Episode 3 Rip Off Britain

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

and you came back with a catalogue of travel disasters.

This can't be happening.

It's a nightmare. Wake me up from it, please.

It was just a shambles, that's the best way to say it.

It was just a shambles.

ANGELA: So, whether it's a deliberate rip-off,

a simple mistake or a catch in the small print,

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

JULIA: Your stories, your money, this is Rip Off Britain.

Hello and a huge welcome to Rip Off Britain where for this series,

we're on the very sunny island of Tenerife

and investigating a whole range of problems

that you've told us about.

Ones that you've had while you've been on holiday.

One of the biggest gripes you write to us about is when you've had no

choice but to make a change of some sort, or even cancel your plans and

you've been hit with a big old charge for the privilege.

Now that can be the case whether you've made very simple mistakes,

say at the time of your booking, or at the other end of the scale,

if you can no longer actually go on holiday at all because someone very

close to you has fallen seriously ill

and now needs urgent medical treatment.

Now either way to get penalised, or worse still, to actually lose

the money that you've paid altogether, can seem not just harsh

but rather unfair, don't you think?

I'd call it a double blow.

So why is it so difficult to amend or cancel a holiday

without being hit by some kind of extra cost?

That's something you've been asking us for years

and now it seems that the regulators, too,

are starting to question the way we're treated

if we need to change our holiday plans.

Let's see if your experiences can help make up their minds.

Coming up... Why even after the most devastating diagnosis,

you may not be able to cancel your holiday without losing your cash.

But could there be a way to fight back?

I couldn't understand why a company should behave like that to somebody

with a genuine illness

and traumatic stage of their life that they're going through.

And they spotted a mistake with their flights just minutes after booking,

so how did this family end up with such a whopping charge to change them?

So simply he said to me,

"That will be ?900 to change."

And at that point, I cannot tell you what I was thinking and feeling,

because I was in so much shock.

Now although we can sometimes bag a bargain at the very last minute,

often some of the best holiday deals can be found a long time in advance.

Indeed, it's not unheard of for some people to plan and pay

for a particular trip up to two years beforehand.

But, you know, a lot can happen in that time and all of life's great

unpredictable events can mean that through circumstances beyond anybody's control,

you're no longer able to take that

long-awaited and hard saved for time away.

Of course, the trouble is that holidays aren't something

you can just get out of, cancel and then get your money back,

which can seem especially inflexible if there's still plenty of time for

the company you booked with to resell your seats,

or your cabin, to somebody else.

The open seas.

An endless horizon, and the luxury of a modern cruise ship.

More of us than ever are choosing to take to the ocean waves

with not far off two million Brits going on a cruise in 2015.

And when many ships now boast casinos, health spas,

cinemas and even theatres,

cruise ships are now floating cities of luxury and extravagance.

It was exactly that sort of indulgence that Harry and Kay Smith

from Bolton were looking forward to

when they booked flights to South Africa

and a cruise from there as part of

what would be a holiday of a lifetime.

That's a good one, isn't it?

There were lots of reasons why they were desperate to get out there.

We'd lived in South Africa for 25 years before.

Secondly, our youngest son, Mark,

was recovering from a fairly severe spinal operation.

Last but not least, I had never seen our great-granddaughter.

Well, the couple booked their trip through a company called

Infinity Cruises.

It was to begin with flights to Johannesburg where they would

spend a few weeks with family before heading to Cape Town

to embark on that cruise to Venice.

All of that came with a big price tag.

It was ?4,298 in total,

but the couple felt that every penny was worth it.

The family, when we said we were coming out,

were absolutely over the moon.

They were so excited and we were so looking forward to it.

We'd saved our money, we'd retired,

we wanted to have something to remember.

It was a one-off.

We'll never be able to afford this kind of money again.

But it was soon after they had booked and paid for the holiday

that Kay received some life-changing news from her doctor.

She said, "I'm sorry, it's cancer."

And I just started shaking.

The tears rolled down my eyes and I thought,

"Oh, my God, I've got to tell my husband,

"I've got to phone him and tell him."

And I just sat there

and I phoned him and I told him on the phone and he...

He just said, "Oh, God, not my baby, please, not my baby."

As you might imagine, it was devastating news

and while Kay hoped she might still be able to take her holiday,

it was immediately clear that that wouldn't be possible.

