Episode 2 Rip Off Britain

We asked you who's left you feeling ripped off when it comes to your

holidays and you came back with a catalogue of travel disasters!

We save hard all year.

We look forward to a holiday with our family.

We felt absolutely desperate.

This was never a three-star hotel. I wouldn't give it two.

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

indeed 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 thanks for joining us on Rip Off Britain - where today we're

investigating more of your holiday stories. And where better to have

based ourselves than the very sunny island of Gran Canaria to do it.

You've got that in one, but as ever,

the cases we'll be looking into have come straight from you.

And though we've a real mixed bag of travel disasters coming up,

most of them involve some sort of commonplace situation that, let's

face it, any one of us could very easily find ourselves in - whether

that's worrying about the security of your luggage, or hiring a car.

I've certainly be caught out by that one.

Whatever the circumstance, in each case we'll be looking

at a decision has been made that's had some very costly repercussions.

Sometimes devastatingly so.

Which is why we really do hope that when you hear what went

wrong for these people, you will have a much better idea of how to

make sure exactly the same thing doesn't happen to you.

'Coming up, an emergency abroad and why a big-name insurer

'refused to pay the £24,000 bill that followed.'

I hope that these people that sit in these insurance offices

realise it's not just a number.

It's actually a human being they're talking to.

'And a hard lesson in security

'that left this couple's holiday in tatters.'

Other people...it's a warning to them.

Don't leave valuables in a locked suitcase thinking it's locked

and nobody can get into it.

Next, a company that we've featured on this programme before.

They sold the dream of an investment opportunity in the sun.

Retirement properties that held the promise of big returns

by renting them out to other holiday-makers.

It all seemed very simple, unfortunately for many people who

have handed over their life savings,

it's turned out to be anything but.

Many of the properties haven't even been built.

And so instead of being able to look forward to a retirement

with a regular income,

they are facing a very uncertain future indeed.

In 2012, Rip Off Britain told the story of James

and Christine McBride and their son Greg.

That was five years after they'd invested £75,000

in an off-plan cabana on the Caribbean Island of St Vincent

in the Grenadines, through a company called Harlequin Property.

-ON COMPUTER:

-Welcome to Harlequin Property.

The McBrides had bought the property at what they'd been

told was half its market value

and were assured that it would be ready for them to rent out

less than two years after they signed the contract.

But then the couple heard the build had been delayed.

I contacted Harlequin and asked them, "What's the situation?

"I've heard from a third party that the resort has been delayed

"and you haven't informed us and is that the case?"

To which they responded and they said,

"Yeah, actually it was going to be delayed by about two years."

In fact, after three and a half years,

the resort still hadn't been completed.

And with James and Christine relying on the rental income to fund their

retirement, that had a disastrous impact on the family finances.

It left us in the position of having virtually nothing left in the bank.

And having to rely on others to continue to live, if you like.

Not a good position to be in.

Not having an income from it, and the worry about where all

the money had gone, it all started to kick in.

I was frightened, I suppose, that we had invested in something

that was going to go down the drain.

Well, it was at that point, having abandoned hope of ever

seeing their property completed, that the family came to us.

By now, they just wanted their deposit back

and when we intervened, they got it.

Harlequin returned their £75,000 in full.

It was a great result for the McBrides.

But we've heard from other families who bitterly regret

entrusting their life savings to Harlequin Property.

I've lost more sleep over Harlequin than anything else in my life...

and the fear of never seeing our money again and what the future

would hold for us without that money...

doesn't really bear thinking about.

Joy and Reg Wickham's dealings with Harlequin began in 2010.

They too were hoping to fund their retirement with a rental

property in the sun.

We had this lump sum of £40,000.

We didn't want to put our money

into something that's going to take 10-15 years

to start showing a return.

We wanted something that would show a return as soon as possible

to sort of coincide with my retirement.

After hearing about Harlequin from a financial advisor,

the couple visited the company's HQ to learn more

and decided to invest.

We put down the initial deposit of 40,500

against the purchase price of 135,000.

