Episode 11 Rip Off Britain

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

holidays, and you came back with a catalogue of travel disasters.

When we got to the hotel, it wasn't to the standard.

We felt totally ripped off. We paid to move somewhere else.

It happens all the time, that somebody else has paid less

for the holiday that I've paid more for.

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

or indeed a catch in the small print,

we'll find out why you are out of pocket and what you can do about it.

Your stories, your money - this is Rip-Off Britain.

Hello, and thank you so much once again for joining us here

on Rip-Off Britain, which, throughout this series,

-is coming to you from sunny Tenerife.

-Yes!

Because we're going to be looking into some of the problems

that you've had with holiday and travel.

And, today, well, we're really going to get our teeth into

three shocking stories.

Stories that, one way or another,

all involve a promise that hasn't been kept and, as a result,

holidays have been left in tatters.

And some of you have been left seriously out of pocket.

Which is not a good position to be in.

But, you know, for whatever reason the company you trusted

when booking, either a key part of the holiday

or indeed the whole thing, simply hasn't delivered

on its part of the bargain.

So the question is - did they ever have any intention of doing so,

or was the whole thing simply a scam?

Well, that's certainly what the people who have lost out

want to know and I promise you, we'll be doing our very best

-to find out.

-Yep. That's one promise you can definitely rely on.

And, of course, along the way,

we'll be making sure that by sharing these experiences,

the same things don't happen to you,

so that when you hand over your money,

it's to someone you know you can trust.

Coming up, the airport meet-and-greet companies

promising safe and secure parking.

But, instead, leaving cars in fields or by the side of a road.

And that's not even the worst of it.

He basically came to us, said, "Look, your car's in one piece,

"but, I'm sorry, we have damaged it."

I was like, "What do you mean you've damaged it?"

And the bogus holiday companies out to steal your cash.

They got this couple's, so let's keep their hands off yours.

I was just in a mess when I spoke to Dan.

It's just one of the worst things, you know.

All too often, the start of a holiday can be absolutely

full of last-minute stresses, as you rush to get to the airport on time.

And, of course, if you're going to be parking your car there as well,

well, that can add a whole extra layer of hassle.

Especially if you've got lots of bags that you need to carry,

or you need a shuttle bus, for instance,

to take you back and forth from the car park.

Well, a solution to all of that has come from the rapid growth

of airport meet-and-greet services,

where you'll be met at the terminal by a company

that will then park the car for you

and you can then just head straight off to check-in.

And the same thing happens of course in reverse at the end of your trip.

You are met with your car and you can be swiftly on your way home.

Unfortunately, what happens to your car in between dropping it off

and then picking up the keys at the end of your holiday

may not always be quite what you'd think.

6:30am on a South Manchester housing estate

and city council neighbourhood officer Pete O'Brien

is on the lookout.

Right, we're just going to check a location that is popular

for use by some of the...

..unlicensed meet-and-greet parking companies.

For the past year, he's been keeping a close eye on some of

the meet-and-greet services that operate out of Manchester Airport.

They've promised holiday-makers that there are cars will be

securely parked whilst they're away, but Pete's found that, instead,

a number of them will be left on the side of the road, in fields,

even in pub car parks.

In the peak periods of August,

there will be whole streets that are taken up by basically what are

holiday-makers' cars, holiday-makers who think they've parked them

in a secure car park, but, actually, when they hand

the cars over to the drivers, they're often just parked

in locations such as this on your right.

Pete is part of a surveillance team that's been set up by the council

following complaints from holiday-makers

who've had their cars returned in a worse state

than when they left them, as well as from disgruntled residents

fed up with other people's cars crowding the streets where they live.

There's a pub here which is used by the companies.

We can drive in there now unchecked.

And this is not manned.

It's not patrolled, it's not CCTV.

It's certainly not secure, because we've just driven into it.

Pete and his colleagues are finding that certain

meet-and-greet companies repeatedly leave customers' cars

in locations such as this.

This car here is probably a driver's car,

because they've got hi-vis jackets on.

Often, they'll say it's airport approved logo on the back,

which it isn't. There isn't such a scheme.

Car parks like this one probably aren't where owners

would have expected their vehicles to end up.

And certainly not after they paid a company to take it somewhere

that's being sold as secure.

There's a group of cars there on our right that we know...

This is a location very favoured by several of these companies.

It's no more secure than leaving it on any residential street.

Drive it yourself and park your car,

cos that's effectively what these guys are doing,

but they're charging you for the privilege.

Pete is concerned that many holiday-makers may not have

fully researched the meet-and-greet company

with whom they've trusted their car.