The consultant said, "If you've got anything planned, unplan it."

I said, "Can I not put the chemo off for a month or so until I come back

"off this trip, because, you know,

"we've just paid out all this money for this holiday of a lifetime,

"to South Africa to our family" and she said, "No, I'm sorry,

"you're not going to be able to get on a plane."

It was even more than a double blow, we couldn't spend time with my son,

who was emotionally and physically ill

and suffering and having to come to terms with major dramas

in his life, I couldn't be supportive of him.

I wasn't going to see the family.

As the trip was still a full three months away,

Harry immediately called Infinity Cruises,

confident that the company would cancel the holiday and refund the money.

He even sent medical evidence to prove the diagnosis.

I had told them what had happened.

They were very sympathetic

and I just assumed that this was part of the process

of getting reimbursed.

But Infinity Cruises told the couple that they wouldn't get back

any of the ?4,298 they had paid in.

Because in line with its terms and conditions,

it stated clearly that there are no refunds.

She said, "Have you read the small print, the terms and conditions?"

I said, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm sorry, it clearly states that if you cancel...

"..you don't get your money back."

And I couldn't get my head round this.

Making money like that...

..out of somebody's tragedy, I couldn't...

I couldn't envisage anybody doing this.

I couldn't understand why a company should behave like that to somebody

with a genuine illness

and traumatic stage of their life that they're going through.

Infinity Cruises told Harry that the only way to get his money back would

be to make a claim on his travel insurance.

But Harry, of course, hadn't yet taken a policy out.

He'd planned to do that nearer the trip.

So in a desperate bid not to lose his cash,

he suggested that a family member could take the trip in their place,

but the company said the holiday was not transferable.

We could have brought family from South Africa

and gave them a trip of a lifetime if we could have changed the names.

We could have brought our granddaughter and great-granddaughter over.

They could have had the cabin.

Why could we not change names?

What does it matter to anybody?

It's a piece of paper.

Harry and Kay believed that the company would easily be able to

resell the holiday and therefore wouldn't lose any money,

but Infinity Cruises was not prepared to budge.

I said to them, "What happens if you resell them?

"Who gets the money?"

"We keep the money."

He said, "We keep the money."

I said, "How can you...?

"This is immoral. How do you sleep at night?

"How can you possibly do this?"

Infinity says that once a holiday is cancelled,

the various elements are sent back to the suppliers and therefore,

the company itself does incur cancellation costs

and it was reiterated that the staff who dealt with Harry

were sticking to the company's terms and conditions.

But Harry firmly believes he didn't receive those terms

and conditions until after he had paid and although the company

has made it clear that the terms and conditions are available to view

online at any time,

Harry didn't look at these at the time of booking.

But it's not at all unusual for travel companies to refuse

to refund the cost of a holiday that's been cancelled,

even when that's because of ill-health,

or some other life-changing event.

That is usually stated very clearly in the terms and conditions

and the reason, of course, is that if the company can't resell the trip

in whatever time is available, it could end up out of pocket.

Well, something very similar happened to this man,

Rip Off Britain viewer John Cartwright from Rutland.

He's a retired barrister,

and once a lawyer, always a lawyer.

So, when he was told he wouldn't get a refund,

it wasn't something he was prepared to accept.

John had booked a trip to Hong Kong.

He'd paid a ?1,178 deposit for the flights, but then,

due to a serious heart problem, he was unable to fly.

In my case, the tour operator had at least four months' notice

before departure, so had plenty of time to resell the flights.

And the hotelier probably found somebody else to sleep

in the same room.

John used his legal expertise.

He referred to an Office of Fair Trading report from 2004,

which says that if a customer cancels a trip,

a holiday firm is entitled to retain some of the deposit or other payment,

but only as much as is needed to cover its reasonable costs and losses

caused by the cancellation.

Their loss amounted to ?76,

so they refunded to me ?1,102.

I felt vindicated, but I also felt angry,

because by operating their scheme of telling people,

"You're bound by our terms and conditions, you've got to forfeit the money you've paid",

that smacks of profiteering out of somebody else's personal calamity.

The travel company told us that high cancellation charges

are usually imposed by suppliers,

but are calculated so they represent a genuine pre-estimate

of the overall loss to the business.

