0:00:02 > 0:00:04We asked you who has left you feeling ripped off
0:00:04 > 0:00:05when it comes to your holidays,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08and you came back with a catalogue of travel disasters.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12It was absolutely gutting.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13You know, we just...
0:00:13 > 0:00:15We thought that's it, we've lost our money.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Never in my life have I experienced anything like that.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21It... I wouldn't wish it on anybody.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24So, whether it's a deliberate rip-off, a simple mistake
0:00:24 > 0:00:29or a catch in the small print, we'll find out why you're out of pocket -
0:00:29 > 0:00:30and what you can do about it.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Your stories, your money.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36This is Rip-off Britain.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Hello and welcome to another very sunny edition of Rip-off Britain,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44where for this series we've based ourselves on the sunny island
0:00:44 > 0:00:48of Lanzarote to talk about all things holiday-related.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51And, today, as we look into more of the stories that you've asked us
0:00:51 > 0:00:53to investigate on your behalf, we have some very,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55very big names in our sights.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Indeed, they are some of the best-known names in the business.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01But whether it's a company that's been around for decades
0:01:01 > 0:01:03or even one that's relatively new on the scene,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07it's their experience or their specialist knowledge in
0:01:07 > 0:01:10organising holidays that's probably made you want to travel with
0:01:10 > 0:01:11these companies in the first place.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14So, I'm sure you'd like to think that, when it comes to
0:01:14 > 0:01:18getting it right, they would be the very ones to do it.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19You really, really would.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21But, as you'll see from the cases we're about to hear,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25booking with a familiar name is no guarantee that all will go to plan.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28You would hope, however, that if something does go wrong,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31a bigger or well-established company might be better geared up
0:01:31 > 0:01:32to putting things right.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Well, let's see if that's always the case.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Coming up - how fraudsters have hijacked what's become
0:01:38 > 0:01:41one of the biggest success stories in travel.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45And used it to snaffle money for accommodation that doesn't exist.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49I was absolutely devastated when I found out that we'd been scammed.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Because £850 is a lot of money.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56And which big name has rooms that some guests claim are so grubby
0:01:56 > 0:01:59they've had to clean them up themselves?
0:01:59 > 0:02:00There was dirt on the floor.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04The oven hadn't been cleaned since...I don't know when.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08In that pan, you would never have dreamed of cooking anything in it.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Now, when a holiday goes wrong, all too often the most frustrating part
0:02:16 > 0:02:19is simply that you haven't got what you paid for.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22So, when you've gone to the trouble of selecting a particular hotel,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25suddenly being told that you'll be staying somewhere else
0:02:25 > 0:02:27is the very last thing you want to hear.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Especially if that news comes too late for you to do
0:02:30 > 0:02:32anything about it.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35But how can it be that such a basic part of your holiday
0:02:35 > 0:02:37can be changed right at the very last minute?
0:02:37 > 0:02:40I'm afraid that's the question that the people in our next film
0:02:40 > 0:02:42have been left asking as well.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Menorca gets close to 3,000 hours of sunshine every year.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52And it was the climate and beautiful beaches, and less-developed feel,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55that appealed to Claire Godfrey and her mum, Elaine, when they were
0:02:55 > 0:02:59looking for somewhere to celebrate Elaine's birthday in August 2015.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04That's a nice view, isn't it?
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Now, the family don't get much free time together because Elaine
0:03:07 > 0:03:11is a full-time carer for her partner, Robin, who sadly has dementia.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14This holiday meant a lot to me.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16A chance to spend time with my family.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Also coming along on the trip were Elaine's other daughter
0:03:20 > 0:03:23and son-in-law, and her two granddaughters, 11-year-old Sadie
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and Charlotte, who'd be celebrating her 14th birthday
0:03:26 > 0:03:28while they were away.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30We picked a lovely hotel.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34The children wanted one with slides.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37So long as the kids are happy when you go on holiday,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40you know, you can sort of enjoy the rest of it.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Elaine had found what seemed the perfect resort.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46The three-star all-inclusive Carema Playa Resort Hotel,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49with package holiday company Cosmos Holidays,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53which, at the time, was part of Monarch Holidays.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55It looked really nice in the brochure.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58It had slides for the children.
