0:00:02 > 0:00:04We asked YOU who's left you feeling ripped off
0:00:04 > 0:00:06when it comes to your holidays -
0:00:06 > 0:00:09and you came back with a catalogue of travel disasters.
0:00:09 > 0:00:15I was absolutely mortified. I'm upset, angry and I'm frustrated.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18It's the inconvenience.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21It's the stress. It's upsetting.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23So whether it's a deliberate rip-off,
0:00:23 > 0:00:25a simple mistake
0:00:25 > 0:00:27or indeed a catch in the small print,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29we'll find out why you're out of pocket
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and what you can do about it.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Your stories. Your money.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36This is Rip Off Britain.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Hello and welcome to Rip Off Britain
0:00:39 > 0:00:43where this week we're bringing a taste of summer into your homes
0:00:43 > 0:00:46because we've come to the island of Lanzarote in the Canaries,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48and it's from here that we'll be investigating
0:00:48 > 0:00:51some of the stories you've sent us to do with holidays
0:00:51 > 0:00:54which in some cases have gone quite spectacularly wrong.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Isn't that the truth? And when that's happened,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59in each of the situations we'll be hearing about today,
0:00:59 > 0:01:01the blame has fallen squarely
0:01:01 > 0:01:03at the door of the company you booked with -
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and not always, by the way, just any old company!
0:01:06 > 0:01:09At the heart of these experiences are some of the best-known
0:01:09 > 0:01:11and most reputable names in the business.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15So, could they have done more to keep things on track?
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Well, these days, of course, when we have so much choice
0:01:18 > 0:01:19as to how we book our holidays,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21if we do buy everything as a package,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24or use a traditional tour operator,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26the very least we expect is to get what we paid for.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29But in some of the cases we're looking at today,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31it seems there were mistakes made
0:01:31 > 0:01:34in the absolute fundamentals of what had been booked.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Coming up - would you still leave your home for a holiday
0:01:39 > 0:01:42if your address and the exact dates you'd be away
0:01:42 > 0:01:45had been given to hundreds of total strangers?
0:01:45 > 0:01:49We didn't know it until we got this e-mail
0:01:49 > 0:01:53that all our details was out there for the world and his dog to see.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57And a holiday to Malta that went wrong from the off
0:01:57 > 0:02:01when no-one official could find the details of what had been booked.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05It was a nightmare. That particular day was a nightmare.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Now, I don't suppose many of us actually enjoy complaining
0:02:11 > 0:02:14while we're on holiday, but sometimes the service,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17or the accommodation, leave you feeling you've no choice.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20So you might take your problem up with the hotel staff,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23hoping they'll rectify things and perhaps even offer you
0:02:23 > 0:02:25a goodwill gesture to make up for it all.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29But what if that goodwill gesture comes with a catch?
0:02:29 > 0:02:32The condition that you can't make any further complaint whatsoever
0:02:32 > 0:02:36or raise it with the tour operator when you get home.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Well, that's exactly what happened to the person in our next film -
0:02:39 > 0:02:43but she had no idea of what she'd unwittingly agreed to.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49There was a lot riding on this particular holiday.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52And her week on the island of Majorca in May 2014
0:02:52 > 0:02:56meant a lot more to Amanda Stratton than your typical sunshine break.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01She hadn't been away for quite some time,
0:03:01 > 0:03:02and this much-anticipated trip
0:03:02 > 0:03:06was a chance to catch up with friends on the island as well.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10It was an absolute dream for me,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14because having suffered various illnesses,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18hospital treatments, accidents, surgery,
0:03:18 > 0:03:25I hadn't had...I'd had no holiday for approximately six years.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Amanda finds it hard to walk long distances unaided,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32so she's booked a week with easyJet Holidays
0:03:32 > 0:03:35in a hotel and resort she knew was easy to get around.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39The 3-Star whala!balmes hotel in C'an Pastilla
0:03:39 > 0:03:42was also just a few miles from where her friends lived.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44But when the taxi dropped her off,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47there was a notice telling guests that it was closed.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52My heart sank, because that was where I was supposed to be staying.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54The place was covered in dust,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56and obviously they were doing renovations.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01The note asked all guests to take a taxi, at the hotel's expense,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05to a sister hotel, the whala!beach, just over four miles away.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07But Amanda wasn't happy.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10The new hotel was further from the friends she'd come to visit,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14and what's more, she felt she should have been warned in advance
0:04:14 > 0:04:17that the hotel she'd booked with wasn't ready.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21I was annoyed at the fact that I hadn't been contacted
0:04:21 > 0:04:23to tell me of any of the changes.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29I was tired by that point, I'd been on the go for about seven hours.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Amanda called the office of easyJet Holidays
0:04:32 > 0:04:34at Palma Airport to complain.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38But after being told she'd need to speak to someone in the UK,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42she reluctantly checked in, hoping to pursue her complaint later.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45By that point I'd just about had enough,
0:04:45 > 0:04:51I just wanted to go and get to my room and actually make a cup of tea.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55The hotel saw that Amanda was distressed,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and offered to give her free use of the safe in her room
0:04:58 > 0:05:00as a small upgrade.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02I assumed this was done as a goodwill gesture,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06so, thank you, she signs the piece of paper over to me, I sign it
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and she takes it away. I didn't think any more of it.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15But what Amanda didn't realise at the time was that the slip of paper
0:05:15 > 0:05:18was an agreement to accept free access to the safe
0:05:18 > 0:05:22as final settlement for having been moved to a different hotel.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26She hadn't spotted that it stated she was agreeing NOT to try and get
0:05:26 > 0:05:31any further compensation from her holiday supplier in the future.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34They just wanted to sort of get rid of me -
0:05:34 > 0:05:37"Sign this, off you go, there's your room key, bye-bye."