However, it does recognise that from time to time, these costs

are not a true reflection,

and it's since introduced a more flexible approach to cancellations

surrounding unforeseen circumstances.

It said in John's case,

after being successful in getting money back from its suppliers,

it was able to offer him a suitable refund,

but the company went on to say that most customers cancelling on medical

grounds would seek a refund through their travel insurance.

But for those of us without John's legal expertise,

including Harry and Kay, this kind of battle isn't that easy,

nor is it always clear where to turn next.

So John has agreed to look at Harry and Kay's case,

to see if he thinks that they too might be able to get at least some of their money back.

I understand that you asked Infinity Travel what their losses, if any,

amounted to, resulting from your cancellation?

Well, what I said to them, John, was that

I don't mind paying any reasonable costs incurred by the company,

and I would expect to pay for administration costs, etc.

A cancellation fee.

For John, a crucial factor in Harry and Kay's case lies in exactly when

the couple were made aware that if they cancelled their trip,

for whatever reason, they wouldn't be entitled to any refund.

You paid the money before you ever had a chance to see the terms

and conditions, is that right?

As far as I can recall, yes, yes.

Well, if that is right, that's a very good start to your situation,

because that means all of their terms and conditions are meaningless.

Well, yeah. You have terms and conditions put before you at the point of sale.

It's no good taking money off somebody and then telling you,

"Oh, by the way, I didn't tell you, these are your terms and conditions,"

because they've already got your money. Yeah.

And though the terms and conditions are available on the company's

website and in the brochure,

Harry is adamant that the fact that the cruise was non-refundable wasn't

made explicitly clear to him as he handed over his money,

John's opinion is that Harry and Kay have a very strong case.

I'm convinced,

convinced that you will win your case and not only win the case,

but you should get a big chunk of your money back.

You may not get it all back.

So you think we will get some back?

Oh, yes. Oh, yeah, you will.

Thank you so much, John.

Thanks for your help and advice.

Well, it seems John's not alone in arguing that some travel companies

may not always treat customers who cancel fairly.

The Competition and Markets Authority recently launched a campaign,

to stop companies profiting from non-refundable deposits on goods

such as holidays, in situations where it is possible to sell them on.

And it's warned that companies who continue to breach consumer rights

in this area could face action, including fines.

But when we put Harry and Kay's case to Infinity Cruises,

the company told us that though it sincerely apologises for the added

anxiety this situation may have produced,

it's acted entirely within the allowed constraints

of the holiday and cancellation process.

It accepts, however, that more could have been done to help the couple

try and recoup the cost of their holiday.

Going on to explain that while the air fares had been

paid in full and were non-refundable,

the company had as yet only paid its supplier a deposit

for the cruise element of the holiday.

As such, it is able to give the couple a partial refund of ?1,634

to cover that part of the trip,

along with an additional ?115 as a goodwill gesture.

That's a huge step in the right direction for Harry and Kay,

and they're determined to fight on in the hope of getting all their money back.

We've exhausted every other avenue,

and we've given this company every opportunity to treat us fairly.

And, so far, they haven't.

So if we have to go to the court, then that's what we'll do.

Our travel expert Simon Calder has all the secrets

to save you money on your travels.

He's full of tips on everything from how to avoid the crowds

to the best way to steer clear of those tourist traps.

This time, Simon's exploring the Greek islands.

Greece acquired civilisation centuries before we did

in Britain and it's still a highly civilised place to go on holiday.

If you're after the simple pleasures of travel

and enjoy shimmering blue seas and dazzling white villages,

Simon says Greece definitely delivers.

I first went island hopping in Greece 40 years ago

and I've been exploring the mainland and islands ever since.

After four decades of tireless research, these are my top tips.

If you're after history as well as hedonism, then Simon recommends

you focus on the three most popular islands - Creete, Corfu and Rhodes.

On Crete, the largest Greek island of all,

a local bus from the capital Heraklion will take you

to Knossos, the power base of the Minoan civilisation.

Corfu is closer to Britain

and cheap to reach with plenty of low cost, high indulgence options.

But far away from beach resorts like Kavos,

you can find unspoiled coast and countryside.

And finally Rhodes was transformed by the Knights of St John,

whose Palace of the Grand Master dominates the old town.

Whichever island you choose,

consider a cut-price alternative to the beachfront hotel.