0:03:58 > 0:03:59It was all-inclusive.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02I was looking forward to the slide and the swimming pools and stuff,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04because it looked really fun.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Full of excitement as to what lay ahead,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10the family jetted off to Menorca.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13It was 8:30 at night when we got there.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16So, we were just looking to get to the hotel, getting a drink,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18beginning the holiday.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19Getting some nice warm weather
0:04:19 > 0:04:22and just starting to enjoy ourselves, really.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25But I'm afraid the jovial mood was about to change.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Because when they touched down at the airport,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30the family was handed a letter from Cosmos informing them that
0:04:30 > 0:04:34the hotel they were booked in wasn't where they would now be staying.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37The letter said that we were going to a new resort
0:04:37 > 0:04:39and to a completely different hotel.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42And that the board basis was going to be different.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44So, my first impression was I was really shocked
0:04:44 > 0:04:45they could just do that,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49because I didn't know they could just change it when you arrived.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Confused, the family boarded the transfer bus
0:04:51 > 0:04:53to their new destination.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55It seemed the hotel they'd originally booked
0:04:55 > 0:04:58had in fact been overbooked.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00However, they were assured that the alternative
0:05:00 > 0:05:03they were going to instead was comparable.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05But when the next day dawned,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07they didn't consider that to be the case at all.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11It was a really nice hotel, it was a four-star hotel
0:05:11 > 0:05:13but it was a very adult hotel.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15If it had been Mum and I by ourselves,
0:05:15 > 0:05:16we'd have probably really liked it
0:05:16 > 0:05:19but it wasn't really a family sort of hotel.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The hotel didn't have the much-anticipated water slides
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and all the family entertainment that Elaine had wanted for the children.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30And the fact that it was only half-board and not, as they'd booked,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33all-inclusive, meant the costs were quickly ramping up.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38We were sort of concerned about Mum, really, cos it was supposed to be
0:05:38 > 0:05:42a special birthday treat for her and the rest of the family
0:05:42 > 0:05:44were obviously disappointed that we were there.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48We just wanted to get the whole matter sorted as quick as we could.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52So Claire called the Cosmos Holiday office back in the UK.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55I asked them how long they'd been aware of the fact
0:05:55 > 0:05:56that the hotel was overbooked
0:05:56 > 0:05:59and they said they'd known for three or four days, and I asked them
0:05:59 > 0:06:03why they hadn't told us before that and they couldn't answer that.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Claire just couldn't understand why Cosmos had not informed her
0:06:07 > 0:06:11of the overbooking problem before they had left the UK,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13so that things could have been resolved earlier.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17As it was, with the holiday already under way, getting moved to a hotel
0:06:17 > 0:06:20with the facilities they'd booked and indeed paid for
0:06:20 > 0:06:21wasn't going to be easy.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26It took till early afternoon of that first day
0:06:26 > 0:06:29and then eventually they rang us back and said they'd found us
0:06:29 > 0:06:34another hotel which had water slides and was more appropriate for us.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Sure enough, this one did have water slides and was all-inclusive,
0:06:38 > 0:06:39but as a two-star resort,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42it fell short of what the family wanted for their holiday.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Well, the water slides and stuff were good for younger kids,
0:06:47 > 0:06:52like toddlers and maybe like five-, six-year-olds, but for people
0:06:52 > 0:06:56of my age and like my sister, there wasn't really a lot for us to do.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00The rooms were very basic with no air conditioning,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03which we'd wanted, with it being August.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07But we all tried to enjoy, you know, the facilities that were there,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10because, you know, we didn't have much option at that time.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14- Very poor at night, the entertainment, wasn't it?- Yeah.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Could have done better myself!
0:07:17 > 0:07:19It was all a very far cry from
0:07:19 > 0:07:23the three-star birthday treat that Elaine wanted for her family.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25I just couldn't stop the tears from coming.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29I was just so upset, and thinking that the whole holiday
0:07:29 > 0:07:31had been spoiled for us all.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33I felt really sorry for her
0:07:33 > 0:07:36because it was meant to be for her birthday and things
0:07:36 > 0:07:40and when we had just been let down, it spoiled the holiday for her.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Seeing her mum in tears was just the final straw for Claire.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48She went online, where she found a more suitable three-star hotel
0:07:48 > 0:07:50to stay in.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54And after yet more phone calls back to the UK, Cosmos finally
0:07:54 > 0:07:58agreed to move them there, nearly three days into their week away.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Even though we enjoyed the last few days,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03it just really spoiled the whole thing.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05It put a really bad taste on something
0:08:05 > 0:08:08that we'd all been really looking forward to.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10Once back in the UK,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Claire set about getting some answers from Cosmos Holidays.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18And although the family was given £100 per person compensation
0:08:18 > 0:08:22and was reimbursed for some of the extra costs that they incurred,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Claire still couldn't understand how their original hotel
0:08:25 > 0:08:27could have been overbooked in the first place.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30If you were booking theatre tickets,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33they wouldn't let you book a seat that wasn't available.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35They shouldn't let you book to stay in a hotel.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37People are paying a lot of money into it.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Overbooking is surprisingly common in the holiday industry.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44Indeed, travel expert Simon Calder says that many hotels do it
0:08:44 > 0:08:48deliberately to protect against losses, as indeed do most airlines.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51There's many odd things about the holiday industry.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Here you are paying thousands of pounds, in this case, up front,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00for a specific trip to a specific hotel and suddenly they turn around
0:09:00 > 0:09:04and say, "Oh, yeah, sorry, that one's full." How can that happen?
0:09:04 > 0:09:08Well, very easily. Quite often hoteliers will overcommit.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11They think, "Oh, well, you know, we always get the no-shows."
0:09:11 > 0:09:13And then when the no-shows do show,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16well, I'm afraid it all gets very messy,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19and the holiday companies will always make sure
0:09:19 > 0:09:22in their terms and conditions it says something like,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25"Well, if we have to move you, if it's a similar standard of hotel
0:09:25 > 0:09:27"in the same resort,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30"well, you're just going to have to put up with it."
