Episode 6 Rip Off Britain


Episode 6

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We asked you who has left you feeling ripped off

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when it comes to your holidays.

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And you came back with a catalogue of travel disasters.

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We said, "No, we're going to stick with this

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"and we're going to try and get something done about it."

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When you are on holidays,

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you don't want to fight with people, you just want to enjoy.

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

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or a catch in the small print...

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

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Your stories, your money.

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This is Rip-Off Britain.

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Hello and thank you so much for joining us

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for a taste of winter sun here on Rip-Off Britain.

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Now this time we're in the Canary Islands, investigating more

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of the holiday stories that you've been kind enough to send us

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and to look into on your behalf.

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And why sometimes in this series, the reason why a trip has gone wrong

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is all down to a straightforward, honest mistake.

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I'm afraid that's not the case with the stories

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you're about to hear today.

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Far from it.

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There's no mistake, honest or otherwise, in these situations.

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In fact, let's not beat around the bush.

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Most of the cases can best be described as out and out scams.

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Indeed they are.

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And whether or not they're designed to catch you out

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while you're booking your holiday or when you're actually there,

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some of these scams are ones that

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could very easily be targeted at you.

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So we're going to have plenty of advice to make sure that

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you know exactly what to do to avoid being tricked out of your cash.

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Coming up...

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a long-awaited family holiday

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grounded by a flight that never took off.

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But had it ever really existed in the first place?

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I couldn't actually believe it cos we packed everything,

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we planned everything and then it's just got cancelled.

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And booking a holiday home online.

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Could the one you've picked be a scam?

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It was horrible, it was absolutely horrible.

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I realised that we'd been scammed out of £4,000.

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Now, as we know from so many of the stories that we've covered

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in the past, scammers can strike absolutely everywhere.

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But it's when we're on holiday that perhaps

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we're a fraudster's favourite target.

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Let's face it, we're relaxed, may not fully understand the language

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and you're probably not really wise to the tricks

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that they've been pulling all summer long...

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and why the sisters in our next film didn't actually consider

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themselves an easy target.

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They weren't banking on a group of people working together

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to con them out of their cash.

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And worse still, it wasn't until they got home

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that they discovered the scam had an even nastier sting in the tail.

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Sisters Alma Elliot and Theresa Snelling

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have always been very close.

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And after Alma's husband died in 2013,

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they decided to take a holiday together to get away

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from the stresses of all the arrangements.

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I was really exhausted, having to sell, you know, like,

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the home we'd had for 20... over 25 years.

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It was quite an emotional time.

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We were working very hard sorting out her house

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and so we just needed a break.

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They booked a ten-day holiday in Tenerife and when they arrived,

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straight away set about seeing what the local town had to offer.

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They were looking at sunhats at a beach-side shop called Goodwill

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when they were approached by two men,

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who told them they had something inside the shop

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that the sisters might be interested in.

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So, intrigued, the ladies went in

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and were greeted by a further four men.

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All the people in the shop were very, very friendly

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and really made us feel quite comfortable.

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The ladies were led to the back of the store

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and one of the men attempted to talk Alma into buying a camcorder

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made by a manufacturer called Pentasonic.

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He started to give the pair a demonstration of how it worked.

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The man was showing us just what it could do

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and it seemed quite fascinating

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and I thought I'd like one.

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In fact, Alma and Theresa were so convinced by the sales patter

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that they decided to buy one each.

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Theresa paid 273 euros, that's just over £200,

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and she paid for that on her credit card,

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while Alma put the same amount on her debit card.

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But instead of being able to take their camcorders

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with them there and then, the shop manager told them to collect them

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on the last day of their holiday, after he had translated

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the cameras' internal menus from Spanish to English.

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Reluctantly, the sisters agreed, but they left feeling very uneasy.

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We realised that we had paid for something that we hadn't got

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and if we were going to go back on the last day,

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they could come up with, "Oh, there's been a problem."

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So we thought we would go back early and surprise them.

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And when they did, as well as picking up their camcorders,

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the shop manager also tried to give them a mini-tablet each.

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We said no, we didn't want them

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and we weren't interested in them,

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but they said they were for free.

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But he persisted, claiming that the mini-tablets were part

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of a special promotion by Pentasonic.

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The only snag was that the tablets would also need to be

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translated into English and to get their gift,

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the sisters would have to come back to the shop yet again.

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Well, Alma and Teresa agreed,

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but, still feeling unsure about the camcorders they'd bought,

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they popped into another shop nearby,

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looking for reassurance about their purchases.