Rent a room in town and use that as a base for exploring

the rest of the island by cheap and cheerful public transport.

For a picture perfect taste of the Greek islands,

Simon reckons Kos is a must-see with so much more than just beaches.

There, you can find cottages rising from the quayside

to a pretty white church with a hilly hinterland draped in pine

or go one step beyond Kos itself.

Take a ferry to nearby Patmos, where the reward

is a pace of life turned down a couple of notches.

And the final slice of Greece Simon recommends is its capital.

To supercharge your Greek experience,

add Athens to an island trip.

The Greek capital was handsomely transformed for the Olympics

in 2004 and is now one of my favourite European cities -

the very definition of ancient and modern.

These days, because booking online has become so simple,

we have all become used to organising our travel and holiday

around the clock, 24/7, which is fine, when everything goes to plan.

But it may not be so good if you've got a query,

or a problem, that has to be sorted out there and then.

Mary Mutimer is used to doing things in a hurry

and to being rushed off her feet.

With four children, her work as a paramedic

and a husband who is in the same unpredictable job,

she could always do with more hours in the day than there actually are.

Juggling work, home life,

just keeping everything going is really difficult at times

and for example, me and my partner probably get two days off every six weeks together.

So time is precious to us.

So, organising a family holiday to Orlando

where her eldest daughter Gemma was studying,

seemed set to provide a welcome opportunity to press pause

for a while and spend some time relaxing.

And in January 2016, Mary started hunting online for the best deal.

When you do a search, lots of companies come up.

Some of them I had heard of and some of them I hadn't heard of.

One of those companies she hadn't heard of was Omegaflightstore,

a well-established online travel agent which has been offering

flights on many international routes for 20 years.

With the price quoted for all five return flights to Orlando coming in

at ?2,045, more than ?350 under their budget,

she couldn't believe her luck.

At that time, I'll be honest, adrenaline was pumping,

because I thought I had found a really good deal, this is it,

we're going on this dream holiday, everything seemed to be going fine,

found this fantastic price that fitted in with budget,

booked it, felt on top of the world.

Keen to secure such a great price,

Mary hadn't wasted a second booking the flights

and at 17:58, she got confirmation that payment had been taken.

I was feeling so superchuffed with myself because I had found

this bargain deal that was at least 50% cheaper

than what a lot of people had been

telling me that I would have to pay for a family of five.

So, it was a case of crack the champagne out, toast all round,

I was feeling really pleased with myself and excited

that we were going to be going on this holiday of a lifetime.

But the celebrations came to an abrupt halt,

just a couple of minutes after they had begun.

My oldest son, Jacob, he was like, "Mum,"

and I thought something is terribly wrong here, what could it be?

And that's when he announced to me that the flights I had just booked

clashed with the exams that he had told me were in June,

were in fact in May.

I was absolutely devastated.

However, I thought, "Well, that's OK,

"I will just call them back and I will just change the flights."

But that wasn't to be.

Mary called Omegaflightstore 22 minutes after receiving her confirmation e-mail

at 20 past six.

But all she got through to was a recorded message.

I still didn't panic at this point,

because I truly believed that it would be something that I could just sort out.

Their answerphone message said they were open at nine o'clock

the next morning and I thought, "That's OK,

"I will just give them a ring in the morning."

Mary booked the following morning off work to sort it all out

and when 9am came around,

she was straight on the phone to Omegaflightstore.

When I explained to Omega Flights what had happened,

and that I had booked at literally two minutes to six and then their

office was shut and I needed to change the dates,

I was pretty much met with,

"Yes, no problem, that will be absolutely fine.

"Let's see what we can do." I thought this is going well.

Having checked the terms and conditions on the company's website

the night before, Mary was prepared

to be charged a ?30 per person admin fee to change the flight details.

But she wasn't ready for what she was told instead.

So simply he said to me, "That will be ?900 to change."

And at that point, I cannot tell you what I was thinking and feeling,

because I was in so much shock.

So I said to him, "That's not right.

"I booked these at two minutes to six, your office was shut."

But the operator was adamant that Mary had missed the deadline

by which the details could be changed for that ?30 per person fee.

And as a result, the cost had rocketed.

He started to talk at me some facts and figures about, well,

if you had changed it by midnight, it would have been OK.