0:09:30 > 0:09:32But when we got in touch with Monarch Holidays,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35which has now stopped using the Cosmos brand, it told us
0:09:35 > 0:09:39that what happened in this case wasn't deliberate overbooking -
0:09:39 > 0:09:40a policy it says it doesn't use.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44It told us that sales of plane seats
0:09:44 > 0:09:49and hotel rooms are usually capped by the company once places are full
0:09:49 > 0:09:53but in this case, due to human error, that didn't happen.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57A genuine mistake for which the company apologises.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59It stressed it did everything it could to find alternative
0:09:59 > 0:10:03accommodation, which is not easy at such a busy time.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06But went on to say that it made no excuse for the error which
0:10:06 > 0:10:09left Claire and her family so disappointed.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12It has now refunded the cost of the holiday in full.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17But while that's good news for Claire and her family, it doesn't totally
0:10:17 > 0:10:19make up for the fact that the trip
0:10:19 > 0:10:21fell so far short of their expectations.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24We thought we were getting a really lovely family holiday where we
0:10:24 > 0:10:27could all relax and have some quality time together.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Instead we just ended up with everyone upset.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40A name that's come from nowhere to revolutionise the way that
0:10:40 > 0:10:43millions of people across the globe now take their holidays is Airbnb.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47It advertises accommodation not in hotels
0:10:47 > 0:10:49but in ordinary people's homes.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Its devotees swear by it
0:10:51 > 0:10:56and indeed in many cases now wouldn't stay anywhere any other way.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00But it does seem that even Airbnb can't avoid being exploited by scammers
0:11:00 > 0:11:04and there are now people who are taking money for places to stay
0:11:04 > 0:11:08that either don't exist or that aren't theirs to offer in the first place.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Seven years ago, three guys in San Francisco with a website,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17three air mattresses and plenty of ambition transformed
0:11:17 > 0:11:20the way many of us now book our holiday accommodation.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23On a mission to make travel to even the most expensive places
0:11:23 > 0:11:28affordable to all, they created the holiday rental site Airbnb.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35The way it's supposed to work is that, rather than pay for a poky hotel room,
0:11:35 > 0:11:40in the same city-centre location you can find a three-bedroom apartment,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43a house or just a room for the same price or even cheaper.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Here's what the company says in its ads.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51It's simple, just enter where you want to go,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55the dates you want to be there and choose from thousands of places.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Ros Webb became one of the million Brits to have used the service
0:12:00 > 0:12:05when trying to bag herself and four friends an apartment in Amsterdam.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08We decided to use Airbnb to book our holidays
0:12:08 > 0:12:12because loads of our friends and family had done it before.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14They'd all trusted it and had a great experience of it
0:12:14 > 0:12:17and we felt it was a really easy way to book an apartment.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23From its humble beginnings, Airbnb is now a multibillion-dollar
0:12:23 > 0:12:27company, offering two million listings in more than 190 countries.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Their website is clear - "Trust is what makes it work."
0:12:32 > 0:12:35'Trust is a massive part of the whole thing, like,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39'we trusted in the website to give us a legitimate apartment.'
0:12:40 > 0:12:44And Ros soon found an apartment that sounded ideal,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a TV in every room
0:12:47 > 0:12:51and superfast Wi-Fi, all for £850 for the weekend.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56So, keen to secure the flat, she contacted the owner,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00or as Airbnb calls them the "host", through the site.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Here's the listing of Julia's apartment.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08It has a photograph of Julia on there.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Having a photo of Julia definitely made us feel more secure, to be able
0:13:11 > 0:13:14to picture who we were dealing with and who we were booking with.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19When a few hours passed with no response from Julia, Ros was worried
0:13:19 > 0:13:23that she might miss out on the perfect apartment for their stay.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26But, looking at the Airbnb listing again,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29she saw that Julia said that the quickest way to contact her
0:13:29 > 0:13:33was via her direct e-mail address, which she included in the ad.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36So Ros quickly fired off a message.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38She was really quick to respond.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40She let us know that she was available
0:13:40 > 0:13:42and she was keen for us to come and stay.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45We let her know we wanted to and we booked it.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50Shortly after that, Ros received an e-mail booking confirmation
0:13:50 > 0:13:53which she THOUGHT came directly from Airbnb.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57It requested that she pay by bank transfer to an Airbnb
0:13:57 > 0:13:59holding account, the money only to be released
0:13:59 > 0:14:03when her group had the keys to the apartment.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06All of which to Ros seemed entirely plausible.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10It's got the Airbnb logo at the top.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12It had all the same typography
0:14:12 > 0:14:15that it has on all the other web pages and e-mails.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18At the bottom, they signed it Airbnb.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24So, confident that she was sending her money to an Airbnb account,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Ros transferred the £850 to secure the apartment.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Just a few hours later, concerned that she hadn't received any
0:14:32 > 0:14:35confirmation, she called Airbnb to find out why.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41They didn't give us any answer we needed, apart from that we
0:14:41 > 0:14:45didn't have any bookings with them and that's all they could tell us.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49It was then that Ros realised she'd been duped.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52I was absolutely devastated when I found out that we had been
0:14:52 > 0:14:55scammed, because £850 is a lot of money.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Airbnb told Ros that, as she'd contacted
0:14:59 > 0:15:03the host by a personal e-mail address and had made the payment
0:15:03 > 0:15:08outside its own platform, it wasn't liable for the fraud.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11The response that I got from Airbnb was just gutting.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15They'd not taken any ownership for the fact that,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17if we hadn't gone onto their website,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19we wouldn't have found the listing
0:15:19 > 0:15:21and we wouldn't have booked with Julia.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24What's more, Ros was shocked to find that the Amsterdam apartment
0:15:24 > 0:15:28was still listed on the Airbnb site the next day.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31The listing wasn't taken down until eight o'clock the next morning.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33We informed them at half seven the night before.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35That's a good 12 hours later,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38that's plenty of time for more people to have got scammed.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42And while the Airbnb site does have advice on how to book securely
0:15:42 > 0:15:45and safely, and would have displayed a warning telling Ros
0:15:45 > 0:15:47not to pay the hosts directly,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Ros doesn't think that the risks are made sufficiently clear.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54I don't think there's enough warnings on the Airbnb site at all.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57As soon as you go onto their home page,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00there should be a big warning saying, "Do not bank transfer,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03"only pay through our website," and that should be every way.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Some experts have questioned
0:16:05 > 0:16:09whether the company should be going further to protect their customers.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Our technology expert David McClelland
0:16:11 > 0:16:14took a look at the Airbnb site to see if he thinks
0:16:14 > 0:16:17the warnings against fraud are currently clear.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20So, there's certainly nothing on the front page here.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24At the bottom, there's a Trust & Safety page,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27but still, there's nothing here.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Where you can find the statement on how you ARE supposed to use Airbnb
0:16:31 > 0:16:33is in the terms and conditions,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35so if we just click on...