0:05:38 > 0:05:42But that wasn't the end of my bye-bye, I was back pretty soon
0:05:42 > 0:05:45with complaints about the room.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50As her holiday unfolded, Amanda didn't think that the new hotel
0:05:50 > 0:05:53met the standards she'd expected from the one she'd booked.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57But, as she was spending most of the time with her friends,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59she decided to make the best of it,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02rather than waste her precious week away complaining.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05When she got home, however,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08still unaware of the significance of what she'd signed,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12she took all her complaints to easyJet Holidays.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Top of her list was the fact that, as far as she was concerned,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17she hadn't been told in advance
0:06:17 > 0:06:20that the hotel she'd booked had been closed.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Although the company insisted it HAD tried to get in touch.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27According to them, they'd tried to communicate with me.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29I'd had no e-mail letting me know
0:06:29 > 0:06:32prior to the holiday that this was happening,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35that the change of hotel was going to take place.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41EasyJet Holidays did apologise for the fact that the new hotel
0:06:41 > 0:06:44wasn't up to the standards Amanda had expected,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48but it pointed out that she had signed a form agreeing to accept
0:06:48 > 0:06:51the offer of a free safe in her room as compensation.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55The company included a copy of that in their reply,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57and it was only now that Amanda realised
0:06:57 > 0:07:01the significance of what the hotel had asked her to sign.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04I was absolutely fuming.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08As far as I was concerned, it was done as a gratuity,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10it was just a nice gesture,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14I wasn't aware that I was sort of signing away my rights.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17It wasn't explained, no way was it pointed out to me
0:07:17 > 0:07:21prior to me signing my life away, shall we say.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22What they're doing is wrong.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Solicitor Nick Harris says he's seeing an increasing number
0:07:27 > 0:07:29of forms such as the one Amanda signed,
0:07:29 > 0:07:33intended to stop disgruntled holiday-makers
0:07:33 > 0:07:36making formal complaints to their tour operators when they get home.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Hoteliers are very, very keen to preserve their reputation.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45So they do this by offering deals to keep you quiet.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Now, that's very good for the hotel,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51who then appears to be performing very well.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54But in reality, that's very, very bad for the consumer.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59So what should you do if you find yourself in Amanda's situation,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02asked to sign something that seems to take away your right
0:08:02 > 0:08:05to take your complaint any further?
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Nine out of ten of these types of agreements, in my experience,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12will be in favour of the person that's offering the agreement,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15so be very aware, don't be forced into signing anything.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19If in doubt, don't sign it, go to your holiday company
0:08:19 > 0:08:22and say to your representative, "I need your help."
0:08:22 > 0:08:25If the worst comes to the worst, you might want to sign it
0:08:25 > 0:08:27but you also might want to put
0:08:27 > 0:08:30"under duress" next to your signature,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and by putting that, it does keep the channel open
0:08:33 > 0:08:35that when you come back,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37you've signed it because you're on the spot,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40but your compensation, you want more.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Where the holiday is a regulated package holiday,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46then your contract is still with your holiday company,
0:08:46 > 0:08:47it's not with the hotel.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49You can still take up your complaint at any time
0:08:49 > 0:08:51with the holiday company.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54When we asked easyJet Holidays,
0:08:54 > 0:08:58which is run as a partnership between Low Cost Beds and easyJet,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00about Amanda's case,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04it told us it was sorry to hear of her experience,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07but reiterated that it HAD tried to contact her
0:09:07 > 0:09:10to say the hotel she'd booked was closed for essential maintenance
0:09:10 > 0:09:13and she was being moved to one it considered
0:09:13 > 0:09:15a four-star, like-for-like property.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19The company suggested that the contact details
0:09:19 > 0:09:22provided at the time of booking may have been incorrect,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25as no response was received from Amanda.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28But, in any case, easyJet Holidays went on to say
0:09:28 > 0:09:32that it appreciated the frustration Amanda must have felt
0:09:32 > 0:09:35when the second hotel didn't meet her expectations.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39And while again it pointed out that she had accepted and signed
0:09:39 > 0:09:43for the free use of a safety deposit box as compensation,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45the company said that, as a gesture of goodwill,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49it will be refunding 15% of the cost of her holiday.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53We also contacted the Spanish company which runs the hotel,
0:09:53 > 0:09:55but it didn't respond.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59But, after discovering how she'd agreed to sign something
0:09:59 > 0:10:03without even realising it, Amanda is unlikely to sign anything again
0:10:03 > 0:10:06without checking it extra carefully.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08This has made me very aware
0:10:08 > 0:10:13of reading every last little detail on anything.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18I now sit there and when I read a document or a letter,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22I am now aware of what these issues are.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34They say a man's home is his castle.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36So when it comes to going away on holiday,
0:10:36 > 0:10:40no man wants to leave their castle vulnerable to attack.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45And Ed and Rita McGrath are hot on their security measures.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50Before we go away on holiday, I put my timer lights on,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52make sure my alarm's on,
0:10:52 > 0:10:56do all the security locks on the windows.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Our neighbours are quite good -
0:10:58 > 0:11:02if they were to see any post they'd push it through, anyway.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Having got their pre-holiday security checks down to a T,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Ed and Rita can jet away and fully relax
0:11:10 > 0:11:12without worrying about what's going on back at home.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15And that's exactly what they'd hoped to do on the trip they'd booked
0:11:15 > 0:11:19with their son and daughter to mark their golden wedding anniversary.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23With our wedding anniversary being in November,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27we wanted to go somewhere warm, obviously.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32The family decided on Cape Verde, dubbed the "African Caribbean".