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And for whatever reason, the manager at that shop told them that,

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yes, they had got an amazing deal.

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We felt a lot happier after being in there,

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because this was a photographic shop

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and we felt that we weren't being...

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..conned.

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So, reassured, the next day, Alma and Theresa went back

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to the original shop, Goodwill, to collect their free tablets.

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But before they could leave,

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the manager persuaded the sisters to buy a couple of cases for them.

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When I put my card in, I was checking the amount

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and I was surprised because it was 88 euros

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and I thought it was going to be a bit less than that.

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This time, they both paid by using their debit cards.

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But when Teresa asked for her receipt,

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the shop manager insisted that he'd already given it to her.

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Well, I was annoyed so I thought, "Well, I'll just make a note,

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"88 euros, I'll see what comes onto my card."

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They returned home to Somerset confident that, for 361 Euros,

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each of them had got a great deal on a brand-new camcorder,

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tablet and case.

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But Alma's daughter, Beth, helps her mother to manage her finances

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and regularly checks her Lloyds Bank statements.

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And when she next logged on to her mum's accounts,

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she was appalled at what she found.

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I went onto my mum's bank account

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and I noticed that she was quite severely overdrawn.

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I could see that the debits were from abroad.

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Over £2,750 had been taken out of her account by the shop,

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Goodwill.

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I knew instantly that this wasn't correct.

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Theresa also banks with Lloyds

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and when she then contacted the bank,

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she was shocked to discover that the shop had taken

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a total of £5,000 from her bank account and her credit card.

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Suddenly...

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my world turned upside down.

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Because to us, it was as clear as day that we had been scammed.

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Beth immediately looked into how the sisters might be able

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to get their money back and discovered that,

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because they'd paid with their credit and debit cards,

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they might be able to claim a refund

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using the little-known chargeback scheme,

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which can help if there's been fraudulent activity on your account,

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or indeed, you haven't got what you paid for.

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I told them to go into the bank the next day

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and ask them to initiate the chargeback process.

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And a few days later, when Beth checked Alma's account again,

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she was relieved by what she saw.

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I noticed that she had been re-credited with all the money

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that had been taken and I was thrilled.

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And I rang her immediately to tell her and then the next call I made

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was to my aunt because I naturally presumed that the same

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would happen to her.

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However, this wasn't the case.

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Although Theresa was refunded for the fraudulent activity

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by her credit card company, when she contacted the bank again

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to check that she, too, would get back the money

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taken from her bank account, she was given very different news.

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I just cannot understand how the same bank,

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who we've both been with for over 50 years,

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could treat two sisters so differently.

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We weren't told anything, they never gave us a reason.

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It was just decided.

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And Beth is far from impressed with the products the ladies bought.

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As soon as I opened it up,

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I was a little anxious about it and nervous about it.

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We took some footage with it, we tried to connect it to our laptop,

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but we couldn't do that, it didn't work.

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The first thing I did was research it on the internet

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and sure enough, all my searches came back with warnings

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about Pentasonic and this not being the camera you believe it to be

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when you buy it.

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We contacted the Goodwill shop in Tenerife for an explanation.

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As yet, they haven't replied.

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As for the camera manufacturer, Pentasonic...

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well, we haven't been able to track them down.

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In fact, we couldn't find any evidence

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that such a company even exists.

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But we also contacted Lloyds Bank to see why one of the sisters

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had received a refund, while the other didn't.

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And this time, we got a very positive response.

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The bank told us it's "sorry for the experience"

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that Alma and Theresa had

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and it understands the distress that this type of situation can cause.

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It stressed it takes all cases of fraud,

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"Very seriously and always looks into them on an individual basis."

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As a result, Lloyds has, "Now reimbursed both customers

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"for the money that was debited from their accounts,"

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and has also given Theresa an additional £250

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for the delay in their decision.

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Jane Negus from the UK European Consumer Centre

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has some pointers on how to protect your money

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when you're shopping abroad.

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When you buy electrical goods abroad,

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the first thing we would say is that if something is very cheap or,

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you know, somebody is trying to convince you

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it's a really good deal,

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make sure that is actually the deal that they're saying.

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Go off and do a bit of research first before you actually purchase.

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Use a credit card if it's over £100, it will give you added protection.

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If your bank refuse your claim, you can take it further,

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whether it's a debit or a credit card,

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and take it to the financial ombudsman.

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And while Alma and Theresa are very relieved to have their money back,

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the entire experience has left a lasting impact.

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I suppose my whole view of the world is different now.

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I don't feel it's such a safe place any more.

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Now, we hear a lot from people whose holidays didn't go to plan.