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Where is that on here?
0:16:39 > 0:16:42But, sure enough, those warnings are made in the Ts & Cs.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45What's more, they're repeated on the payments page,
0:16:45 > 0:16:49which Ros would have seen when she was making her booking.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Basically, it's saying that you have
0:16:51 > 0:16:54to pay using Airbnb's own payment platform,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56and if you do go outside of that,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59then any fraud, it's kind of down to you.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00- Here we go.- Thank you.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Meanwhile, the scammer Ros came up against wasn't
0:17:03 > 0:17:06quite finished with her. Even after taking her cash,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Julia made contact a few days later,
0:17:09 > 0:17:15asking her to log on to Airbnb via a link to view her unread messages.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Suspicious, Ros consulted her dad, who works in IT,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20for his advice.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23My dad checked the coding, realised it had been tampered with,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27so...and this is where she would have read all my files
0:17:27 > 0:17:29and all my login information for Airbnb.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33He made me change my Facebook password, my Gmail password,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37just everything, just to make sure I was definitely safe.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42Wise precautions, but Lauren Dudley from Sussex wasn't so lucky.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45As a regular user of Airbnb, Lauren, too,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47had planned a trip to Amsterdam,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50but the day before she was due to travel, she discovered she had
0:17:50 > 0:17:52also been the victim of a scam.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56She lost the £502 that she'd paid by bank transfer
0:17:56 > 0:17:59to the person that she thought owned the property.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02And while Airbnb gave her a credit note
0:18:02 > 0:18:04when she returned to the UK,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08she discovered that the fraudsters had hacked her Airbnb account
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and used her profile to advertise bogus listings on the website.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15She started to receive e-mails from people
0:18:15 > 0:18:20enquiring about a flat in London, which she knew nothing about.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23We contacted Airbnb to see what it's doing
0:18:23 > 0:18:25to combat fraud on its site.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30It told us that it works proactively to advise site users
0:18:30 > 0:18:33to only message advertisers
0:18:33 > 0:18:35and make payments through the site itself,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38"where their money is secure".
0:18:38 > 0:18:39And Airbnb told us
0:18:39 > 0:18:42that it's recently rolled out a variety of extra security measures,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46including a very clear warning that site users should...
0:18:49 > 0:18:53..which now appears next to every message thread between guests
0:18:53 > 0:18:54and hosts on the site.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Airbnb said that it has also introduced
0:18:57 > 0:18:59anonymised e-mail addresses,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02so, as long as you communicate via the website,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05phoney advertisers can't harvest your e-mail
0:19:05 > 0:19:07and use it for further scams.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Airbnb was also keen to emphasise that 60 million people
0:19:11 > 0:19:15have used its website and problems are extremely rare.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19They said it is in "close contact" with our case studies
0:19:19 > 0:19:21and are providing "full support".
0:19:21 > 0:19:26Ros and her friends did eventually get their trip to Amsterdam,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29but she's learned a hard lesson about making payments in the future.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32'I'll be so much more careful when I'm booking a holiday.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35'I'll do it by credit card, where I have the protection,'
0:19:35 > 0:19:38or by PayPal, or any other ways.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40I will never, ever bank-transfer again.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Still to come on Rip Off Britain -
0:19:48 > 0:19:51the toxic haze that led to this couple's dream holiday going
0:19:51 > 0:19:54up in smoke. Could they have been told in advance?
0:19:54 > 0:20:00The warning to wear facemasks, the fact they'd closed schools,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03sent children home because it was so bad...
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Rip-Off Britain is on the road again
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and this time we're in Nottingham.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17Our pop-up shop is full of experts, on hand to give free, expert
0:20:17 > 0:20:20advice to anyone that drops in.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25And Simon Calder was in the heart of the shopping centre with a quiz.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29This is all about motoring in Europe and what you are going to need
0:20:29 > 0:20:32if you're not going to break the law. And so
0:20:32 > 0:20:36what I've got here is my good old suitcase full of stuff.
0:20:36 > 0:20:37Let's start off by saying,
0:20:37 > 0:20:42- where is it compulsory to have one of these in the car?- Spain?
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- Spain, very good. - Have you driven in Spain?- Yeah, yeah.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48- Is that why you knew?- Yeah. - Did you have one in the car?
0:20:48 > 0:20:51- Had one in the car, and I take my own car, so...- Perfect.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54When you get a rental car, normally they pack one in, don't they?
0:20:54 > 0:20:57OK, what have we got here?
0:20:57 > 0:20:58Well, you know what this is.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01- But where is it compulsory to have one of these?- France?
0:21:01 > 0:21:05No, quite a lot of things are compulsory in France...
0:21:05 > 0:21:09- Do we have a guess?- Belgium? - Jane, that's fantastic.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11- How did you guess that? - It's just a guess.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14- Give that woman a lemon!- Fantastic, I'll give you a fire extinguisher!
0:21:14 > 0:21:18- Congratulations. Look at that. - Why is it essential in that country?