That was for an off-plan studio apartment

on the Two Rivers Resort in the Dominican Republic.

But the following year, when the couple were given

an opportunity to visit another Harlequin site that was being

built in St Lucia, alarm bells began to ring.

Three-quarters of the site was still in the process of being built.

I was quite concerned that,

yeah, this one's nowhere near finished

and our investment hasn't even been started on, let alone finished.

Their concerns turned out to be well founded.

Completion on their resort was delayed too.

We were told, "No, it's like a year behind

"and it's going to be 2013."

We were a little bit choked because we wanted something to give us

a return as soon as possible.

By the time 2013 arrived, Reg had been diagnosed with cancer

and both he and Joy were no longer working.

With all their savings tied up with Harlequin, they were desperate

for cash and asked the company to give them their deposit back.

But with no money forthcoming, they pinned their hopes on a clause

in the contract, which stated that if the building was not completed

by 30th June 2014 then the couple would be entitled to a refund.

So that's when we thought we should be entitled for them

to definitely give us our money back.

So the couple had to bide their time,

counting down the days to when they expected to be refunded.

But to raise cash, they felt they had no choice

but to sell their much-loved home in the UK and downsize.

That was our dream home.

We still have a nice home, but I don't feel at home here.

You all right?

SHE SOBS

As the refund deadline approached, Joy and Reg received a call

from the boss of Harlequin Property, David Ames, who told them

that the company was restructuring

and that their best chance of recovering their money

was to move it into what he called an investment trust.

But when they examined the small print,

they saw a condition of doing that would be agreeing to give up

the right to take any legal action against Harlequin.

We didn't want to join the Trust because the Trust wanted to tie

our hands behind our back and say that we would no way bad-mouth

Harlequin or ask for our money back or anything else.

And they said that if you joined the Trust, you may get something

sorted out in five years' time.

But I told him on the phone that

I might not be here in five years' time.

So the couple rejected the offer,

believing the breach of contract date represented their best hope

of getting their money back.

But when that date finally arrived,

the couple was told that the company restructuring was ongoing

and it wouldn't be until mid-2015

that its financial position would be any clearer.

For Reg and Joy, that was too long to wait.

We need our money back so that we can generate an income

with that money to help us as we approach retirement.

But they fear the prospect of that happening is further away than ever.

Harlequin Property has gone into liquidation

and the couple are now dealing with another arm of the business,

Harlequin Hotels and Resorts.

The company told us it has "sincere regret" for Reg

and Joy's circumstances, but it's "working hard to restructure

"the business and realise the goals of all types of investor."

It added that "cancellation is simply not possible" while that

restructuring goes on, because of the "impact on cash flow."

The company said delays had been caused by a "perfect storm"

of difficulties in which it includes "the global recession,

"contractor fraud, defamatory campaigns

"and new FCA regulations,"

but insists that it's now making

"significant progress" and "an end is in sight."

But it says key to that is the Trust recommended to Reg and Joy the

"workings and benefits" of which it insists they have "misunderstood."

For example, Harlequin says clauses restricting

investors from taking legal action are there to protect its funding

and allow "a better chance of financial success."

If the Trust is successful, the company hopes it can

"satisfy all investor demands" even if that means,

as in this case, letting people cancel.

But in the meantime, it's not just the people we've spoken to

who are interested in Harlequin's business affairs.

In 2013, the Serious Fraud Office and Essex police began

investigating complaints relating to the Harlequin Group.

An investigation that they've told us is still ongoing.

We asked international property lawyer Stefano Lucatello about

Reg and Joy's case and he told us it's an all too familiar a story.

Buying off-plan is a risk in any country

because you're buying a dream.

You are buying from a developer who has put a set of either CGIs,

computer generated images, in front of you or a set of paper plans.

You must do your homework, you must check the developer,

check the agent, check where the development is going to happen

and check the track record of the developer.

And only when you are 110% certain of what's going to happen,

move forward.