0:11:32 > 0:11:35It sits 500km off the coast of West Africa.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38And they booked their dream trip with First Choice.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41It was the culmination of months of planning.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45We'd been preparing for this nearly all year,
0:11:45 > 0:11:50because the children bought myself things for Mother's Day,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53to take on holiday, and for my birthday.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56We've centred round it all year.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58But, once the holiday was booked,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00they began to experience technical issues
0:12:00 > 0:12:02managing their booking online.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05For instance, they couldn't reserve their seats, which,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08when they queried it with the company,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11they were told was because there were teething problems
0:12:11 > 0:12:12with a new IT system
0:12:12 > 0:12:15which weren't, it seemed, being very quickly resolved.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Because then they got an e-mail suggesting
0:12:17 > 0:12:21that the balance for the trip should all have been paid.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24So I rang them, and they said, "Oh ignore it,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27"this new IT system is causing us problems."
0:12:28 > 0:12:32I said OK. A few days after, we got another e-mail,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34so I rang them again,
0:12:34 > 0:12:39so they said, "I'm awful sorry, it's the same IT problem."
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Rita paid the balance of her £4,227 holiday
0:12:43 > 0:12:47and didn't give the IT issues another thought.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51But a week later, they heard from First Choice again.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55We got an e-mail saying, "Your holiday's been cancelled,"
0:12:55 > 0:13:00and that we hadn't paid anything. I was like...ooh!
0:13:00 > 0:13:02So I just rang them right away,
0:13:02 > 0:13:09and they said, "Oh, no, ignore it, it's an error."
0:13:10 > 0:13:14At first, Rita assumed this was simply just another IT hiccup,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17but as the conversation with First Choice continued,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21there appeared to be more to it than just a minor mix-up.
0:13:21 > 0:13:27The advisor said it's a bit of a small data protection breach
0:13:27 > 0:13:30that has now been rectified.
0:13:30 > 0:13:37And I said, "There's no such thing as a SMALL data protection breach."
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And she said, "Oh, yeah, it's just minor,
0:13:40 > 0:13:46"we've made this new booking to protect yourselves."
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Rita and Ed learnt that Thomson, a sister company of First Choice,
0:13:50 > 0:13:56had accidentally sent an e-mail to 458 customers of both companies,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00attaching to it a document containing all the flight details,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02departure dates and, crucially,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05the home address of each of the recipients.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10But it wasn't First Choice or Thomson who alerted them to the problem.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Instead, they were contacted by one of the other customers
0:14:13 > 0:14:17whose details were on the leaked e-mail.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20He said, "I don't know if you're all aware..."
0:14:20 > 0:14:25We didn't know until we got this e-mail that all of our details
0:14:25 > 0:14:28was out there for the world and his dog to see.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32And it was only when Rita and Ed came across a report
0:14:32 > 0:14:36in the news that the scale of the data leak became apparent.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41It was on the news that Thomson had broken data protection
0:14:41 > 0:14:47on a large scale, and it wasn't just us that were involved.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51There was several hundred people that was involved.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55For Rita and Ed, the worst of it was that the e-mail revealed exactly
0:14:55 > 0:14:59when everyone whose details were on it would be away, meaning
0:14:59 > 0:15:03complete strangers would know when their homes would be empty.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04I felt absolutely sick,
0:15:04 > 0:15:09cos I realised then that there was something really, really wrong
0:15:09 > 0:15:13and it was going to affect us, our holiday.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17And word amongst affected customers was spreading fast,
0:15:17 > 0:15:18as others on the list
0:15:18 > 0:15:22started contacting the strangers whose details they'd been sent.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27Steve Merrifield and David and Suzanne Dawes were also on the list.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30- Hello, I'm Steve.- Hi, Steve. Dave. - Pleased to meet you, Dave.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32And they, too, were concerned
0:15:32 > 0:15:35the information about when their houses would be empty
0:15:35 > 0:15:37was now floating around,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40just waiting to fall into the wrong hands.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41They've got a good idea, probably,
0:15:41 > 0:15:43- how long you're going to be away for.- Yes.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46And if the information did get into the wrong hands,
0:15:46 > 0:15:47which it could well do,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50it's out there and then it could be disastrous.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52It's a golden opportunity.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55You don't even have to be an opportunist, in this instance.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57It is handed to them on a plate.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02As well as burglary, identity theft was a concern for many,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04although First Choice
0:16:04 > 0:16:07and Thomson insisted that the data that had been leaked was quickly
0:16:07 > 0:16:12retrieved and that all affected customers had been contacted.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Although, of course, in Ed and Rita's case, that happened
0:16:15 > 0:16:18only after they'd heard what had happened from someone else.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And whilst David, Suzanne and Steve were happy to go ahead
0:16:21 > 0:16:26and take their holiday, Rita and Ed didn't feel quite so confident.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27They decided that even the possibility
0:16:27 > 0:16:30that the fact that their house would be empty might have spread
0:16:30 > 0:16:33made going away too much of a risk.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38I couldn't have lain down on a beach, knowing all my details -
0:16:38 > 0:16:42departure dates, arrival dates, God knows what... No, I couldn't.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45I couldn't have enjoyed my holiday.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49The couple felt they had no choice but to cancel their dream holiday.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51And though Thomson and First Choice
0:16:51 > 0:16:55have since admitted their mistake and given Rita and Ed a full refund,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57for them, that's not the point,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59because, as far as they're concerned,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02it was entirely because of the data breach
0:17:02 > 0:17:05that they'd be spending their special day not in Cape Verde
0:17:05 > 0:17:08but at home in the UK.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13I don't think this can be rectified. How can this be fixed?