0:21:18 > 0:21:19No, it's not... Actually,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22if you're taking your own car you don't need one of those,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25but if you've got a locally registered car, for instance
0:21:25 > 0:21:28a rental car, you absolutely have to make sure that you have
0:21:28 > 0:21:30a fire extinguisher in there.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32I have two things left in my box of tricks,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35one of them can just be thrown away.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38You can probably guess which one it is. But you've got to tell me why.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- Paper driving licence. - The green counterpart.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46So, this is the thing that has all your motoring misdeeds listed on it.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49And up until June in 2015
0:21:49 > 0:21:54you needed this to prove that you were a good driver, particularly
0:21:54 > 0:21:57when you're renting cars, but as of 8 June 2015
0:21:57 > 0:22:00you can chuck it in the bin.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Instead you've got to go online
0:22:02 > 0:22:04and get your motoring record printed out.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06You can only get a certificate valid for 72 hours,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08so if you're flying out to Florida,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11the night before - get your certificate and take it over there.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15- Do you always take your driving licence with you?- I have done.- Yeah.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Did you know you've got to print it out on the computer now?
0:22:18 > 0:22:19No, I didn't know that.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22I hope that if you do go driving, anywhere at all,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25- that you have safe trips and a happy holiday.- Thank you.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Thanks for taking part in our quiz. ALL: Thank you.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Ever since the 1930s, holiday parks along the British coast have
0:22:34 > 0:22:38been a popular choice for families heading to the seaside.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41And one name in particular has weathered ups, downs
0:22:41 > 0:22:44and changes in management to remain synonymous with
0:22:44 > 0:22:47the traditional bucket-and-spade vacation.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51Pontins was founded back in 1946, and in its current guise
0:22:51 > 0:22:55the company likes to boast of outstanding value for money.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58It says no-one can beat it on price.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00That's all well and good, but some of you reckon
0:23:00 > 0:23:03that rock-bottom price sometimes might mean
0:23:03 > 0:23:08certain other parts of the holiday may be compromised along the way.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10MUSIC: Blue Suede Shoes by Elvis Presley
0:23:10 > 0:23:13What do Bobby Davro, Shane Ritchie, Lee Mack
0:23:13 > 0:23:15and Bradley Walsh have in common?
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Well, each of them earned their showbiz stripes as Bluecoats,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21the people that bring the fun
0:23:21 > 0:23:23and entertainment to Pontins holiday parks.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Pontins first opened its doors more than half a century ago,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35when Fred Pontin turned a disused army camp at Brean Sands
0:23:35 > 0:23:38in Somerset into a holiday park.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43But fast-forward several decades, and according to the e-mails
0:23:43 > 0:23:45quite a few of you have sent us,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49Pontins Brean Sands seems to have lost its shine.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Sarah Darnley is just one of the disappointed Pontins
0:23:53 > 0:23:55customers who got in touch with us,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59after she and her husband stayed there in 2014 with her son Jack
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and her parents.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04We'd never been to Pontins before.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08We knew that there was a lot to do in the area, so we thought...
0:24:08 > 0:24:10It was the middle of the six-week holiday
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and we thought it was a break away for us all.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17They'd bought the holiday from someone on Facebook who couldn't go any more.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19And when they'd gone onto the Pontins website
0:24:19 > 0:24:21to see what the park had to offer,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24they'd been delighted by the photos and promised facilities.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28We looked at the website and it looked good, they'd got a big adventure playground,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32quad bikes, go-karts - it looked really, really nice.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34The apartments looked clean, they looked nice.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38And we thought, "Yeah, we've made the right decision."
0:24:38 > 0:24:43With a basic price of just £325 for the family of five's week-long stay,
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Sarah could even afford
0:24:45 > 0:24:49an extra £50 to upgrade their accommodation.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53We looked on the website and decided that we should upgrade,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57it'd give us more room, there was a better layout at the apartments.
0:24:57 > 0:24:58Everything was included.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Two weeks later, the family set off
0:25:03 > 0:25:06on the three-hour drive to the Somerset coast.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09But when they got there, the family didn't feel the sight
0:25:09 > 0:25:13they were greeted with quite matched the pictures they'd seen online.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17First impressions when we walked in was, "What the hell have we done?
0:25:17 > 0:25:20"What have we booked, what have we paid for?"