But if what will happen next for Reg, Joy and all the other investors

who worry they're left out of pocket is unclear,

one thing is certain - they all rue the day they ever got involved

with Harlequin Property.

We need that money as a cushion to see us

through the years we've got left.

I just think what a difference our lives would be

if we'd never put the money into Harlequin in the first place.

Next, falling seriously ill on holiday is a nightmare

that you hope will never ever happen to you.

I hope it never happens to you.

But, if the worst does happen, the last thing you'd want is to

be saddled with the cost of paying for any

kind of treatment, which is why most of us do the sensible thing

and buy travel insurance to cover just that.

However, as our next couple found out, if, for whatever reason,

your travel insurance company decides it doesn't want to help

then I'm afraid the nightmare can soon descend to a whole new level.

One reason we like to go on holiday is to give our bodies a little TLC,

hoping a week or two in the sun can pep us up

and make us feel better.

And that was exactly what Liz and Derek Armit had in mind

when they set off to Majorca in August last year.

We've been abroad every year, sometimes twice,

three times a year, we just love it.

We just love going on holiday.

Liz is one of five million people in the UK who suffers with asthma

but not so severely that it stops her doing the things she likes.

I've had asthma since I was a child.

Never really caused me a lot of problems.

But just before she was due to leave for Majorca,

Liz felt under the weather so went to her GP

who prescribed two of her usual inhalers.

Just for her peace of mind more than anything,

Elizabeth went to the doctor's on the Friday, and he gave a thorough check

over, and said that she was fine, that it would probably do her good.

And the final task the couple completed before they left

was buying their travel insurance.

We actually got the woman from the Post Office to help us

fill it in, and we got her to check what we had filled in.

-So we thought we had covered everything.

-Covered everything, yeah.

Liz and Derek boarded their plane and jetted off to the sun.

But five days into their holiday,

Liz began to feel short of breath and collapsed.

As we were walking from where the bar was, through the hotel,

she says to me, "Derek," she says, "I can't breathe."

I knew just by looking at her something serious was wrong because

she literally, she just started turning blue in front of me.

I started to do mouth to mouth, and CPR and I had to

shout on the gentleman behind the reception counter, to phone for

an ambulance and a doctor.

Because I knew that she was getting worse.

That's when you start thinking

there's something seriously wrong here.

An ambulance was called, and not too soon,

because Liz had stopped breathing

and had to be resuscitated by paramedics.

In the midst of the emergency, a doctor took Derek to one side

with a request he wasn't quite expecting.

The doctor sat me down on the chair,

and I had to hand over 120 euros in cash, before he would let me go.

It turned out that the ambulance was taking them

to a private hospital for which he would have to pay.

But in a panic and not wanting to cause any delay to Liz's

treatment, Derek rushed back to their hotel to grab some cash.

The doctor advised me to go and get any medication that Liz was taking,

and then, like, so the insurance documentation and her passport,

which I did.

I got to the hospital and I got sat down.

Obviously, I was very upset and the receptionist took

all my paperwork and one of the doctors came out and said,

"Do you have your wife's medication?" And I just handed the bag over,

not thinking what was in it, you know, I just handed the bag over.

Liz had suffered a respiratory spasm.

And as the doctors continued their treatment, a series of further

episodes put her into a coma.

There's nothing worse than seeing your wife lying there.

And she had the tube down her throat, which was keeping her alive.

But while Derek was with his wife in the Intensive Care Unit,

he received a phone call from his insurance company, AXA.

She says, "Just to let you know we don't think your wife

"was entirely honest when she was filling in the policy."

AXA insisted that in the bag Derek had collected there'd been

three inhalers, rather than the maximum of two that anyone

with asthma is allowed to use under their terms and conditions.

And that invalidated the policy.

I've never been on three inhalers.

I've only ever been on two inhalers at any given time.

But I'm afraid AXA wasn't having any of Derek's protests

and after more than two weeks of treatment in the private hospital,

the company confirmed that it would not be paying the bill.

What's actually worse is the fact that...

you feel so helpless.

When the person that you love is lying there, you don't

know how you're going to get her home, you don't speak the language...