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But whatever went wrong,

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they did, in most cases, at least get to their destination,

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which is more than can be said for the family we're about to meet.

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Because, despite promises and assurances even just hours

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before they were due to take off,

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they still don't know to this day for certain whether the holiday

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they booked and paid thousands for had ever really existed.

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Amanda Chin and husband Kok Wah have been running a takeaway

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in Shrewsbury for the last 14 years.

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Hello, Bamboo City.

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Yes, for delivery or pick up?

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It's taken many hours of hard work to build up the business,

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and although it's now thriving, Amanda and her family have only ever

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taken seven days off in all the time they've worked there.

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Since then, the family has hardly been going out anywhere.

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Just working seven days a week, same every day.

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So in July 2014, Amanda decided it was time for the whole family,

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including her grandma, who lives in Malaysia,

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to take a holiday together.

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We hardly see them.

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Probably Christmas time or Chinese New Year time.

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This was the first time since they all came to England

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about 20 years ago.

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And the perfect opportunity seemed to present itself

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when one of their regular customers, James Brown,

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offered Amanda what appeared to be a great deal.

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Mr Brown said he was setting up a new company called

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Wales European Aviation,

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with its own airline, flyWEA.

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He explained the company offered private charter flights and trips

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and he could put together a package for Amanda and her family.

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He said, "As you're a good friend, we'll do you a good deal

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"with all the packages and I'll sort everything out for you."

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James Brown said he could take Amanda and 18 of her relatives

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to Disneyland Paris for £170 per person.

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That would cover two nights accommodation and entry tickets

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to the park and return flights.

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What's more, they would be able to take the flight

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from Welshpool Airport, which was just 20 miles away

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from Amanda's home.

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Children have been asking me almost every year that they want to go

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to Disneyland because their friends are going there,

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their friends have been there and they haven't been there.

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So it was their very first holiday where they wanted always.

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James Brown told Amanda that, in order to get the trip booked,

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he would need all the money, a total of £3,230,

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in cash up front.

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I think I had asked him if I could transfer it to him,

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but he said, "I'll be around, you can pay me cash when it's ready."

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And he said, "OK, once you've got it,

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"and then I'll come down and pick it up."

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And then he just came down straight away.

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So, with the holiday paid for, all that was left for Amanda to do

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was to organise the arrival of her grandma travelling over

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from Malaysia and try and contain the excitement of the children.

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Once we'd paid and everybody was just...

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Actually, the kids started packing,

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they were that excited and getting ready and things

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and all their lists of what to bring.

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We don't usually go on holiday very often

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and this was, like, one in years.

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We were going to Disneyland because it would be a good experience

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because I've never been there before.

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I was looking forward to all the rides and all the characters.

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And on the 11th August, their wait was finally over.

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The morning of the holiday had arrived.

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My girls, they hardly sleep that night

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because they were that excited.

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It was to be an early flight,

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so Amanda made sure she was up and about to get everyone ready

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and check any final details.

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I came in and checked my e-mail.

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Just said, "Urgent message, the holiday had to be cancelled today,"

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cos the plane was still in Spain.

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"It's got a fault so they need to check it out before coming back."

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The e-mail said that the holiday would simply be delayed by a day.

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Amanda tried calling James Brown, but couldn't get through.

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She e-mailed to find out more,

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but then had to break the news to the rest of the family

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that they wouldn't be taking off that day as planned.

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I thought it wasn't true, like, I thought it was just a joke.

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I thought that my mum was joking.

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I couldn't actually believe it cos we packed everything,

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we planned everything and then it's just got cancelled.

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For the rest of the day,

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everyone waited whilst Amanda tried to get answers.

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There were plenty of e-mails, with lots of updates and excuses,

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but still no plane.

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Finally, at 1am the next morning,

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he said the flight would not be going ahead at all

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and said they could either change the date or get a refund.

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All the children, just sitting there, in tears and crying

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and somewhere in their room.

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Everybody's just upset.

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This feels like they were all trusting me at first about all this

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and then suddenly, all this...

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Behind, they may be thinking I'm part of this,

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I'm trying to rip them off and take their money.

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But, no, it's hard to explain.

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It's nothing to do with me, it's this guy.

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As the family began to come to terms with their disappointment,

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Amanda set about trying to their money back.

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I asked him to transfer to my bank and then I gave him my bank details

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and he said he couldn't make it to the bank.

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And then I said,

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"You can pop it down to me or I can come to pick it up

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"from you, if it's not convenient for you."

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But when, over a week later, there had been no sign of James Brown,

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or indeed her refund, Amanda and her family became increasingly angry.