0:25:24 > 0:25:29These are some pictures of the apartment that we were in.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33And they don't... There's nothing at all like their brochure and website.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38The family weren't expecting five-star luxury,
0:25:38 > 0:25:39especially at that price,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43but they felt what they got was a little too basic for comfort.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48When we actually arrived, there was flies
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and spiders in the skylight in the bathroom.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54There was chips out of the table,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57there was rust up all the table legs.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01The fridge was just all iced up, you couldn't use it.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05The furniture was broken, there was dirt on the floor.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09The oven hadn't been cleaned since...I don't know when.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11And that pan, you would never have
0:26:11 > 0:26:15dreamed of cooking anything in it without it being thoroughly cleaned.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18The Darnleys complained and asked to be moved into a different apartment,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22but things didn't get much better.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26You would've thought, if they were putting us into a different apartment,
0:26:26 > 0:26:28they would have cleaned it, but it was exactly the same.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Sarah complained again,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32but was told there were no other options available.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35So the family felt they had no choice
0:26:35 > 0:26:37but to put things right themselves.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40We just went out to the local shop and got cleaning products
0:26:40 > 0:26:42and cleaned it ourselves.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45After establishing there was nowhere else in the area with any vacancies,
0:26:45 > 0:26:50the Darnleys decided to stay put and make the best of it.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53And headed out to see what the rest of the park had to offer.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56But it soon became apparent that not all the advertised activities
0:26:56 > 0:26:58were available.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00We had a walk around the park,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03we quickly discovered there were no go-karts there,
0:27:03 > 0:27:08there was no quad bikes, there was no adventure playground, as it had
0:27:08 > 0:27:10described in the brochure.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13While Jack did enjoy the swimming pool and arcade,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16without the activities they'd seen advertised on the website,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19the family found themselves spending as much time as they could
0:27:19 > 0:27:21outside the Pontins park.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25We spent from morning until night away from Pontins,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29we literally went back to sleep, and that was it.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33When they returned home, the family complained to Pontins by e-mail.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35But that was back in August 2014.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37And when we filmed with them over a year later
0:27:37 > 0:27:40they said they still hadn't had a reply.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45We've had no response at all from Pontins, from their head office
0:27:45 > 0:27:49or from Britannia Hotels, who are meant to own them.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52They don't want to know.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55When the Britannia Hotel group took over Pontins in 2011,
0:27:55 > 0:28:01promising a Disney-style makeover as part of a £25 million overhaul,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03hopes were high for the future of
0:28:03 > 0:28:05one of the UK's best-known holiday parks.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07But five years later,
0:28:07 > 0:28:09if the complaints we've received are anything to go by,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12the company is still some way from achieving its ambitions -
0:28:12 > 0:28:15especially at Brean Sands.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Joanne Loveridge stayed there in June 2015.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23She told us she'd been shocked by the standards of hygiene
0:28:23 > 0:28:24on the site.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28And when Pat Cohen visited the park in August 2015,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31she too spent some of her holiday cleaning.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35And this video she took at the time shows exactly what she found.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40In fact, hygiene and a general sense of scruffiness
0:28:40 > 0:28:43are at the heart of most of the complaints we've received
0:28:43 > 0:28:47about this particular Pontins site over the last couple of years.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50But when we contacted Britannia Hotels, which owns Pontins,
0:28:50 > 0:28:54we were met with a resounding silence.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57The company didn't respond to any of our calls or e-mails.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Jack...
0:29:02 > 0:29:04As for the Darnleys,
0:29:04 > 0:29:07they won't be going back to Pontins any time soon.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10We were looking forward to it as a family, going away.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13And when we got there, it was just horrendous.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15Never again will we go to Pontins.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25Our travel expert Simon Calder is sharing his top tips
0:29:25 > 0:29:28on favourite destinations across the globe.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33This time - Benidorm.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38Benidorm's sandy white beaches are the top attraction in this
0:29:38 > 0:29:40incredibly popular resort.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44They may get busy, but you'll almost always manage to find a space
0:29:44 > 0:29:49and there's no charge to get the sand between your toes.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Don't just lie there in the sun.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55Join in with some of the regular exercise classes on the beach.
0:29:55 > 0:29:56They're free.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01And you might want to do a few more fitness classes after you've
0:30:01 > 0:30:04taken up his next tip.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Don't be a Charlie, go to the chocolate factory.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Just 18 minutes by train from Benidorm takes you to
0:30:10 > 0:30:13the lovely fishing village of Villajoyosa.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17Close to the station there's a factory, where they do tours
0:30:17 > 0:30:20and samples, and it won't cost you a cocoa bean!
0:30:24 > 0:30:27- JULIA:- With an average of 200 new visitors arriving every hour,
0:30:27 > 0:30:29every day of the year,
0:30:29 > 0:30:32Benidorm predictably attracts a fair number of scammers.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34But pre-warned is pre-armed.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Let me help you with that, sir.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40Be wary of offers of help from official-looking people
0:30:40 > 0:30:42when you're picking up your rental car.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46As with any transport terminal, never take your eyes
0:30:46 > 0:30:49off your belongings for a second or you might never see them again.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58Now, if you've decided to book your holiday not online
0:30:58 > 0:30:59but from a travel agent,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02what sort of information about your destination
0:31:02 > 0:31:04do you expect they're going to give you?
0:31:04 > 0:31:07You might hope, for example, you're going to get not just sound advice
0:31:07 > 0:31:09but the latest on anything that might create
0:31:09 > 0:31:12a problem at the time you're going away.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14But the couple at the heart of our next story
0:31:14 > 0:31:16say that wasn't the experience they had
0:31:16 > 0:31:19when they booked their dream getaway.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22And by the way, they hadn't gone to just any old travel agent.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25They'd picked one with a reputation for being a real
0:31:25 > 0:31:28specialist in trips that are a cut above the rest.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35Borneo - tropical rainforest and spectacular landscapes.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38Not so long ago, it was an unexplored wilderness
0:31:38 > 0:31:40where very few tourists ventured.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44But now the Indo-Malaysian island attracts something like
0:31:44 > 0:31:46three million holiday-makers a year.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50And Stacy Kitchen and Graham Parker couldn't wait to see it for themselves.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54This was going to be a very special trip for us.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58We've never spent that amount of money on a trip before.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03So we were looking forward to what would be a holiday of a lifetime.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07In June 2015, they turned to a travel agent who
0:32:07 > 0:32:10specialised in exactly the sort of trip they were looking for.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13We chose Kuoni because they've been voted
0:32:13 > 0:32:15the world's leading travel company
0:32:15 > 0:32:18and we just felt that we could trust them.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20You know, the tour would be well set up
0:32:20 > 0:32:22and we would be in very safe hands.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Kuoni put together a package for the couple that was
0:32:27 > 0:32:29a mixture of rainforest and beaches,
0:32:29 > 0:32:33taking in five internal flights across the vast island.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36The lady in the store was very helpful.