0:17:13 > 0:17:16It's our golden wedding.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Our technology expert, David McClelland,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21says it's understandable that the couple had concerns,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24because if your data falls into the wrong hands,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26it can have worrying consequences.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31It's not the most extensive leak that we've seen
0:17:31 > 0:17:35but that's scant consolation for those that were affected.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Now, how those people might be impacted by this -
0:17:38 > 0:17:40they could get phishing e-mails,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42they could get phone calls from people
0:17:42 > 0:17:45pretending to be related to the trip that they were taking,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48trying to defraud them of cash, perhaps.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Or, in a worse case, with knowledge of the itinerary,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53there could be physical burglaries at their address
0:17:53 > 0:17:55while they're away from home.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56Mistakes happen.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Data breaches, unfortunately, happen as well,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and it becomes a case of how the company deals with that,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04how it manages that situation.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06The Information Commissioner's Office,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09which monitors companies and their data protection policies,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12takes a dim view of anyone who is seen to be mishandling
0:18:12 > 0:18:15customers' personal information.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19It's been working with Thomson and its parent group, TUI, to establish
0:18:19 > 0:18:23what went wrong on this occasion and to prevent it happening again.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28And while the company told us it couldn't comment on specific cases,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31it confirmed that an e-mail sharing a small number of customers'
0:18:31 > 0:18:36information had been sent in error but that it had been recalled
0:18:36 > 0:18:39successfully in a significant number of cases.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42It apologised to the customers involved,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46stressing that instances where data security has been compromised
0:18:46 > 0:18:49are extremely rare, and adding that it's taken steps
0:18:49 > 0:18:53to reduce the risk of such incidents happening again.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55But that's no consolation to Rita and Ed
0:18:55 > 0:18:58who, because of the fear of being burgled,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02feel they have been robbed of their special celebration.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06We can't get another golden wedding anniversary.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10You're only married 50 years once
0:19:10 > 0:19:13and that's why it was such a big thing for us.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Still to come on rip-off Britain...
0:19:24 > 0:19:27The changing shape of family holidays.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30How the big names haven't always kept up.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32I booked a family holiday, a fun time,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34and everything was just ruined.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42- For two days only... - A one-stop shop packed with advice.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45It's our very famous Rip Off Britain pop-up shop.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49This year, we brought our top team of consumer experts
0:19:49 > 0:19:52to the Victoria Centre in Nottingham...
0:19:54 > 0:19:57..and they were keen to help as many of you with
0:19:57 > 0:20:00advice as they possibly could.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Never, never, never use your credit card to take money out abroad.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06They owe you the money and it's yours to claim.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16Ann and Jan came to see travel journalist Lisa Francesca Nand.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20They'd booked a luxury four-star hotel in the Italian Lakes
0:20:20 > 0:20:22but were in for a shock when they arrived.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27Instead of having the four-star hotel by the lakeside,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30we were told that we're booked into a three-star hotel
0:20:30 > 0:20:32with a 5-10 minute walk from the lake.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36What did the tour operator say? Have they admitted making the mistake?
0:20:36 > 0:20:40This booking was made through the agent to the operator over the phone
0:20:40 > 0:20:44and they don't record their calls,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47and so our agent is saying that
0:20:47 > 0:20:51they were quoted a four-star hotel
0:20:51 > 0:20:54and the operator is saying there's no proof of that.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57So were they saying that you actually booked this three-star
0:20:57 > 0:20:59hotel and not the four-star that you did originally book?
0:20:59 > 0:21:02In so many words, that's what they're saying.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06Now, as you booked your hotel through a UK-based tour operator,
0:21:06 > 0:21:11I think you might have good cause for compensation there.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14You should be able to claim something that's called
0:21:14 > 0:21:16compensation for loss of enjoyment
0:21:16 > 0:21:20- because your whole holiday hasn't been what you expected it to be.- No.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22So of course you haven't enjoyed it,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24you haven't had the same level of hotel,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28so I really would approach the tour operator again
0:21:28 > 0:21:30and see what they say about the loss of enjoyment.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32We didn't know about the loss of enjoyment.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33No, not heard of that before.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36It's a phrase we didn't know, so that's very helpful. Thank you.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Thanks to Lisa's advice, Ann and Jan
0:21:42 > 0:21:45have since had compensation from their travel agent.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50But you weren't just sharing your problems at our pop-up shop.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Plenty of you were keen to get things off your chest
0:21:53 > 0:21:54in our special gripe area.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01Holiday insurance - I think it is a total rip-off.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Once you get to the age of 70,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07you have worked 45-50 years,
0:22:07 > 0:22:13hoping you can have wonderful trips abroad to America, anywhere,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15but once you get to 70, bang!