..and for somebody to phone you

and throw this on top of what you went through,

I wouldn't wish this on anybody.

Derek just couldn't understand where the mysterious third inhaler

had come from.

And it was only when he spoke to their daughter Denise

that the explanation became clear.

Denise too is asthmatic

and is prescribed a different type of inhaler from her mum.

And she had inadvertently left one in the family's travel bag.

What usually happens is when we go on holiday, we've got

the one bag that we use, it's got the usual paracetamol,

bite cream, and antiseptic creams, and what usually happens is

I put my inhaler in the same bag.

I just handed the whole bag over at the time,

not thinking what was in it. It's the same when she's back here.

She carries an EpiPen for our grandson, but it's not hers.

I had explained this to AXA that I had left it in there,

and there was no amount of persuasion

to convince them any differently.

It seemed the medical team in Majorca had incorrectly

assumed that the third inhaler belonged to Liz

and had passed that information on to AXA.

By now, Liz was starting to recover and after 16 days of private

health care, was ready to be discharged from hospital.

But because AXA had refused their claim, along with the discharge

notice, came a hospital bill.

And it was a big one.

She had gave me a total bill, every single thing was itemised on it,

and the cost was at the side of every medication,

everything single thing that was done

and at the bottom was a total and it was 30,000 euros

or something like that.

The bill, the equivalent of just over £24,000,

had a 30-day deadline to pay.

Derek desperately tried to convince AXA of the truth

of what had really happened.

But the insurance giant refused to change its position.

There's no way I've got 30,000 euros that I can pay this bill

and it's just such a worry.

We don't know what the outcome is going to be.

We don't know what the next step is.

She's supposed to remain calm to get the full recovery we're

looking for and how can you do that with a 30,000 euro bill

hanging over your head?

It's just been horrendous.

But when we contacted AXA about this case, the company replied

with some very good news indeed. The insurer told us

it was sorry to hear of the problems experienced by Liz

with her claim and "would like to take this opportunity to

"apologise for any distress or inconvenience caused."

After a full review of the claim, it has now been settled in full.

They have also paid 2,000 euros to Derek to cover his costs,

as well as an extra £500.

And although Liz and Derek are delighted

the prospect of having to pay that 30,000 euro bill has now gone away,

they're still trying to sort

through the mix of emotions caused by everything they've been through.

I hope that these people that sit in these insurance offices realise

it's not just a number, it's actually a human being they're talking to.

I can't fault the hospital cos without them,

I didn't think I was even going to get her home.

Still to come here on Rip Off Britain,

the hire car that cost this couple nearly three times

as much as they'd expected.

That's when I started getting a little bit angry

cos it was a lot of money.

People can't afford to spend that sort of money and just lose it.

Once again, we've opened up our pop-up shop

and this year we've come to one of the biggest shopping centres

-in the West Midlands.

-We've brought along the entire team, to make sure

we give you the tools and the information you need to ensure

that the next time you hand over your cash, you're not ripped off.

Kenneth Palmer came to see Simon Calder with a cautionary tale.

He and his wife were looking forward to celebrating

their granddaughter's wedding in Australia.

But when they set off in their car for the airport,

they quickly found themselves in quite a jam.

The journey would take normally take one hour at most.

We allowed four hours,

being anxious, got on North Circular Road and the traffic just stopped.

-How many hours were you stuck in the motorway for?

-Three hours.

Three hours. Did you ring the airline? Or anybody?

No, had we been regular travellers, things like this

people say afterwards, "Oh, you should have phoned the airline

"or the airport or done this or done that,"

but, when you're stuck in traffic, you're really...

-Helpless.

-Yeah.

-Nothing you can do about it.

And when you got to the desk what did they say

-or what did you say to them? Just like, "Tough?"

-They said,

"You must go back to the agency."

We phoned first thing next day, and the agency said,

"Oh, the tickets have been voided."

Nothing at all.

See, I thought...

I realised I'd missed the outward bound flight,

but we thought you could use the return flight,

so they just said, "You've got to pay again!"