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Over the next month, Amanda tried repeatedly to get their £3,230 back,

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but with no success.

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All she got was excuse after excuse.

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Then he said he had to go in hospital,

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so it took him a few days and then I got back to him.

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He came back and said...

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..er, he'd been having too much problems with families and companies

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and that his company has got some financial trouble

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and then he said he needed to borrow money from his friend to pay me off.

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Two months after she was due to fly,

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Amanda was told by James Brown that his company was being "wound down"

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and that he was going to borrow money from a friend to pay her back.

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But all the excuses were beginning to wear very thin.

0:17:500:17:53

It was almost every day that people, all the friends and family,

0:17:530:17:56

ringing to ask me, "How's it going?

0:17:560:17:58

"How's the payment? When will we receive it?"

0:17:580:18:01

I said, "I've never upset so many people in one go, all 19 of you."

0:18:010:18:05

And that's when Amanda got in touch with us.

0:18:050:18:09

We decided to check out James Brown's credentials,

0:18:090:18:12

to see what chance there had ever been

0:18:120:18:14

that he could fly the family to Disneyland Paris.

0:18:140:18:17

In order to fly a plane commercially,

0:18:170:18:20

James Brown would need an Air Operator Certificate,

0:18:200:18:23

registered with the Civil Aviation Authority.

0:18:230:18:25

But when we contacted them, they told us that,

0:18:250:18:28

although flyWEA had been in touch,

0:18:280:18:31

they weren't processing an application for the company

0:18:310:18:34

or any other operator working for them.

0:18:340:18:37

As a result, it would have been illegal for him to take Amanda

0:18:370:18:40

and her family on this trip.

0:18:400:18:42

What's more, the CAA added that for James Brown to provide the flight

0:18:420:18:46

and accommodation package he had promised,

0:18:460:18:49

he would also need an ATOL licence, which flyWEA did not have.

0:18:490:18:53

We also contacted Welshpool Airport,

0:18:540:18:57

where the flight had supposedly been due to take off.

0:18:570:18:59

It said they had never heard of flyWEA or James Brown.

0:18:590:19:03

And they pointed out their runway is too short to accommodate

0:19:030:19:07

the type of plane that James Brown claimed would be flying.

0:19:070:19:10

Clearly, James Brown has a lot of explaining to do.

0:19:100:19:14

But despite us contacting him,

0:19:140:19:15

he hasn't responded to any of our questions.

0:19:150:19:18

And Amanda and her family are still out of pocket to the tune of £3,288.

0:19:190:19:26

Next time, I'll make sure.

0:19:260:19:28

You know, probably go to a proper agent

0:19:280:19:30

and make sure it's actually confirmed before telling them

0:19:300:19:33

and making them too excited.

0:19:330:19:35

But it will be a while for the next family holiday to happen again.

0:19:350:19:40

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain,

0:19:460:19:48

the families who all had the same disastrous experience

0:19:480:19:51

with the caravan holidays they'd booked.

0:19:510:19:53

Not only did they end up with no holiday,

0:19:530:19:55

it turns out there was no caravan either.

0:19:550:19:58

I felt absolutely deflated. I felt sick to my stomach.

0:19:580:20:02

I felt cheated, I felt angry.

0:20:020:20:05

All...bag of emotions.

0:20:050:20:07

Last summer, we took the whole team out on the road,

0:20:110:20:14

once again opening up our annual consumer advice clinic,

0:20:140:20:17

this time in the West Midlands.

0:20:170:20:20

You told us about all kinds of holiday-related problems,

0:20:200:20:24

some of them rather nasty, like the Mediterranean cruise

0:20:240:20:27

that Annalise and Amanda came to tell Simon Calder about.

0:20:270:20:31

Sometimes, when you come out to have your breakfast

0:20:310:20:34

and you went to toilet, there was all sewage up there.

0:20:340:20:37

As soon as we got back, we told them everything

0:20:370:20:40

and they just sent a letter saying everything had been sorted now.

0:20:400:20:44

You got nothing, that's it.

0:20:440:20:45

I've got the letters at home and they've never really apologised.

0:20:450:20:48

So no compensation, nothing beyond saying,

0:20:480:20:51

"Well, things are fixed now"?

0:20:510:20:53

Two weeks on that cruise, it had been a holiday from hell.

0:20:530:20:56

The conditions on board the ship,

0:20:560:20:58

if it's just unpleasant rather than dangerous...

0:20:580:21:01

Well, that's awful, but there's no way I can see that you can sue

0:21:010:21:05

a company for having a smelly ship.