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Your insurance goes up, all your premiums go up.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- We're students, so we travel a lot. - And train tickets are so expensive.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25It just makes things really difficult.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28I think holidays are a rip-off
0:22:28 > 0:22:31because they cost too much in the school holidays.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39Families come in all shapes and sizes but, as you've been telling us,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43holiday packages and hotels don't - at least,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46they don't necessarily, in the eyes of the tour operators.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49So, for instance, if you're a single-parent family
0:22:49 > 0:22:52or a family that has more than a couple of kids,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55when the children outnumber the adults in a group,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58then planning ahead to make sure that everything runs smoothly
0:22:58 > 0:22:59is absolutely crucial.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03But even when you have done all of your plans
0:23:03 > 0:23:06and ensured that you've allocated and consigned the rooms
0:23:06 > 0:23:09appropriately, things can still go wrong.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11And as one young mother told us,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15that is when the holiday that you've saved long and hard for
0:23:15 > 0:23:16can be ruined.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22Harley, catch! One, two, three, go!
0:23:22 > 0:23:26The Gordons from Neath in South Wales had a particular reason
0:23:26 > 0:23:29to look forward to the trip that they'd booked to Spain
0:23:29 > 0:23:30in February of 2015.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33It would be the first time they'd gone away as a family.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Single mum Becky juggles the demands of her three kids,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Alicia, Ella and Harley, with her job as a care worker,
0:23:42 > 0:23:44looking after people with dementia.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48So quality time with the kids is at a premium.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51I'd booked a holiday for me and the children.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54It was our first holiday abroad, us all together.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57It was Harley's first time on a plane.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Becky had booked a week in Catalonia,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03staying at the Royal Sun Suites in Santa Susanna,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07classed as four-star superior with the travel company On The Beach.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10She deliberately booked a larger family room
0:24:10 > 0:24:12so that they could all stay together,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14and had also gone for pre-booked transfers
0:24:14 > 0:24:16between the airport and the hotel
0:24:16 > 0:24:20to make the journey and the stay as straightforward as possible.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Altogether, it cost her £766.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29I paid instalments on the holiday.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34I'd done a lot of overtime in work. Um...
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Luckily, I'd just got paid just before I went on holiday,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38so that was my spending money.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43When the departure date arrived, Becky's excitement was tempered
0:24:43 > 0:24:47with some concern about being able to keep an eye on everyone.
0:24:47 > 0:24:53This is the first time I took Harley abroad, and I really was scared
0:24:53 > 0:24:58because I'm just one person, eyes everywhere with these children,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02and I was really nervous, just in case something happened.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04The flight didn't land until almost midnight,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07so all Becky wanted to do was check into the hotel
0:25:07 > 0:25:09and put the kids to bed.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13But when the transfer bus dropped them off, she was in for a shock.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17When I went around the corner with the kids, the hotel was shut down,
0:25:17 > 0:25:22so I started running round the building to find another door.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26There was no door, so then we were just standing outside the hotel.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28It was now two o'clock in the morning.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32The transfer bus had left and Becky and her three children
0:25:32 > 0:25:36were standing on a foreign roadside with no idea of what to do.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39About ten minutes later, a car went past and a man told me
0:25:39 > 0:25:43that the hotel was closed and we had to go to the other hotel.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47With the Royal Sun Suites closed, it turned out that Becky
0:25:47 > 0:25:50and her family's booking had been transferred to another hotel,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54run by the same company, called the Royal Sun Hotel,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- though no-one had bothered to tell her.- I couldn't believe it.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00If that man didn't show up when he did
0:26:00 > 0:26:03to tell me that I had to go to a different hotel,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05I wouldn't have known what to do.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07The family started following the stranger's directions
0:26:07 > 0:26:09to the new hotel.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Harley was just crying the whole time in his pram
0:26:11 > 0:26:18and I was pulling the hand luggage on the handles of the pram.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19So I had them on the pram.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22I was, like, pushing him with one hand,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24pulling a suitcase with the other.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Alicia had another suitcase and hand luggage
0:26:26 > 0:26:28and Ella then pulling her hand luggage.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31It was horrendous.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35After a 20-minute walk in a strange place in the middle of the night,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38they arrived at the Royal Sun Hotel.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Tired and stressed, Becky couldn't wait to get everyone to sleep
0:26:41 > 0:26:43in the family room that she'd booked.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46But the check-in staff told her that wouldn't be possible
0:26:46 > 0:26:49because there were no family rooms available.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54Instead, they could only check in to two separate rooms.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57My 13-year-old daughter and my seven-year-old daughter
0:26:57 > 0:27:01had one room, and me and my three-year-old son had another.