Is that correct?

That is absolutely standard. There are very few airlines

which say, "You missed you're flight, we're really sorry.

-"Of course, your return is still valid."

-Yeah.

And they'll even say, "Ken, sorry you missed your plane.

"Give us £40, £50, £60, we'll put you on the very next one

"and of course you'll be able to fly back." That's the exception, though.

Other airlines simply say, "Check in deadline is one hour,

"you turn up with 59 minutes to go,

"not only are we going to cancel your flight,

"we're going to cancel the entire reservation

-"and there's nothing you can do about that."

-I'm shocked.

-Not like I just didn't turn up.

-Oh, well. Unfortunately it is a no-show

-in the airlines' book. I'm not justifying...

-That's not fair!

Well! That's the conditions that Ken's signed up to.

I'm really sorry. But hopefully people will learn from your...

I'd have been crying, Ken,

but anyway, thank you so much for sharing that awful situation.

Thanks for the time, anyway.

We've heard plenty of similar stories from people who,

for whatever reason, didn't fly on

the original outward flight they'd booked.

So, if you don't get on that flight, you will find that any

remaining flights on that booking, including the one home,

could have been cancelled as well.

It's a very useful piece of information

and you can find lots more travel advice on a factsheet

that Simon's put together on our website...

Next, keeping your possessions safe while you're away is always

going to be near the top of anyone's priorities.

So a good strong case that you can lock might seem a wise investment.

But the truth is,

you can't guarantee that any bag will withstand a thief

who is really determined to get their hands on what's inside.

Margaret and Brian Poole from Eastleigh near Southampton

consider themselves to be seasoned travellers.

We've been travelling abroad for about 45 years, I should say.

-Yeah. Yeah. We've done many places. Been many places.

-Yeah.

Been to many places over...over that period of time.

We probably travel abroad two or three times a year.

Until recently, each time they travelled they thought

they'd done enough to keep their belongings safe.

I think we're very...security conscious.

We've...we've always taken two hard suitcases with us.

We always leave them in the room, locked.

And as far as Margaret and Brian were concerned,

their hard suitcases were the best ones for the job.

It's as solid as a rock. Two good locks.

Whoever would attempt to get into a case like this?

And what happened to us, you just wouldn't expect.

But it was during a trip to the Canary Islands in March 2014

that the couple realised their cases were not as secure

as they had hoped.

So, we booked a holiday for a week in Fuerteventura.

We didn't want any worries, just...

just get on the plane, go there.

The hotel they were staying in

was the four-star Barcelo Fuerteventura Thalasso Spa.

We've travelled for so many years. We've always used a suitcase.

We've always locked it, taken the key with us.

It didn't even enter our mind about not being safe.

In fact, Margaret and Brian were so confident that their cases

were robust enough to keep secure anything inside

that they didn't feel the need to use the hotel safe in their room.

Instead, they made sure their valuables were kept

locked in their luggage.

And that included two bracelets of such financial

and sentimental value that they'd brought them

on a holiday rather than leave them unprotected back in the UK.

I thought instead of leaving them here, leave them at home,

I'll take them with me

because I thought, "They'll be safer if I take them with me

"than if I leave them in the house."

We did what we normally do on holiday.

We locked the jewellery in the case along with...

..money.

The reason we locked them in the case is because when we first

started to travel there were no things like safes in the room.

All went well until the third day of their holiday.

When we returned, we didn't notice anything amiss.

Margaret said to me after we'd been in the room for five minutes or so,

"Why have you left your beach towel on the side near the sink?"

And I said, "Well..." You know, "..I haven't. I haven't."

Then I turned to the case and I looked at the case

and I could see two...

two notch things where the case had been jimmied open.

Realising that their suitcase had been tampered with,

Brian looked inside to see if anything was missing.

We had credit cards in there and money.

The credit cards had been left, but the money had been taken.

I had my two jewellery boxes. I looked in there, opened those

and saw that the jewellery had gone.