0:21:050:21:08

But our pop-up shop isn't just about problems.

0:21:080:21:11

It's about giving advice to stop them happening in the first place.

0:21:110:21:15

And travel journalist Alison Rice had plenty of useful tips

0:21:150:21:18

at one of the workshops that we ran over the weekend,

0:21:180:21:21

especially on how to avoid being left out of pocket

0:21:210:21:24

if you're using your credit card abroad.

0:21:240:21:27

My top tip, of course, is if you're using credit or debit cards...

0:21:270:21:32

What they often do in the Eurozone is ask if you want to pay

0:21:320:21:36

in sterling or the local currency.

0:21:360:21:39

And when you use a debit or credit card, if they give the option,

0:21:390:21:43

always say you want to pay in the local currency,

0:21:430:21:46

because actually, the card companies do their own conversion rates

0:21:460:21:50

and guess who is not the winner.

0:21:500:21:52

And the other thing I think you should do

0:21:520:21:54

if you're thinking of using your credit card which...

0:21:540:21:56

Never, ever, unless you're in a dire emergency,

0:21:560:21:59

use your credit card for getting cash out of the hole in the wall.

0:21:590:22:02

That is a very expensive thing.

0:22:020:22:04

Even if you pay your credit card bill every month, they bill you on

0:22:040:22:07

interest from the day you take the cash till the end of the month.

0:22:070:22:11

All good advice.

0:22:110:22:13

And here's another nugget you won't have heard before.

0:22:130:22:16

Teacher Maria Crawford despairs at the cost of going away

0:22:160:22:20

in the summer holidays.

0:22:200:22:21

But Simon's got a money-saving suggestion

0:22:210:22:23

that just could work for you, too.

0:22:230:22:25

The solution I would strongly suggest and I've tired this myself,

0:22:250:22:29

is if you're going to have a holiday in August in Europe

0:22:290:22:33

and you want a beach and you want sunshine,

0:22:330:22:35

then it has to be the Costa del Poland, the Polish Riviera.

0:22:350:22:40

It's fantastic. You could fly to anywhere, from Szczecin in the west

0:22:400:22:45

all the way to Gdansk in the East and you're going to find

0:22:450:22:49

you've effectively got a 300 mile long beach.

0:22:490:22:52

It's really friendly, it's very easy to find good places to stay

0:22:520:22:56

and fantastically good value.

0:22:560:22:58

-You'll be laughing, I promise.

-Thank you.

0:22:580:23:00

Until recently, Jane Ryan, Dagmar Gove and Becky Watts

0:23:050:23:10

didn't have much in common,

0:23:100:23:12

besides their shared love of caravan holidays.

0:23:120:23:15

But now, they've been brought together by one of the most

0:23:150:23:18

shocking stories we've come across.

0:23:180:23:21

All three of them and many others, too, had their holidays ruined

0:23:210:23:25

for the very same reason and by the very same person.

0:23:250:23:28

Mum of four Becky wanted to take her entire family on holiday to Devon

0:23:290:23:33

but, in peak summer season,

0:23:330:23:35

was finding it hard to find anything within her budget.

0:23:350:23:39

There's not many deals out at that time of year,

0:23:390:23:42

purely because obviously it's a prime time.

0:23:420:23:44

But we pushed the boat out. It had been a tough year for the children

0:23:440:23:47

and we really wanted, you know, them to have a good surprise

0:23:470:23:51

and something to really look forward to.

0:23:510:23:53

So when she spotted an ad on Facebook, offering a week

0:23:530:23:57

in a privately owned caravan that was both within budget

0:23:570:24:00

and in a site with beautiful coastal setting called Devon Cliffs,

0:24:000:24:04

she couldn't believe her luck.

0:24:040:24:05

I thought, "Wow." Right at the end of the six weeks holiday

0:24:050:24:09

and it was a cancellation offer.

0:24:090:24:10

And we thought, "Right, we'll go for it."

0:24:100:24:13

The advertisement was on a Facebook Buy and Sell Site

0:24:130:24:17

which, as we've reported before, are a little like classified ads.

0:24:170:24:21

A woman called Emma Fewings was listed as the caravan's owner,

0:24:210:24:24

so Becky messaged her to find out more.

0:24:240:24:27

I didn't obviously speak to her over the phone,

0:24:280:24:31

it was just done through message,

0:24:310:24:32

but really just a really friendly kind of person.

0:24:320:24:36

Delighted to have found an affordable holiday,

0:24:360:24:40

Becky paid the entire £600 cost by bank transfer straight

0:24:400:24:44

into Emma's account and waited for the kids' summer holidays to start.