0:27:01 > 0:27:02I couldn't believe it.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06My two daughters shouldn't have been in a room by themselves.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Though uncomfortable with the arrangement,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Becky had little choice but to agree,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14hoping she could sort everything out after a much-needed night's sleep.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15The next morning,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19it transpired there were no family rooms in the hotel at all,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23which meant that 13-year-old Alicia had to be responsible
0:27:23 > 0:27:26for her seven-year-old sister, Ella, at night
0:27:26 > 0:27:29when her mum and brother were in the room next door.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Anything could have happened to them in the middle of the night,
0:27:33 > 0:27:38and a mother's instinct is to wake up if anything went wrong.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42It wasn't my 13-year-old daughter's responsibility.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Alicia also found the situation quite stressful.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48I had to be careful when she went out on the balcony and stuff,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50so it was quite difficult.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52You don't know if anyone's going to come in
0:27:52 > 0:27:54if you don't lock the door and stuff.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Becky says she did try complaining at the time to the website
0:27:57 > 0:27:59with whom she'd booked, On The Beach,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02but the company is adamant it has no record of that,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06saying if it had known of the problem, it would have resolved it.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10As it was, the family had no choice but to make the best of it.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16But once back home in the UK, Becky contacted On The Beach again,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19and though she was offered some compensation,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23she didn't think it reflected such a major change to her booking.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27They've offered me £85.17.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30That's nowhere near what I deserve.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32I deserve what we paid for originally.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36If I was on holiday with somebody else and they split us up,
0:28:36 > 0:28:40it wouldn't have been so bad, but instead, I'm a single mother
0:28:40 > 0:28:44and they've actually separated me and my three children.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48So we asked On The Beach to take another look at Becky's case.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50And when it did,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53the company explained that its hotel supplier,
0:28:53 > 0:28:55a business called Hotelbeds,
0:28:55 > 0:28:59had failed to pass on that the hotel she'd booked was closed.
0:28:59 > 0:29:00If it had done so,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03On The Beach says it would immediately have contacted Becky
0:29:03 > 0:29:05to find a suitable alternative
0:29:05 > 0:29:08and made sure that she did get a family room.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10But since this didn't happen,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14the company has apologised for the breakdown in communication
0:29:14 > 0:29:17and Becky has now received a full refund.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21We also contacted On The Beach's supplier, Hotelbeds,
0:29:21 > 0:29:25as well as the company that owns both the hotel Becky originally
0:29:25 > 0:29:28booked and the one she was moved into, but neither replied.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33So, while it's good news that Becky's had her refund,
0:29:33 > 0:29:34she certainly isn't alone in
0:29:34 > 0:29:38thinking that holidays aren't always geared up towards families
0:29:38 > 0:29:40that don't come in the traditional size.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44Our inbox has plenty of complaints from other families
0:29:44 > 0:29:48who feel aggrieved at the way that some hotels and tour operators seem
0:29:48 > 0:29:53to only offer their best rates and deals if you're a family of four.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Helen Dutton contacted us to say that when she searches for a holiday
0:29:56 > 0:30:00for one adult and one child, there's hardly any results.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04But make that two adults and the choices leap up.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08And Jane Hunter wanted three rooms to accommodate her family of six
0:30:08 > 0:30:12on a skiing trip and requested that they were interconnected.
0:30:12 > 0:30:13However,
0:30:13 > 0:30:18she ended up being charged nearly £1,000 extra for the privilege.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20Travel journalist Lisa Francesca Nand says,
0:30:20 > 0:30:22when it comes to families,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25many holiday companies may be missing a trick.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27I think what tour operators have to remember
0:30:27 > 0:30:30is that family-friendly travel is really, really, really big business.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34After all, families spend a lot of money when they go on holiday.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37And there are actually a couple of tour operators you can use -
0:30:37 > 0:30:40websites such as TotsToTravel, TotsToo.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42If you look up anything like that,
0:30:42 > 0:30:44they're always going to be very, very child-friendly
0:30:44 > 0:30:47and they will help you find the best child-friendly place.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Another thing I'd like to suggest is booking something
0:30:50 > 0:30:54called an aparthotel, which has the same benefits of being in a hotel
0:30:54 > 0:30:55but it's actually an apartment,
0:30:55 > 0:30:57so you get your own space and your own rooms
0:30:57 > 0:31:01but you also get all the nice things that go along with a hotel.
0:31:01 > 0:31:02As for Becky, well,
0:31:02 > 0:31:04while she did everything she could
0:31:04 > 0:31:07to ensure that her children still enjoyed their holiday,
0:31:07 > 0:31:10the stress of being in separate rooms was an experience
0:31:10 > 0:31:12she'd never want to repeat.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15I booked a family holiday, a fun time,
0:31:15 > 0:31:17and everything was just ruined.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29Our travel expert, Simon Calder, has flown, sailed, driven
0:31:29 > 0:31:33and, indeed, cycled to thousands of destinations across the globe.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38This time, it's Berlin.