Brian, I think, went and phoned the hotel manager,

told them what had happened

and this guy said he would come down.

I went to our friends who were next door, told them what had happened.

SHE CRIES

I'm sorry.

It's just... It's just bringing it all back.

Brian and Margaret reported the theft to the local police,

who sent detectives to investigate.

But with no sign of forced entry

and the hotel claiming that the electronic door key records showed

that nobody had entered the room other than Brian and Margaret,

there was little that could be done to help.

There was absolutely no sign of forced entry whatsoever.

Which was even more surprising.

The hotel, of course, claimed that it was me.

I mean, how do you explain

someone trying to put the blame on you when you know full well it's...

it's not your fault.

You've done nothing wrong.

Made me angry that they would blame us

for something that we had the loss, not them. Ha!

What's more, because there was a safe provided in the room which the

couple hadn't used, the hotel said it couldn't take any

responsibility for Brian and Margaret's losses.

The couple have since claimed on their travel

insurance for some of their missing items,

but they don't feel the pay-out has covered all that they lost.

I knew in claiming that we wouldn't be getting a great

deal for the loss we'd suffered.

Went through the process

and at the end of the day, they awarded us £250.

We'd lost jewellery, money, suitcase and a lot of stress.

When we contacted the management at the hotel where all this happened,

they told us that though dismayed and sorry

about the couple's experience, they "firmly reject" Margaret

and Brian's version of events,

saying an internal investigation found no doors were forced,

no-one else entered the room with an electronic key,

and video cameras haven't revealed "anything that could help."

They wouldn't comment further because the matter

"is still being investigated by Spanish police authorities,"

but reiterated that even in a hotel like theirs, considered to be safe,

they would "strongly recommend" using the safe in each bedroom.

But Margaret and Brian have learned a hard lesson

that they're keen to share.

Other people...it's a warning to them.

Don't leave valuables in a locked suitcase thinking it's locked

and nobody can get into it because they can.

If they can get into your room, they can get into your suitcase.

Our travel expert, Simon Calder, has flown, sailed, driven

and indeed cycled to thousands of destinations all around the world.

So we asked him to let us in on some of his top secrets,

this time, the city of Prague.

In the early 1990s,

Prague was reborn as the capital of the Czech Republic

and the tourists flocked in.

Many are drawn by its extraordinary cultural heritage.

It was here that Mozart's operas were first performed

over 200 years ago.

For anyone who likes to combine culture with travel,

Prague is paradise, and it's much cheaper than most European capitals.

To enjoy opera or classical music is so much more affordable than London.

You can pick up a ticket for a top-notch concert for under £6,

so no need to deal with those touts in 17th century costumes

who may overcharge you or even give you a fake ticket.

And it's not only the ticket sellers you need to be

wary of on the streets of the city.

Your papers, please?

Beware of the Czech fake check.

Two bogus policemen will show you some fake ID, they'll then

demand to see your passport, they'll rifle through it, and hand it

back to you, then they say they're looking for counterfeit

currency and they need to see your wallet. Again you hand it over,

they go through it, and hand it back with apologies.

Only later do you realise

that they've removed all the high-value notes by sleight of hand.

The Foreign Office specifically warns that no police officer

in the Czech Republic is allowed to ask to see your money.

Let's face it, for an awful lot of people the real

pleasure of going on holiday means that you're able to chill out

and relax by the pool or on the beach, but you know there

are just as many people who would much prefer to go out and explore.

And one of the simplest ways of doing that is very often just

to hire a car and then for some, just driving around can become

a major part of the holiday's experience.

But you know, car hire, particularly

when you hire overseas, is a subject that you write to us

an awful lot. Not least because all too often your rental comes

with a whole bewildering array of extra charges, waivers, taxes,

and guarantees all the things that bump up the basic price far beyond

the bargain you might have thought you were getting in the first place.

And that could mean, just like the couple in our next film,

that you are in for a very nasty surprise when you get the bill.

There are few things that John

and Teresa Bloxham love more than the freedom of the open road.