And if anything should go missing from the vehicle,

or it gets damaged, they may discover too late

that they're not insured.

If something does happen to your car, whether it be a dent,

or a scratch, cos of the nature in which they've parked them,

or possessions go missing from your car,

sadly you'll find that your car is not covered

on your own personal insurance in most cases.

However, it's not just returning cars damaged

that's given some meet-and-greet companies a bad name.

The timekeeping of a number of their drivers can leave a lot to be

desired, too, as Jimmy Pennington from Lancashire discovered

when waiting to have his car collected.

My five-year-old daughter's first holiday.

It's mine and my wife's first holiday for a good eight, ten years.

Obviously, with having the five-year-old daughter,

she was very excited, as we all were. The first family holiday.

Now, of course, the whole point of a meet-and-greet service

is to make arriving at the terminal easier.

But that wasn't what happened.

You wouldn't believe it, honestly.

Got to the airport, nobody there.

Rang them, got told five minutes.

Waited ten.

We were stood there worrying and getting extremely angry and upset.

64 phone calls later, finally they turned up,

an hour and a half later, five of them getting out of a Micra.

We had to leg it into the airport to check-in.

Literally within two minutes of getting through the terminal,

they were calling us to get on the plane.

And things weren't much better when they flew home in the early hours

of the morning and had to wait two hours for their car to be returned.

My wife were in tears.

Daughter was extremely upset because it was that cold.

We'd gone from 44 degrees down to about 10 degrees.

Promised on the phone,

"You'll get your money back and we'll compensate you."

Wife's finally got the money back.

No mention of any compensation or owt.

It's just absolutely scandalous.

Delayed collections and drop-offs like this have become common

at airports across the country, but they're causing particular problems

here at Manchester's Terminal 1.

They will tell their customers to wait in the drop-off area,

but, invariably, they're often 15, 20 minutes late, sometimes an hour,

sometimes longer.

Some people have missed their flights waiting for them.

But what the airport can't allow is for customers to park their cars

in this drop-off area indefinitely,

so they have to, in effect, circle round, rejoin the queue.

Sure enough, Pete soon spots a driver desperately driving

round and round in order to find the meet-and-greet company

that he's booked.

How long have you been waiting, may I ask you?

Yeah. Been going around about four times.

-You've been around four times?

-40 minutes. It's stressful.

Kids are waiting on the side of the road.

But, er, there we go.

Now, of course, even the best meet-and-greet businesses

may occasionally get stuck in traffic, but while at the airport,

we also came across a representative of one company

who was keen to put across an industry perspective.

If it weren't for companies like us, it would be a lot more chaos

outside the airport, because there'd be nowhere for them to park.

There's not enough space. That's it, that's why we're trying to do it.

We are late with our customers sometimes.

We can't help it. We always apologise.

We compensate if we are very more late.

We've got secure land, 24-hour operation

and, apart from a bit of lateness, we're a very successful business.

But such explanations don't hold much weight with Pete O'Brien.

It creates that illusion, and that's what it is, an illusion,

that this is somehow an official...

It's an approved, airport-approved company. They're not.

Pete and his team are hoping that by working

with the meet-and-greet companies and issuing warnings

instead of criminal proceedings,

they can be encouraged to operate away from the terminal itself.

So if you're booking an airport meet-and-greet service,

Pete has tips on how to tell which companies you can trust

with the keys to your car.

So the message to customers, A is -

check who you're booking with.

Do you know who they are? Can you trust them?

Do you know exactly where your car's going to be parked?

Is it secure, or is it open access?

Is it Park Mark approved?

And does your own personal insurance cover you

for the use of some of these companies?

Now each year, I'm afraid, millions of pounds are lost to fraudsters

who've set up websites that look like they're selling

genuine flights or holidays, but, in fact, they're doing no such thing.

So could you spot the difference and tell which sites are scams

and which are actually the real deal?

Well, I have to tell you, it's not always as easy as you might think.

Particularly when, as you'll see,

one of the main things that we're often told to look out for

can in itself be abused.

So stand by for some really good pointers on how to make sure that it

won't be your cash that they get their hands on the next time.

And look out for names of some businesses

that are definitely ones to avoid.

Thanks to its mix of beautiful beaches and adventure,

the resorts of Western Africa have become increasingly popular

destinations for Brits, especially in the winter.

And after recommendations from friends,

it seemed the ideal choice for Cara Reid and her boyfriend, Dan.

This is quite a big deal for us

because it was going to be our last holiday before, hopefully,

trying to move in together.

But we've had quite a few trialling times over the last couple of years.

I've spent a lot of time in hospital,

and we just really both wanted to make something special for us.