0:31:38 > 0:31:4125 years since Berlin became capital of a unified Germany,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44and now more British tourists visit the German capital
0:31:44 > 0:31:46than any other nationality.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49And where old meets new at the Berlin Wall,
0:31:49 > 0:31:53there's one spot that Simon highly recommends.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58The East Side Gallery is almost a mile long,
0:31:58 > 0:32:02making it probably the largest open-air gallery in the world.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08There's works by 105 artists,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11and it's entirely free.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14It's not the only must-see in Berlin that's on the house.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18Architecture in this city at the heart of Europe is not to be missed
0:32:18 > 0:32:22and with a bit of planning, you can see the best for no cost at all.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26The Reichstag is one of the most popular attractions in Germany,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29and quite right, too. It's full of history.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32There's a spectacular glass dome with amazing views
0:32:32 > 0:32:34across the capital.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36Best of all, it's completely free.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Just make sure that you book ahead online
0:32:40 > 0:32:42or you could miss out.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47Finally, if all that sightseeing is proving a bit tiring,
0:32:47 > 0:32:50why not try another mode of transport instead?
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Cycling and Berlin are made for each other.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57There's no great hills, plenty of cycle paths
0:32:57 > 0:33:01and a rent-it-here-leave-it-there scheme,
0:33:01 > 0:33:03like all the best capitals.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07But the traffic laws are very strictly enforced.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10Run a red light - that's a 60 euro fine -
0:33:10 > 0:33:14and you could even end up with some points on your driving licence.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19So, read up on the rules before you get into gear.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27The important things that we all need for our holidays,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29like tickets, passports and wallets,
0:33:29 > 0:33:33invariably seem to go walkabout the day before you're due to fly abroad.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Let's face it, we've all done it, been there, got the T-shirt.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39But no-one expects to lose the holiday itself.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45Roy Wilkinson and his wife Michelle don't get to spend as much
0:33:45 > 0:33:47time together as they'd like.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50My wife works permanent nights.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52She comes in at eight o'clock in the morning,
0:33:52 > 0:33:57gets up at five, I usually get home from work by five,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01and then she's off to work again by seven-thirty, quarter to eight.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04So, we don't see a lot of each other.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06Therefore, their fortnight in the sun every year
0:34:06 > 0:34:09is a rare opportunity to put that right.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12Just to get away for two weeks, in the sun,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15to somewhere, perhaps, where we've never been before,
0:34:15 > 0:34:17is really important to us.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23In 2015, the couple chose Malta for their much-anticipated break,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26and all of Roy's research pointed to a company
0:34:26 > 0:34:29that deals in holidays to the Maltese islands and nowhere else.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32It's called Malta Direct.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35We were really excited about going,
0:34:35 > 0:34:37because we'd never been there before,
0:34:37 > 0:34:40and it was a new adventure for us.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Roy and Michelle's new adventure was soon upon them,
0:34:43 > 0:34:44so, armed with their passports
0:34:44 > 0:34:47and all the paperwork for the flight and the hotel,
0:34:47 > 0:34:49the couple headed off to the airport,
0:34:49 > 0:34:52where they were in for a shock at the check-in desk.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54She couldn't find our booking.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58They tried for about 90 minutes to try and find our booking.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01I showed them the booking form that we had,
0:35:01 > 0:35:05and they had no record of the number that was on the form that we had,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09but the more it went on, from the first minute up to the 90th minute,
0:35:09 > 0:35:13I was getting annoyed. Really annoyed.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15Because it was a Sunday,
0:35:15 > 0:35:19no-one could reach Malta Direct on the normal contact numbers,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22and although there WAS an emergency number on the paperwork,
0:35:22 > 0:35:26Roy and Michelle were so flustered they didn't even think to call it.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Instead, they were presented with a stark choice.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Option one was to go home and sort the matter out the next day,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36which was a Monday,
0:35:36 > 0:35:38with Malta Direct,
0:35:38 > 0:35:44or two, to purchase two tickets to go to Malta
0:35:44 > 0:35:47on that day, on the Sunday,
0:35:47 > 0:35:51so we went, and I paid £690 out of our spending money
0:35:51 > 0:35:54to get to Malta.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56That was almost all of their spending money
0:35:56 > 0:35:59that they'd set aside for their holiday,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02money that they'd hoped but weren't sure that they'd get back
0:36:02 > 0:36:05when Malta Direct offices opened again.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09We'd budgeted for meals, drinks,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12trips whilst in Malta,
0:36:12 > 0:36:16and here we are, £690 light.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19But I'm afraid that wasn't the end of their troubles.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21When Roy and Michelle arrived in Malta,
0:36:21 > 0:36:25they couldn't find the taxi that had been arranged for them,
0:36:25 > 0:36:28although Malta Direct is adamant that it was there, waiting.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Then when they tried to check in at their hotel,
0:36:30 > 0:36:33they discovered - and, yes, you've guessed it -
0:36:33 > 0:36:36the hotel couldn't find their booking either.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40I said, "We weren't booked on the flight in the first place,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43"so why should I be surprised that we're not booked into the hotel?"