0:24:440:24:49

Meanwhile, in Newton Abbot, Dagmar Gove was also looking forward

0:24:490:24:54

to her holiday in another of Emma Fewings' caravans

0:24:540:24:57

at Perran Sands in Cornwall.

0:24:570:25:00

I contacted her to say,

0:25:000:25:01

"It's a nice idea, I would like to have the caravan."

0:25:010:25:04

And she said, "Yeah, but you have to pay straight away."

0:25:040:25:07

Dagmar had booked almost nine months earlier,

0:25:070:25:10

paying £450 for a week's stay,

0:25:100:25:12

right in the middle of the school summer holidays.

0:25:120:25:15

Like Becky, she had seen the caravan on a Facebook Buy and Sell site,

0:25:150:25:19

which had boosted her confidence in the deal even more.

0:25:190:25:23

There are several sites from people in our area

0:25:230:25:27

and it's very common you buy and sell everything, so I thought,

0:25:270:25:31

"It can't be a con because this lady is just living around the corner."

0:25:310:25:34

But a month before Dagmar's holiday,

0:25:340:25:37

other families who'd booked the same caravan at Perran Sands

0:25:370:25:41

were seeing their holiday plans unravel.

0:25:410:25:44

Jane Ryan paid £550 for a week in the caravan

0:25:440:25:47

with her husband and two daughters.

0:25:470:25:50

But as the holiday approached, they still had not received

0:25:500:25:53

the caravan keys as they had been promised.

0:25:530:25:56

It stated on the e-mail that the keys would be delivered

0:25:560:25:59

to my home address and I messaged her to say that

0:25:590:26:02

I'd not received any package at all.

0:26:020:26:06

I then had a message back to tell me there'd been a problem.

0:26:080:26:12

The people that were in the caravan a week prior to mine

0:26:120:26:16

had wrecked the caravan and they had taken the keys.

0:26:160:26:20

She said, don't worry, she was 100% certain she could find us

0:26:200:26:25

another caravan for our holiday.

0:26:250:26:27

Suspecting that something was amiss,

0:26:270:26:30

Jane called the company who own the caravan park

0:26:300:26:32

just to double check that Emma Fewings' story stacked up.

0:26:320:26:36

I explained what had happened and I was then told this name

0:26:360:26:41

had been flagged to them the previous week

0:26:410:26:44

and he was sorry to tell me that he didn't feel that

0:26:440:26:47

there was going to be a holiday.

0:26:470:26:50

The rep couldn't give further details, but it turned out

0:26:500:26:53

that Emma Fewings had sold her caravan six months earlier.

0:26:530:26:57

This was the very first time the penny dropped

0:26:570:26:59

that I knew then that I'd been scammed.

0:26:590:27:02

So I composed myself and I rang her.

0:27:020:27:04

She was very apologetic and said that she was, you know,

0:27:040:27:09

more than sure that she would get me a holiday,

0:27:090:27:12

again telling us to pack the car, again telling us to come down.

0:27:120:27:15

Emma Fewings said she'd check with friends on the same site

0:27:150:27:18

whether their caravans were available,

0:27:180:27:21

but Jane's husband, Adrian, was having none of it.

0:27:210:27:24

My husband said to her there was no way that he wanted to pack up

0:27:240:27:28

and come down, not knowing that there'd be a holiday for us.

0:27:280:27:32

She then said did we want our money back

0:27:330:27:36

and my husband said it was probably the best thing to do.

0:27:360:27:41

The following day, Jane's money was refunded in full.

0:27:410:27:44

I said to her, "If there are other families that you've got waiting

0:27:440:27:48

"for this holiday, you need to contact them today.

0:27:480:27:51

"Please don't let them go through what I've gone through

0:27:510:27:53

"these last couple of days."

0:27:530:27:55

Jane wasn't to know others were about to have

0:27:550:27:57

the same thing happen to them.

0:27:570:27:59

Back in Newton Abbot, Dagmar, too, was concerned

0:27:590:28:02

when she didn't receive the keys either.

0:28:020:28:04

It wasn't in the post and I was getting a little bit worried

0:28:050:28:09

and that was when it sort of dawned on me that something could be wrong.

0:28:090:28:12

I said, "Not a problem,

0:28:120:28:13

"I have the whole order confirmation with all the details."

0:28:130:28:16

So I phoned the mobile number, but nobody answered.