And like most fans of an epic road trip,

they reckon there's only one place to go for that - America.

You can drive along. You don't have to stick to a particular itinerary.

You've got the freedom just to choose where you go, what you do.

John and Teresa decided to mark their retirement with a road trip

to end all road trips.

They spent three years planning the 15,000-mile, three-month

driving holiday that would see them zigzag across America.

We have actually been to America quite a few times before.

We had decided that instead of looking to live over there,

we would just go and have a massive holiday

and travel as much as we could.

Such a big trip was going to cost, but when the airline

with whom they booked their flights offered them what seemed like

a great deal on a hire car, John and Teresa were quick to snap it up.

It was with one of the leading names in the hire car business, Avis.

And with the quote clearly stating an estimated total of just

over 2,500 for the full three months rental,

it was within budget too.

We'd been planning it for so long that we couldn't wait to go,

it was nerve-racking to know we weren't going to be

home for three months, but it was the adventure of just going off,

just doing what we wanted to do.

John and Teresa finally landed in Orlando to begin

their trip of a lifetime in June 2013.

We found the desk for the car hire, went straight there.

The guy in the check-in desk couldn't have been more helpful

if he tried, he was very friendly.

He was asking us where we were going, we told him

and he said, "We'll try and find you a low mileage car,"

which I thought was quite good of him.

But it was at this point, as often happens when picking up a car

after a long flight, that things got a little bit confusing.

John and Teresa say the Avis rep offered them

an upgrade on their car, which they understood would only cost them

a few hundred dollars more than their original quote.

So they accepted.

But when the rep came back with the paperwork John noticed

the figures seemed to be suggesting a different amount entirely.

When I was signing it I noticed a monthly

hire for each of the months we were going to be away.

The couple was now being asked to sign a separate form

for each of the three months they were booking and it seemed

that rather than paying around 2,800 for the full three months

they were actually being asked to pay

about that amount for each month.

I queried with him the fact that the paperwork looked like we were

going to be charged that amount every month.

And I asked him about that and he said, "No, that is the total cost,

"but we have to show that cost on each of the forms,

"but that is the one price."

Reassured by what he was hearing, John signed the documents

and he and Teresa started their road trip.

Holiday was going great, we moved on from Pensacola,

went down to New Orleans into Texas, El Paso, Albuquerque

and then we hit Route 66 down heading west.

A month into their trip, a charge for 2,842 from Avis

appeared on their credit card.

John and Teresa assumed that meant that the full payment for all

three months rental in one go.

We were expecting at some point to pay for the car and the fact

that they'd taken it then rather than later really wasn't an issue.

Over the next month, the couple covered another 3,800 miles.

They passed through nine states and sailed down the Mississippi

on a paddle steamer.

Their trip couldn't have been going better until John noticed

that Avis had taken a further 2,694 from their credit card.

I thought it was just a mistake and we'd be able to rectify it

when we spoke to Avis. So, I thought,

"It will only be a few weeks before we're back in Orlando

"and I'll go back to the desk and sort it out with them then."

In the final month of their trip, the couple covered another

2,000 miles, passed through a further eight states

before returning to Florida

where they hoped to finally sort out the car hire charges.

When we got back to Florida, we went to the Avis desk at Orlando

International spoke to the guy there, explained that we'd been

charged twice, he dug the paperwork out and said, "No, that's right."

I then explained what we agreed when I signed the forms originally,

what we'd been told then and he shrugged his shoulders

and said, "Well, I think you've got a good deal."

As instead of 2,800 it was going to cost us about 8,500

I couldn't say I agreed with him cos we could have bought a car for that.

It wasn't clear where or how such a fundamental

misunderstanding about the price had arisen.

But instead of arguing whilst still in Orlando, John

and Teresa decided to pick it up with Avis when they got home.

We were determined that we weren't going to let that spoil

what we'd already had.

We felt sure that as soon as we got back

we had paperwork to say how much that should have cost us.

Back home, John e-mailed the Avis UK head office

and explained the situation.