I said, "Well, your office was shut at six o'clock, I couldn't do that.

"I phoned you, you were closed, there was no other way of contacting you."

But Omegaflightstore would not budge,

insisting the only way she could change the flights

was by paying that further ?900.

They said, this ?900, was ?180 per person,

?30 that they were charging for the detail change, name change,

flight change, and ?150 per person which was some flight

void cancellation charge, which was nowhere on their

website at the time that I had seen the day before.

Mary says Omegaflightstore told her that the ?900 was for fees

charged by the airlines, but when she contacted both Delta and Virgin,

the companies with whom she was due to fly,

they told her that wasn't the case and in fact,

if she had booked directly with either of them,

she would have had a 24-hour cooling off period during which she would

have been able to cancel or change her flight free of charge!

So, if the charges weren't being made by the airline,

Mary couldn't understand what on earth they were for!

It was like talking to a brick wall,

there was just absolutely no give whatsoever and they just kept saying,

"Sorry, madam, it's not the case, this is procedure,

"this is policy," and it seemed to make absolutely no difference whatsoever,

that we were saying, "I've just spoken to Virgin,

"they have told us that they do not impose this ?150 per person charge,

"so where has it come from?"

With their pleas falling on deaf ears,

Mary and Paul felt they had no choice but to pay the extra fees

Omega Flights was demanding,

after scraping the money together with help from relatives.

We borrowed the money off Paul's parents,

very bitterly paid this ?900.

I was absolutely devastated.

Now in the US, there is special legislation in place

to protect consumers from falling foul of what can be

confusing cancellation and amendment policies.

The rules there say that any American airline,

or indeed any flight departing from the US,

must either offer a 24-hour hold guaranteeing your fare

before purchase, or a 24-hour risk-free cancellation

entitling the customer to a full refund.

But here in the UK, consumers have no such protection.

And as a result, different airlines have different policies and charges,

if you want to make an immediate change to a booking.

For example, BA and Virgin both have a 24-hour cooling off period,

allowing flights to be cancelled, or rebooked.

Although Virgin advises that if the flight was booked through an agent,

it's the agent that should be contacted for a refund.

Thomas Cook doesn't operate a 24-hour grace period

and its charges for flight changes range from ?35 to ?50 per person.

But that's a long way from the ?150 per person

Omegaflightstore charged Mary.

But when we spoke to Omegaflightstore,

it insisted it acted in line with fair rules,

telling us that by the time Mary spoke to the company,

it was already too late to avoid incurring a charge,

because their 24-hour cooling off period applies

from a minute past midnight to a minute to midnight,

the same day of purchase,

rather than 24 hours across two days.

It says the need to get changes made by six o'clock the same day

is clearly stated in its website.

Omega goes on to say it does not compromise its customer satisfaction

under any circumstances.

And while it says a negotiation with Delta resulted in the airline

agreeing to cancel the flights for a full refund,

Mary preferred to change the date rather than cancel altogether,

so the company had no choice but to apply the rules

of charging ?150 per person, plus a ?30 administration fee.

But Mary is adamant that she was never offered the option of a refund.

I have never dealt with a company like that before

and we're a modern-day family that buy on the internet,

book things through search sites,

just absolutely shocking in this day and age,

it seems backwards to me that an office shuts at 6pm.

There are a lot of companies now that are 24/7

and you can speak to them, you know,

24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round. It's ridiculous.

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

then get in touch with us via our Facebook page BBC Rip Off Britain,

our website, bbc.co.uk/ripoffbritain,

or e-mail us.

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

Well, the question of refunds on a holiday booking is one that we know

a lot of you feel very strongly about.

And you've made it crystal clear in your e-mails and letters

that the way you think some companies handle this just isn't right.

Now obviously we do appreciate that there is usually some cost involved

in either amending or cancelling a booking, but it's very easy,

I think, to understand why so many people feel that to lose

the whole cost of the holiday,

even when the company has then gone on and been able to resell it

to someone else, does not feel entirely fair.

And I have to say, I agree with them.

For now, though, we're out of time,

so we hope you never need to cancel any of your holiday plans

and that everything goes without a hitch.

And remember, if it doesn't, you know what to do,

let us know about it.

We'll see you again very soon, but until then, from all of us, goodbye.

Bye. Bye.

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