0:28:160:28:19

Unable to contact Emma Fewings,

0:28:190:28:21

Dagmar posted a message on the Facebook Buy and Sell group,

0:28:210:28:24

asking if anyone could shed any light on the situation.

0:28:240:28:28

She was astounded to suddenly hear from lots of other

0:28:280:28:31

disgruntled holiday-makers who had also booked a stay

0:28:310:28:34

in an Emma Fewings' caravan, but never had it.

0:28:340:28:37

In a weird way, I felt relieved that I'm not the only idiot,

0:28:390:28:43

because I really felt like an idiot.

0:28:430:28:46

And in the other way...

0:28:460:28:48

er, I thought, "Yeah, we have to do something if we are more than one."

0:28:480:28:53

One of the people who saw all the posts about Dagmar's message

0:28:530:28:57

was Becky Watts in Taunton.

0:28:570:28:59

And she immediately began to panic about her own family's holiday.

0:28:590:29:03

I felt absolutely deflated, I felt sick to my stomach.

0:29:030:29:07

I felt cheated, I felt angry, all...bag of emotions.

0:29:070:29:12

When I booked the holiday, I was at ease the whole time.

0:29:120:29:15

She was so reassuring, very prompt at getting back to you

0:29:150:29:18

if you had a question, very friendly.

0:29:180:29:21

Didn't, you know, in one million years think

0:29:210:29:24

that this wasn't going to be, you know, how it ended, whatsoever.

0:29:240:29:29

Lovely, thank you.

0:29:290:29:31

Thank you.

0:29:310:29:32

'Jane, Dagmar and Becky met through a Facebook page

0:29:330:29:37

'that Jane set up for others who'd been let down in the same way.

0:29:370:29:41

'So far, they believe at least 15 people have been affected.'

0:29:410:29:45

It's not just devastating knowing the fact that there's no holiday,

0:29:450:29:49

but it's upsetting for all the families involved,

0:29:490:29:51

for your children especially.

0:29:510:29:53

We're all in the same boat and we're all extremely angry.

0:29:530:29:57

They've all reported their cases to the police and to Action Fraud,

0:29:590:30:03

who told us it had 150 reports linked to the same caravan owner.

0:30:030:30:09

We've also discovered that although

0:30:090:30:10

Emma Fewings DID in the past own a caravan at Perran Sands,

0:30:100:30:14

she has NEVER owned one at Devon Cliffs,

0:30:140:30:17

where Becky was due to take her family on holiday.

0:30:170:30:20

We contacted Emma Fewings for an explanation

0:30:210:30:24

but so far, she hasn't responded to any of our questions.

0:30:240:30:28

We also contacted Facebook,

0:30:280:30:31

who told us that while they couldn't comment on individual cases,

0:30:310:30:35

pages where people buy or sell goods are

0:30:350:30:38

"helpful for local communities",

0:30:380:30:40

so they "wouldn't want to discourage this".

0:30:400:30:44

However, they stressed how important it is to be vigilant

0:30:440:30:47

when buying from someone who isn't an approved retailer,

0:30:470:30:50

and pointed out that they

0:30:500:30:51

"work with the police to help people on Facebook stay safe".

0:30:510:30:55

And Becky, Dagmar and Jane all agree

0:30:550:30:59

they won't be booking their holiday through an ad this way again.

0:30:590:31:04

Next time, I would be a little bit more careful.

0:31:040:31:07

I would try to meet this person, you know, in person.

0:31:070:31:09

I would look up a little bit more information.

0:31:090:31:12

Not just like I did before.

0:31:120:31:13

I would certainly never book like that again.

0:31:130:31:16

I would always go through a proper company.

0:31:160:31:18

For many people, the best holidays are about getting away from it all

0:31:240:31:28

and that can also mean getting away from the bustle of a busy hotel

0:31:280:31:31

and instead choosing to stay somewhere that feels more like home.

0:31:310:31:35

But booking a villa or an apartment

0:31:350:31:37

isn't always as straightforward as it might appear.

0:31:370:31:40

Dozens of websites have sprung up hosting adverts

0:31:400:31:43

from thousands of individual owners.

0:31:430:31:45

But while it might look and feel as if you're booking

0:31:450:31:47

through a travel agency - one that's vetted every property

0:31:470:31:50

and will protect you if something goes wrong -

0:31:500:31:53

that's not necessarily the case

0:31:530:31:55

and it may be too late when you discover that.

0:31:550:31:57

Now Christmas is behind us and we're stuck in our homes

0:32:000:32:03

looking at weather like this...

0:32:030:32:04

it's the time of year when many of us start planning our next trip

0:32:040:32:08

to the sunshine.