To add to the excitement, as Cara started planning the trip,

she kept it all a big secret from Dan.

I was like a little schoolgirl

because I was actually doing it as a surprise for Dan.

And it certainly was a surprise, but not in the way that she hoped.

After searching online, Cara found a website not only offering

what looked like a decent prices,

but that also displayed the Atol logo,

which she found very reassuring.

After all, it's usually cited as one of the key things to check for

when choosing who to travel with,

as it means you will be protected if things go wrong.

One of the companies that I recognised

was the Travel Zone company.

And I thought I'd use that one because I didn't recognise

any of the others, and I thought I was being safe.

And I clicked on the Travel Zone website

and it brought up a box saying,

"Please contact one of our customer care team."

On calling the number, Cara was told she'd be contacted

by one of the team's Africa specialists.

And, sure enough, within half an hour, a Mr Dave Smith

called her back and started running through the available deals

that the company had on offer.

He seemed to know what best airline to go with

and he was very reassuring

when I was asking him questions about the flight.

It was Travel Zone's logos with the Atol protection and everything,

so I didn't think anything of it.

Dave Smith offered Cara two return flights to the Gambia

for £876, plus a £100 deposit to secure their accommodation.

So, following his instructions,

Cara transferred the money directly into Dave Smith's bank account.

As soon as Cara was e-mailed a booking confirmation

with all the details, she finally revealed her plans to Dan.

It was amazing, the fact we were going somewhere so exotic

and extreme, it was fantastic, it was brilliant.

Something that we both really wanted to do.

With several months still to go before they were due to fly,

Cara then decided to really push the boat out

and upgrade to first class seats on the flight.

But when she called the airline to see if that was possible,

she couldn't quite believe what she was told.

I gave them all the reference numbers and she said,

"We had a booking for you.

"Your flights were cancelled, though,

"shortly after they were booked."

Hoping that there had been just some mistake,

Cara immediately dialled the number for the travel consultant

that she'd spoken to, Mr Dave Smith.

I tried ringing the two different numbers

and it just wasn't responding at all.

I was just in a mess.

When I spoke to Dan, I just didn't know how to break it to him

because I just felt like I'd failed us both.

And, um...

Yeah, so...

It's just one of the worst things, you know.

Well, with radio silence from Dave Smith,

Cara called the company she thought that she'd booked with.

And although this time she did manage to get through to someone,

the bad news, I'm afraid, got worse.

Dan found another number for Travel Zone, a different one,

by searching online.

And that's when I rang that number and had a second bombshell dropped.

It turned out that the company she was speaking to now, Travel Zone,

wasn't in fact the one she'd booked her holiday with.

She'd been duped by a copycat site calling itself Just Travel Zone.

It had used as many of the details of the real company as it could,

including its Atol number.

Here's one of my e-mails, confirmation of booking,

from what I thought was Travel Zone.

As you can see, there's the Travel Zone logo,

the Atol protection.

"Total financial protection, your holiday is safe with us."

The real Travel Zone told Cara that others had been hoodwinked

in exactly the same way and advised her to go to the police.

And, although she did that, she's not been able to recover

any of the £976 she lost.

Because it was a bank transfer,

it was as good as giving them my money.

There was nothing more they could do unless I was to pay more money out

to get solicitors and courts involved, which I haven't got.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe is Head of Crime

at the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.

For him, stories like Cara and Dan's are depressingly familiar.

The average loss reported to us is around £3,000 or more.

Throughout 2015, we had some 4,200 reports made to us of this nature.

For the first eight months of 2016,

we've had already 7,000 reports made to us,

so the problem just appears to be growing and growing.

DCI Fyfe says that the bogus website that fooled Cara

operated in much the same way as one which he and his team succeeded in

removing from the web last year, called Dreams Travel.

When you look into behind the initial screen,

which itself appears quite nice,

then you start to recognise some of the key things to look out for.

The phone number listed just went to a dead phone number line,

and the address that these people claim to operate from,

it turns out they didn't have office premises there whatsoever.

When we were able to identify who had set up the website

and the details they had used,

we were able to demonstrate that they were fake details,

so those factors, we were able to use to...

get cooperation from the domain registrar

to have this website suspended.

But if you only remember one thing that should set your alarm bells

ringing, it's advice that we've flagged up before -

always avoid paying by bank transfer,

unless it's to somebody you know.

Well, we tried getting in touch with Just Travel Zone, of course,

but I'm afraid we didn't get a response,

although it does appear the website is still taking bookings

under a different name.

Meanwhile, the real, legitimate Travel Zone,

a long-established business, has reiterated two key pieces of advice.