They said they would contact the American branch

and get back to us within a couple of weeks and they were quite

helpful, they were quite friendly and sounded quite sympathetic.

Avis did look into the case but when they came back to John

and Teresa it wasn't the news the couple wanted to hear.

It seemed that the upgrade the couple had accepted in Orlando

had effectively ripped up their original booking

and the three monthly charges they'd paid instead were in fact correct.

The company had said the details had all been laid

out in the paperwork and because John and Teresa had signed

the contract accepting them, there was nothing now that could be done.

Their attitude was that we'd signed the contracts

and as far as they were concerned that stood,

they weren't going to do anything about it.

That's when I started getting a little bit angry

cos it was a lot of money.

People can't afford to spend that sort of money and just lose it.

If they'd have told us at the beginning

that it was going to be 8,500,

we would have said, "Thanks very much but no, thank you,"

and gone somewhere else.

We contacted Avis UK about this case.

They wouldn't discuss it with us directly

because of "customer privacy," but said they had got in touch

with John and Teresa directly "to reach a resolution

"concerning their rental."

John told us Avis has made them

an offer over the phone of just over £1,600.

When they told AVIS they were planning to reject it,

AVIS said this would be its final offer.

But John says he is still unsure whether to accept.

If ever you've hired a car when you've been abroad,

then perhaps you, too, have been baffled by all facts

and the figures on the paperwork that gets thrust in front of you.

Maybe you've just come off a long flight, you're a bit tired,

you're disorientated or there's a great long queue in front of you

and really all you want to do is just get out of the airport

and get on your way. Is it any wonder that we receive

as many complaints about what you get charged for car hire as we do?

It's possible, of course, that you didn't quite understand the

terms of what you were signing for.

Or maybe you were persuaded to take on extra insurance, an upgrade,

things that bump up the price that you're going to pay

which means that you end up with a bill which is an awful lot more

than you originally expected.

That's why the body that represents the UK car rental industry

insists that customers need to make sure they understand the deals

and contracts they've signed up to

so there's no confusion later on.

It's in the interest of both consumers

and our members to ensure that transparency is

maximised in the whole booking process, so that consumers

are made aware very early on in the process what is the price

that they're going to pay to drive away the car or van

that they want to rent. If you're hiring a car abroad,

there's a number of basic steps to take

which can ensure that your experience is going to be a good one.

You have to really understand the terms and conditions

that you're singing up to of any contract

and print them off the website, take the time to read them

before you actually make the booking.

So when you go to the desk to collect the keys of your vehicle,

you're prepared.

Of course, John and Teresa had thought they were prepared

but still, once at the desk, somehow it all unravelled.

They also knew their trip of a lifetime wouldn't be cheap,

but they never imagined what they paid for their hire car would

end up as much as it did.

This is a huge amount of money. We're now living on a pension

and I think that makes the impact even bigger.

Not something anybody could afford to lose.

Here at Rip Off Britain we're always ready

to investigate your stories and not just about holidays.

You might have a cautionary tale of your own

and want to share the mistakes you made with us

so that other people don't do the same.

You can write to us at...

Or you can send us an e-mail to...

Well, as we've been hearing, when something doesn't go to plan

on holiday, it can lead to all sorts of unexpected costs and expense.

And while of course you can never prepare for every eventuality,

you can at least limit your risks by being absolutely 100% clear

on what it is you think you're paying for.

That's really vital advice.

And if you're in any way unsure, then take extra advice.

Don't assume that something's necessarily

as straightforward as you think.

Because while it's not true of all our stories today,

certainly in some cases,

if the information that's come to light now had been known a little

earlier on, then a very different decision may well have been made.

Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?

We could all be so clever, couldn't we?

But it is true that

if you're prepared to do a bit of extra research or checking right

at the start, you could save yourself an awful lot of grief later on.

So our very heartfelt thanks to all of those people who were

prepared to share their experiences with us today.

Well, we will be back to look at even more of your stories very soon,

so do please keep them coming.

But until then, from everyone on the team, bye-bye.

-Goodbye.

-Thanks for your company.