0:32:36 > 0:32:42She'd done the tour before herself so we felt in good hands.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46She was adamant that Borneo would be perfect in September.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48This would be a great place to go.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Convinced they were getting just what they wanted,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54the couple booked the £5,500 trip,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57and in September, flew to the East Asian island,
0:32:57 > 0:33:00where things began exactly as they'd hoped,
0:33:00 > 0:33:04with a visit to see the wildlife that Borneo's most famous for.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09Seeing the orang-utans for the first time in a natural habitat live
0:33:09 > 0:33:11was very, very special.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14It was a mother and a baby and we were very close,
0:33:14 > 0:33:16very, very close with our cameras.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18It was really, really wonderful.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21But that first stop would prove to be
0:33:21 > 0:33:24the only part of the itinerary they'd get to see.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28The next morning, on arriving at the airport to catch their first
0:33:28 > 0:33:31internal flight, there was no plane waiting for them.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Flights from Kuching were being grounded
0:33:33 > 0:33:37because of a thick haze that meant visibility was heavily reduced.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40You couldn't actually see the runway.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43We just saw smoke-filled haze the entire time.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45It was like a thick smog.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Eventually a replacement plane was organised
0:33:48 > 0:33:51and the couple boarded a flight to their next destination, Mulu,
0:33:51 > 0:33:54hopeful that they could leave the haze behind.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58But two hours into the flight, there was a problem.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01The pilot tells us that he can't land.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05It's totally impossible to see the airport, he can't see to land,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08- we're going to have to go back... - To where we started.- ..to Kuching.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13You might think that the haze they'd come across was just bad luck.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15But next morning the couple went back to the airport,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18hoping to get their trip back on track.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21But it quickly became clear that their experience the previous day
0:34:21 > 0:34:23wasn't simply a one-off.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28So at breakfast we get the Borneo Post,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30their national newspaper,
0:34:30 > 0:34:34and the front-page story is all the forest fires,
0:34:34 > 0:34:36the poor air quality.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41Stacy and Graham had inadvertently found themselves caught up
0:34:41 > 0:34:45in a phenomenon commonly referred to as the Southeast Asian Haze.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49It's an annual occurrence, the result of mass deforestation,
0:34:49 > 0:34:52where vast areas of forest are set alight,
0:34:52 > 0:34:55to make way for the new plantations.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57This year's fires were particularly bad,
0:34:57 > 0:34:59not only grounding planes
0:34:59 > 0:35:03but making hundreds of thousands of people ill.
0:35:03 > 0:35:08The warning to wear facemasks, the fact that they'd closed schools,
0:35:08 > 0:35:13sent children home, because it was just...poor for your health.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16We knew then that this would have a major impact
0:35:16 > 0:35:17on the rest of our Borneo trip.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20We had lots of internal flights to come,
0:35:20 > 0:35:22and we knew that this was going to be a problem.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28The fires had started in June,
0:35:28 > 0:35:30and Mulu, the place Stacy and Graham were trying to fly to,
0:35:30 > 0:35:35had hit local headlines in August, when the smoke from the fires began
0:35:35 > 0:35:38making visibility and breathing more difficult.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43As the fires took hold, on September the 4th, days before the couple
0:35:43 > 0:35:47travelled, six Indonesian provinces had declared a state of emergency.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53With the haze affecting the whole area,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Graham phoned the nearest Kuoni rep for advice.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59He suggested that the couple take an alternative route that would
0:35:59 > 0:36:01start with them flying to a destination that wasn't
0:36:01 > 0:36:03on the original itinerary,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06from where a revised tour would be arranged.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10When pressed to provide more details on the next steps of the journey,
0:36:10 > 0:36:15Graham says the Kuoni rep seemed unable to offer a concrete plan.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17And with the haze seemingly getting worse,
0:36:17 > 0:36:20the couple felt that their holiday was slipping away from them.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22You've gone on this trip of a lifetime,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25and slowly the realisation is that you could even
0:36:25 > 0:36:28endanger your own health because it was so bad.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32So without what they considered a clear alternative plan
0:36:32 > 0:36:36or any further advice from Kuoni in the UK,
0:36:36 > 0:36:38and all the while, of course, increasingly spooked
0:36:38 > 0:36:41by the number of people wearing masks to keep out the haze,
0:36:41 > 0:36:45when the airline at Kuching suggested it would be able to fly them home to London,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48the couple made a reluctant decision.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52When we had the option to fly back to London,
0:36:52 > 0:36:55it was the last option we wanted to take.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57- It absolutely was the last option. - Devastating.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01Once back on UK soil, the couple started to question
0:37:01 > 0:37:04why everything had gone so badly wrong.
0:37:04 > 0:37:09With the haze from forest fires a regular occurrence at the time of year they'd planned to visit,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13they wondered why no-one from Kuoni had mentioned this might be a risk.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17After all, Graham and Stacy had particularly turned to Kuoni's
0:37:17 > 0:37:20expertise to provide them with a tailor-made trip
0:37:20 > 0:37:24and so were astonished that no-one from the company had even mentioned
0:37:24 > 0:37:28an event that had, for the last few years, become news around the world.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32We were very, very surprised,
0:37:32 > 0:37:37shocked, that we were not told about these forest fires,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40that apparently are burnt at this time every year,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44and I can't believe that Kuoni are not aware of this.