Firstly, that you should think twice about using any company

that's unable to make a card payment.

And secondly, reminding us all that too often

an especially good deal can turn out to be too good to be true.

The Civil Aviation Authority underlined that last point, too,

while going on to say that cracking down on websites that falsely claim

to hold an Atol licence is a very difficult challenge,

with many of the sites operated from overseas.

It recommends customers check a company really is Atol-protected,

in which case an Atol certificate should be issued

as soon as you've paid up any money.

As for Dan and Cara,

I'm afraid all they can do now is start saving for their next holiday,

and when they come to book it,

they will certainly do things very differently.

I think that's one of the biggest lessons

I've learnt from all of this,

is definitely to question where your money's going to

and whom it's going to.

If you're dealing with a company and they are asking you to do

a bank transfer, definitely really think about who you're

parting your money with, and look into it further

before you let it go.

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain,

I join a viewer trying to track down the villa

he's booked and paid for in Tenerife.

Will we find it, or has he been scammed?

-I've not heard of...

-Not heard of that villa?

No, or that company.

And how long have you been here?

I've been here now about 20 years.

-Oh, goodness, well, you really would know, wouldn't you?

-Yes.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yeah.

Now, more often than not, when things go wrong on holiday,

it's a reputable company that's slipped up,

but, as we know only too well on this programme,

sometimes the whole thing has been an out-and-out scam from the start.

When we heard about this next case,

what particularly stood out was the way it seemed to fly in the face

of the advice we always give about paying for things -

use your credit card -

because, in this case,

that didn't turn out to be the safety net you might expect.

So listen out for some advice to make sure you don't fall

for the same scam.

Guaranteed sunshine all year round,

sandy beaches and just a short flight away,

Tenerife is a firm favourite with the British.

More of us visit the island than any other nationality.

And, of course, it's where we've come to capture some sunshine

while filming this latest series.

Dean Goldsmith from Birmingham is one of many holiday-makers

who return to the island again and again.

We've been six or seven times before.

We enjoyed, like, the late sunshine of the evening, um,

the warmth, and the food's good.

So good in fact that, a year ago,

Dean and his wife started planning another visit,

this time hiring a villa with friends.

Dean spent some time searching online for the perfect villa

in the perfect spot, and he thought he'd found exactly that

on a website called sunnycanaryislands.com.

I was looking for a villa in Costa Adeje,

and on the home page, this one...this one came up.

So I clicked on, had a look, um...

The photos were amazing.

The four-bedroom villa was everything they were looking for,

so Dean was keen to snap up the deal of 1,600 euros

for an eight-night stay.

There were several options for making the payment

and Dean went for the one he knew would be safest,

using his credit card.

I opted for a credit card payment, um...

due to the fact that I know you get a bit of a guarantee with that.

I wasn't sure about PayPal,

but I know you get insurance and stuff with your credit card.

Booking complete,

Dean e-mailed the company for an exact address

so he could show the others where the villa was located,

but there was no response.

After about a week of not hearing anything back

off Sunny Canary Island, I decided to go on the website.

It then came up with a message saying,

"This website no longer exists," which made us feel quite anxious.

And things only got worse when he did a further search online.

The reviews were stating people were turning up at the airport,

and no transfer was there.

They were getting taxis from the airport to the supposed place

where the villas were, and the villas weren't there.

Dean contacted his credit card company, MBNA,

to say he suspected he'd been a victim of fraud,

and to see if there was any way he could get his money back,

but the company's response wasn't quite what he'd hoped for.

The credit card company initially said to me

that there's nothing they can do until I actually go to Tenerife

and the villa isn't there and the transfer isn't there.

Despite the reviews suggesting Sunny Canary wasn't all it appeared to be,

Dean would effectively have to prove to the credit card company

that there was no villa,

and that no-one had come to pick him up as arranged,

which of course meant he'd have to go to Tenerife

knowing he was unlikely to get what he'd paid for.

Well, in the end,

Dean and his friends decided they would fly to Tenerife,

and if, as they suspected, the villa didn't exist,

Dean would finally be able to prove to his credit card company

that he really had been ripped off.

Now, by a stroke of luck, the dates he was going to Tenerife

coincided with when we were there filming,

so I was able to meet him as he set off to search for the elusive villa,

with only the name and the street it's supposedly on to help him.

Would it exist after all, and, if not,

would he get the proof he needed to get his money back?

-Hi, Dean.

-Hi, Julia.

-Lovely to see you.

-Nice to meet you.

Now, the first piece of luck is that we have come to the right road,

-I think, because if you look up there, Avenida Europa.

-Oh, yeah.

-Yes, that's correct.

-That's all right, isn't it?

