had any motoring offences?"

I had three points on my licence.

Now, the terms and conditions on the UnbeatableHire website

do say that "Insurance cost may vary based on driving licence history."

But Mick and Ann strongly believe they should have been told more

about that at the time of the initial quote,

not after they had paid the ?99 deposit.

It would have been nice to have been given some information

verbally, over the phone, about these extras and surcharges

before we gave them the deposit.

Er... They didn't.

It's there, if you try to look for it,

but you need to be a lawyer to understand it.

No, it just made me angry.

The couple decided that the extra ?100 was just too much.

And they assumed they could simply cancel the booking

and get their deposit back.

But with this company, that's not an option.

I e-mailed them several times. I phoned them several times.

I asked them to get back to me

and in the end I got what I considered a pretty rude e-mail.

It said, "We have cancelled the agreement."

Then it said, "Under no circumstances

"are you going to get your money back."

Once again the couple were directed to those terms and conditions,

which state that the deposit they made of ?99 is non-refundable

"under any circumstances".

So that left Mick and Ann tied into a deal for which they hadn't

known the final price.

They say if they had, they wouldn't have booked.

They're angry that they had no idea how much their total bill would be

before having to hand over a deposit that the company won't return

whatever the reason.

Feeling they had no choice, Mick and Ann cancelled the motorhome,

lost their deposit, and instead went camping on the Isle of Sheppey.

We weren't going to let it stop us. We took the tent.

We had a good time and so did the little dog.

Another UnbeatableHire customer, Jack Lowe,

was so determined to enjoy a road trip with his mates

that he put up with a price that seemed never to stop changing.

We're of that age now where Magaluf and Zante

are probably a little bit too young for us.

We decided to go to Scotland instead and have a lad's holiday.

So, that's what we did.

Set on booking a motorhome,

the group was attracted by the prices on UnbeatableHire.com,

who quoted them ?1,070 for their eight-day trip.

I thought, between four people, that's not bad at all.

For a week's accommodation in Edinburgh, in Scotland,

we're not going to get better than that.

Jack and his mates agreed to pay for the hire in instalments.

So, at the end of January last year, Jack made the first payment of ?200.

But no sooner had he sent the money to UnbeatableHire

than they sent him an e-mail saying the total cost of the rental

had increased by more than ?70.

Then, less than 90 minutes later, Jack was sent another e-mail

telling him the total cost was now ?1,166.40 -

over ?90 more than the first quote.

And it didn't stop there.

Over the next six months, with no explanation,

the price UnbeatableHire wanted Jack and his friends to pay

went up and down a total of seven times,

at one point topping more than ?2,600.

All I wanted from the start was "This is what you owe.

"This is what you need to pay. This is when by."

But every time I got in touch, the amounts varied.

When Jack complained, he was told the cost would now be ?1,178.40

and that one more payment would settle the account.

So, he agreed that they could take this final amount

from his debit card.

But to his horror, the company took ?120 more than he was expecting -

again, with no explanation.

I was unable to get in touch with them via phone.

I tried e-mailing many, many times - no replies.

There was also... I think I spoke to four ladies, in total,

all with the same e-mail address

but you couldn't get hold of them should you try.

And that's when Jack realised that cancelling wasn't an option.

UnbeatableHire doesn't offer refunds

within 42 days of collecting a motorhome.

So, if Jack tried to cancel,

he and his friends would lose everything they had paid so far.

I thought I'd have a look through their terms and conditions.

All fees are forfeit, so I'd have lost all the money already paid,

just by cancelling.

So, Jack and his friends decided to swallow the extra cost

and prepare for their holiday.

But even that wasn't the end of it.

With less than a week to go, UnbeatableHire told Jack

the group owed yet more money - this time, ?164.

Again, they felt they had no choice but to pay it,

which rather took the shine off their Highland adventure.

Well, it was definitely a fantastic holiday,

there's no question about that,

but it was probably not the best of experiences.

I'll definitely think twice about hiring - well,

most things again, let alone a campervan.

Since we met Jack, we've spoken to half a dozen more customers

of UnbeatableHire.com with similar stories -

either telling us they had more money taken out of their accounts

than they'd authorised,

or that prices had increased after they'd paid their deposit.

So how does the company explain that?

When we contacted them,

they admitted that in Jack's case they made a mistake.

They've explained he was incorrectly given a discount

on his insurance surcharge,

but as their systems weren't properly updated

to reflect that, they...

They've apologised, refunding both their deposit and the difference

between the amount first quoted and the figure Jack eventually paid.

As for Mick And Ann's case,

the company stress their terms, conditions and surcharges

are clearly explained on their website, so...

..particularly as...

They say they suggested Mick should complete an online form

so they could see if his surcharge could be reduced

but he didn't respond.

Nonetheless, they have now refunded his ?99 deposit

as a gesture of goodwill.

The company went on to say that a non-refundable deposit

is common with motorhome hire companies.

And they are confident that issues like these...

..thanks to a new...

But is it right that a company can sign you up

with a non-refundable deposit before you've agreed a final price?

The guidance is clear

in the office of fair trading's unfair contract terms, rules,

that customers should be given penalty free exit from a contract

if the supplier has put the price up materially,

and it would seem that that's what's happened in this case

with UnbeatableHire. The customers haven't been given the chance

to get out without paying that penalty.

So, although Mick finally got his ?99 refunded,

he feels he shouldn't have had to fight quite so hard

to get his money back in the first place.

We thought we'd been treated really badly by UnbeatableHire,

but there's nothing I can do about it.

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

and not just about holidays.

Confused over your bills,

or just trying to wade through never-ending small print?

When they sit you down to sign up for things,

they don't really give you the chance or the time

to read through all of that small print.

These people have ripped me off, well and truly.

You can write to us at...

Or send us an e-mail to...

The team here is ready and waiting to look into your stories,

so please do get in touch.

Well, as you know, holidays do not come cheap,

and when you've worked out just how far your budget will stretch

and you find a holiday that you really approve of and like,

the last thing you want to discover are all those unexpected costs,

particularly if the company you chose

really was the best value in the first place.

Exactly, so when you are booking your holiday

it really is worth taking the time to ask questions

and make absolutely sure that the amount of money you are being quoted

for your holiday is absolutely the final price

that you are going to have to pay,

and until you are happy with the answers,

do not part with a penny of your money.

That's probably the best advice of all.

Don't part with your money

until you're absolutely sure you've got what you want.

I'm afraid that's where we've got to leave it for today.

But remember we're always here to deal with your gripes,

whether it's at home or abroad.

And you can contact us on...

So, until the next time,

can I just say, if you are having some holidays,

we hope that they go really smoothly.

And that you get as much sunshine as we've had here in Tenerife!

Bye-bye. You're coming into the sea. You come with me. Bye! Yes!