0:37:44 > 0:37:49And, not only that, it was being reported around the world,
0:37:49 > 0:37:53it was actually worldwide, global knowledge.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Adding to their frustration, Kuoni said that
0:37:56 > 0:37:58because the couple had chosen to return to the UK
0:37:58 > 0:38:01when an alternative route was being discussed,
0:38:01 > 0:38:03they were not entitled to any refund.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06But as far as Stacy and Graham are concerned,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09leaving Borneo had been the only viable option.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13We had to make a decision, we had no-one to ask,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16no-one there with us, no-one who was easy to contact.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18In the end, after two days at an airport,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21you have to make a decision.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25The couple was eventually offered a refund of £691,
0:38:25 > 0:38:29which Kuoni told them was for the unused elements of their holiday,
0:38:29 > 0:38:34as well as £250 in vouchers towards another trip with the company.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37But with the holiday costing £5,500,
0:38:37 > 0:38:40this was far from what they were hoping for.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45Had Kuoni told us about the conditions in Borneo,
0:38:45 > 0:38:46we would never have gone.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50And it's the fact that no mention at all of the haze was made
0:38:50 > 0:38:52that has disappointed the couple the most.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57After all, the specialist knowledge they were hoping Kuoni would provide
0:38:57 > 0:39:00was one of the reasons they booked with the company in the first place.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03So just how much responsibility does a travel agent have to make sure
0:39:03 > 0:39:06their customers are told everything about the place
0:39:06 > 0:39:07to which they're flying?
0:39:07 > 0:39:10And are Stacy and Graham right in thinking
0:39:10 > 0:39:12they should have been warned about the haze?
0:39:12 > 0:39:16Well, we looked at ten travel agents who specialise in trips to Borneo
0:39:16 > 0:39:19to see if they warned against visiting at any particular time.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Only one of them warned about the haze on its website
0:39:22 > 0:39:24and when we rang the other nine,
0:39:24 > 0:39:27only one of those mentioned that it could be a problem.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30But travel expert Simon Calder thinks that any company
0:39:30 > 0:39:33offering trips to this area should be warning customers
0:39:33 > 0:39:35about something that, for more than a decade,
0:39:35 > 0:39:39has been an annual occurrence and can impact on travel.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43Very sadly, these forest fires are an annual event.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47I love Borneo, but I only ever go there during the wet season,
0:39:47 > 0:39:51from December to April, when the air is a little bit clearer.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54I think any holiday company thinking of sending people to
0:39:54 > 0:39:57Borneo in the dry season should warn them,
0:39:57 > 0:39:59"Look, this isn't a brilliant time of year."
0:39:59 > 0:40:03But when we contacted Kuoni about Stacy and Graham's case,
0:40:03 > 0:40:06it told us that the haze is not something
0:40:06 > 0:40:09that ordinarily impacts on people's holidays
0:40:09 > 0:40:12and that, although it was particularly bad this year,
0:40:12 > 0:40:15the company's nonetheless received extremely positive feedback
0:40:15 > 0:40:18from people on the same tour immediately before,
0:40:18 > 0:40:21during and after Stacy and Graham's trip.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24The company added that it does always try to advise people
0:40:24 > 0:40:28ahead of time if there is advance warning about a situation
0:40:28 > 0:40:30that will affect their trip but pointed out
0:40:30 > 0:40:33that extraordinary events and extreme weather
0:40:33 > 0:40:35can disrupt holidays without warning.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38And it went on to say that its local representative in Borneo
0:40:38 > 0:40:42did offer Stacy and Graham an alternative route to a region
0:40:42 > 0:40:44almost free of any haze,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46something it did for a number of other customers.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51Although when we put that to Stacy and Graham,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54they maintained that they were not offered a particular alternative
0:40:54 > 0:40:57route and, having paid extra for a private tour, felt they were
0:40:57 > 0:41:01alone with no support, which is why they made the decision to come home.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04And they remain disappointed that their trip of a lifetime
0:41:04 > 0:41:06never really got off the ground.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07I feel let down by Kuoni.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11It was a complete shock when we were there, a complete surprise,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14and it makes me very, very cross.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23- JULIA:- If you've got a story you'd like us to investigate,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26you can get in touch with us via our Facebook page,
0:41:26 > 0:41:29BBC Rip Off Britain,
0:41:29 > 0:41:31our website...
0:41:33 > 0:41:35or e-mail...
0:41:38 > 0:41:40Or if you'd rather send us a letter,
0:41:40 > 0:41:43then our address is...
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Well, whether they're at home or abroad, a two-week break
0:41:56 > 0:41:59or simply a few snatched days away,
0:41:59 > 0:42:01holidays really represent precious time to relax
0:42:01 > 0:42:03and soak up new sights.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06So when you don't get to do that in the way you'd expected,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09it really can be the most devastating disappointment.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12And I can truly sympathise with people who say the big
0:42:12 > 0:42:14companies sometimes forget that point, can't you?
0:42:14 > 0:42:16I totally agree.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Loss of enjoyment is really pretty hard to quantify
0:42:19 > 0:42:22but if you've been looking forward to something all year
0:42:22 > 0:42:25which then turns out not to be quite what you'd paid for,
0:42:25 > 0:42:26well, that really is a big deal.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30So I'm genuinely disappointed to hear stories of people arriving abroad
0:42:30 > 0:42:33and finding that, instead of staying in the hotel that
0:42:33 > 0:42:36they'd specifically chosen, they now have to go somewhere else.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Every one of us can understand the frustration in a situation like that.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43Absolutely, and even with companies who've been around for years,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46often it's only when disappointed customers bring their grievances
0:42:46 > 0:42:49to us that they're able to get them finally resolved.
0:42:49 > 0:42:50Good old Rip Off Britain!
0:42:50 > 0:42:53Well, we can't promise to help with all your problems
0:42:53 > 0:42:55but where we can we'll try and give it a go.
0:42:55 > 0:42:56So keep your stories coming
0:42:56 > 0:42:59and we'll be back to investigate more of them very soon.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02- Until then, from all of us, goodbye.- Bye.- Bye-bye.