0:36:43 > 0:36:47It was a nightmare. That particular day was a nightmare.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Fortunately, the hotel did eventually locate their booking,
0:36:51 > 0:36:55after realising that it did exist but had been made in the wrong name.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59And the next day, Malta Direct also found all their details,
0:36:59 > 0:37:02thus reassuring them that nothing else would go wrong.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07So, all that was left to sort out now was the £690
0:37:07 > 0:37:09that they'd forked out for new flights.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12They arranged a meeting with their rep,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15who, it seemed, would be able to get them that money back.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17I must say I did feel a bit better,
0:37:17 > 0:37:23because I trusted the rep and I believed what he said he would do.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25And that was get our money back.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27PHONE RINGS
0:37:27 > 0:37:29But when the rep got back in touch,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32he told them that he would need the credit card receipt
0:37:32 > 0:37:33to refund the cash on the spot.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37Trouble was, in all the confusion, Roy had mislaid it,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40and without that receipt, the refund would have to wait
0:37:40 > 0:37:42until the couple got home.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46I said, "You're totally ruining our holiday.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49"When you said that you were going to get me
0:37:49 > 0:37:52"my £690 back within a couple of days,
0:37:52 > 0:37:53"I trusted you.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56"And you haven't done it."
0:37:56 > 0:37:59So, the couple had to continue tightening their belts,
0:37:59 > 0:38:01something they didn't really want to do
0:38:01 > 0:38:04when they were supposed to be enjoying themselves.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07We spend the whole year being careful with money.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10On holiday, you like to have a nice time
0:38:10 > 0:38:13and not worry too much about money, but there we were again,
0:38:13 > 0:38:15really worried.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17It was totally stressful.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19Once they were back in the UK,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Roy spoke to a man in Malta Direct's customer services
0:38:22 > 0:38:25to finally sort out his refund.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30He told me that £690 would be in my account by Monday.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33It wasn't.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35And it actually arrived in my account
0:38:35 > 0:38:40a month all bar a day from when I paid out the money.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45Along with the refund of the £690 they paid for extra flights,
0:38:45 > 0:38:47Malta Direct also offered to reimburse
0:38:47 > 0:38:51the couple for the taxis that they'd had to take to and from the airport,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54and pay £100 compensation.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58But Roy doesn't think that makes up for the stress
0:38:58 > 0:39:01that was caused by the mix-up of the holiday.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05I don't see why we shouldn't get all our money back for the holiday.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09We often hear from aggrieved holiday-makers who feel that,
0:39:09 > 0:39:13when a trip has gone wrong, they should get all their money back
0:39:13 > 0:39:15from their package holiday provider.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19But while you can ask for compensation if you're unhappy,
0:39:19 > 0:39:23full refunds only happen in a minority of cases.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26Now, there are three main ways of seeking compensation.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30You can reach an agreement with the holiday company directly,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33or if the firm is a member of the travel association ABTA,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36you can use its arbitration system,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39or you can start proceedings at the small claims court,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43and this last option is exactly what Roy decided to do
0:39:43 > 0:39:47when he was unhappy with the compensation
0:39:47 > 0:39:48offered by Malta Direct.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53We asked Malta Direct about the Wilkinsons' story.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57It said that it can't comment on Roy's case
0:39:57 > 0:40:00because the court claim is not yet settled,
0:40:00 > 0:40:01but the company did tell us
0:40:01 > 0:40:04that the reason Roy's refund for the replacement flights
0:40:04 > 0:40:06wasn't paid during the holiday
0:40:06 > 0:40:09was because there was a discrepancy between the amount charged
0:40:09 > 0:40:13to Roy's credit card and the amount the airline said the ticket cost.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17Malta Direct stressed that once Roy and Michelle were back in the UK,
0:40:17 > 0:40:21the full amount was paid back in full, and compensation offered.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27But in an age where everything is automated and electronic,
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Roy and Michelle still can't understand how all the mix-ups
0:40:30 > 0:40:34at the start of their holiday could ever even have happened,
0:40:34 > 0:40:37and it's an experience that they certainly won't forget.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39We loved Malta.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41It was a smashing place to visit,
0:40:41 > 0:40:45but it was severely dampened by the aggravation that we had
0:40:45 > 0:40:47while we were there.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49It was playing on my mind
0:40:49 > 0:40:54that, "Have I got to contact someone to give us some money
0:40:54 > 0:40:57"to get us home?" It was totally stressful.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07If you've got a story you'd like us to investigate,
0:41:07 > 0:41:09then get in touch with us via our Facebook page -
0:41:09 > 0:41:12BBC Rip Off Britain -
0:41:12 > 0:41:17or our website - bbc.co.uk/ripoffbritain -
0:41:17 > 0:41:20or e-mail us at...
0:41:20 > 0:41:27Or if you want to send us a letter, then our new address is...
0:41:36 > 0:41:38So, as we've been hearing,
0:41:38 > 0:41:41just because you decided not to book your holiday yourself
0:41:41 > 0:41:44and instead turned to an agent or tour operator,
0:41:44 > 0:41:46it really doesn't mean that your holiday is going to be
0:41:46 > 0:41:50going to plan or, indeed, turn out to be hassle free, sadly.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53However, it should mean that at least it's easier to make a fuss
0:41:53 > 0:41:55and hopefully get things resolved -
0:41:55 > 0:41:57although even then, isn't it amazing
0:41:57 > 0:42:00how many of these types of situations
0:42:00 > 0:42:03only really get sorted out once Rip Off Britain gets involved?
0:42:03 > 0:42:05But that's where we have to leave it for today.
0:42:05 > 0:42:06We've run out of time,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09but if you're booking any kind of holiday this year,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12I do hope at least we've given you some kind of pointers
0:42:12 > 0:42:14as to what to bear in mind.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16But for now, from all of us here in sunny Lanzarote...
0:42:16 > 0:42:18ALL: Bye-bye.