-You've got the details, I believe, on you, have you?

-I have, yeah.

"Villa Eugenio, Avenue Europa, Tenerife, Canary Islands."

OK, so we know we're in the right street.

-It looks like it's quite a long one...

-Mm-hmm.

-..so I suggest we go in our car together...

-OK.

..and you can look out one way, I'll look out the other way

-and we'll see what we can see.

-Sounds good.

'So time to go on a villa hunt.'

Let's keep our eyes peeled for the magic word, Eugenio.

Ah, look. "San Eugenio Alto. Ocean View."

-Shall we stop and have a look?

-Yeah. Why not?

-Shall we?

'It's similar enough to the name we're looking for

'to make us think that we might at least be on the right track.'

-Oh, hello.

-Hi.

This gentleman here is looking for a villa that he booked online.

Villa Eugenio.

-All right.

-And what is this?

This is Ocean View.

But it's got the name Eugenio in it, hasn't it?

-This is the area, San Eugenio.

-Ah, OK.

-Ah...

-That's the area.

-Yes.

'Once again, we spot the magic word.'

-Do you see it says "Oasis San Eugenio" there?

-Oh, yeah.

Shall we pop in there and see if they've ever heard of this place

-that we think doesn't exist?

-Yeah, why not? Yes.

Sorry to interrupt your day.

I booked a villa not long ago.

Right.

I've sort of being given the address as Villa Eugenio.

-No, I've not heard of...

-Not heard that villa?

No, or that company.

-And how long have you been here?

-I've been here now about 20 years.

-Oh, goodness, well, you really would know, wouldn't you?

-Yes, yeah.

Well, by now, we'd been up and down the whole street,

and it's clear that the villa is nowhere to be found.

While we've reported many times on similar scams,

where booked and paid for accommodation doesn't exist,

usually the payments have been made by bank transfer,

rather than, as at this time, by credit card.

But, of course, the fact it offered a legitimate method of paying

is what gave the site its credibility.

'So, though he's had to come a long way to get it,

'Dean does at last have the proof he hopes will be enough

'to get his money back, so he gives the credit card company a call.'

I'm actually here at the moment, and we've walked up and down

the street where the Villa Eugenio was supposed to be.

There's absolutely nothing there at all. No, no.

It is, yeah. Will do.

Thank you.

Cheers, then. Bye-bye. Bye.

-And?

-They want to just clarify that I've travelled to Tenerife

and that the rip-off has occurred,

and they've put a date of the 21st of November as the refund.

-So, all's good.

-Hooray.

-So how are you feeling now?

-I'm feeling elated.

-Good.

Well, you won't be at all surprised to hear that when we tried

to contact the rental company sunnycanaryislands.com,

we heard absolutely nothing back.

But we also got in touch with Dean's credit card company, MBNA,

to see why he had to go to such lengths to prove he'd been

a victim of fraud, when there were already so many others

who appeared to have been let down.

MBNA told us that it always supports customers

in getting their money back whenever a supplier

has not delivered a service as promised,

but it reiterated that a refund can only be offered

once the date the service was due to be provided has passed,

and, in this case, that had to be the start of the holiday.

But it confirmed...

Well, Dean's obviously delighted to get his money back,

but he's still ended up out of pocket

after paying for extra accommodation,

and the whole saga has shaken his confidence

in booking a villa online in future.

It's left me feeling quite vulnerable.

I like to think of myself as experienced

in booking accommodation abroad, which I've done for many years,

but I was quite easily drawn in.

Cheers.

If you've got a story you'd like us to investigate,

you can join in the conversation on our Facebook page -

just look for BBC Rip-Off Britain -

or you can log onto our website, bbc.co.uk/ripoffbritain.

If you'd like to send us an e-mail, then our address is...

Or if you want to send us a letter, then our new address is...

You know, we've been doing this series for

-several years now, haven't we?

-Yes.

And I have to say, it never ceases to amaze any of us

just how far those scammers are prepared to go,

and indeed what lies they'll tell

in order to get their hands on your cash.

It really is extraordinary.

And the other thing is how clever they've become.

But, you know, hopefully we've given you some useful pointers,

so that it's not your money they end up snaffling next.

In particular, do make sure that you know as much as you can

about who you're attempting to do business with.

So watch out for all those dodgy websites

that the Civil Aviation Authority's warning us about.

Absolutely. Don't just be tempted by whoever's offering

the cheapest fare, particularly if it's a name you've never heard of.

Double-check to see if they're above board.

But that's where we've got to leave it for now.

We'll see you again for a look at more of your stories very soon,

but, for now, thanks for watching, and from all of us here...

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.