0:32:080:32:10

People like Jilly Roberts, a school teacher from Leeds.

0:32:100:32:13

Well, every year we try and go abroad, don't we?

0:32:130:32:16

-Yeah.

-We like to go... Where do we like to go?

-Spain.

0:32:160:32:19

We do like to go to Spain, don't we?

0:32:190:32:22

The family has previously booked their Spanish accommodation

0:32:230:32:26

through a website called Owners Direct

0:32:260:32:28

where homeowners from around the world advertise their properties

0:32:280:32:31

for holiday-makers to rent.

0:32:310:32:33

And so far they've been delighted with the places they've stayed.

0:32:330:32:36

Really nice apartments, very, you know, sort of high spec,

0:32:360:32:39

air conditioned and right on the pool side,

0:32:390:32:42

so that's sort of the standard that we've looked forward to.

0:32:420:32:46

Expecting to match their previous experiences,

0:32:460:32:49

Jilly went back to the Owners Direct site

0:32:490:32:51

and quickly found what she thought was the perfect place in Andalucia.

0:32:510:32:56

It had everything she and the friends they'd be going with

0:32:560:32:59

could possibly want.

0:32:590:33:01

It was just perfect. It was six bedrooms,

0:33:010:33:04

which we needed for the three families, air conditioning.

0:33:040:33:07

It was nicely appointed, it looked very modern on the photographs,

0:33:070:33:12

so it was just, it was ideal really.

0:33:120:33:15

The villa was listed as belonging to a Mr Michael Fitzgerald.

0:33:150:33:19

So Jilly got in touch with him via the website's messaging system.

0:33:190:33:23

He e-mailed back and gave us all the details,

0:33:230:33:25

said it was great for those dates.

0:33:250:33:27

He'd need a deposit, which is standard.

0:33:270:33:29

Michael Fitzgerald said that for 12 people for ten nights

0:33:290:33:33

the cost would be £4,000.

0:33:330:33:36

And to secure the booking,

0:33:360:33:37

he asked Jilly to send him £1,750 via bank transfer.

0:33:370:33:43

In previous years, that's how we've paid for apartments,

0:33:430:33:46

through direct bank transfers to Spanish banks, so, you know,

0:33:460:33:50

we had that sort of element of prior knowledge

0:33:500:33:53

that gave us a bit more security there.

0:33:530:33:55

So we transferred the money across.

0:33:550:33:58

Safe in the knowledge that their villa had been reserved,

0:33:580:34:02

Jilly started planning the trip

0:34:020:34:04

and a few weeks later, she paid the outstanding balance of £2,250.

0:34:040:34:09

But six weeks before they were due to depart,

0:34:100:34:13

Jilly received a worrying e-mail from Owners Direct.

0:34:130:34:17

The e-mail said we have reason to believe that

0:34:170:34:19

this villa is not legitimate, and my heart just sank,

0:34:190:34:23

it's what you're worried about.

0:34:230:34:25

In the back of your mind, there's always that niggling sort of doubt,

0:34:250:34:28

because it does happen, you hear about it happening.

0:34:280:34:31

Jilly immediately tried to get in touch with Michael Fitzgerald

0:34:310:34:34

on the number Owners Direct had given her.

0:34:340:34:36

No reply at all.

0:34:360:34:38

In fact it was a Spanish message

0:34:380:34:41

saying this number has been discontinued,

0:34:410:34:43

so there was a bit of a panic there.

0:34:430:34:46

So Jilly turned to Owners Direct to see if they could help.

0:34:460:34:49

I said, you know, "Is it possible it's a mistake?"

0:34:490:34:52

They said, "No, it's not a mistake

0:34:520:34:53

"but we can't tell you because of data protection."

0:34:530:34:56

So the initial thought was, "Right, we can't go on holiday

0:34:560:34:58

"and I've got to tell all my friends that this isn't happening."

0:34:580:35:02

So it was horrible, it was absolutely horrible.

0:35:020:35:05

I realised that we'd been scammed out of £4,000.

0:35:050:35:10

Jilly had to break the bad news to her family and friends.

0:35:120:35:16

I knew that when I told the children

0:35:160:35:18

that we potentially wouldn't go on holiday

0:35:180:35:21

that they would be absolutely heartbroken and there were tears,

0:35:210:35:24

it was horrible. They were so upset.

0:35:240:35:27

I felt terribly guilty, I felt it was my fault.

0:35:270:35:30

With Michael Fitzgerald now off the radar,

0:35:300:35:33

Jilly hoped Owners Direct might come to the rescue.

0:35:330:35:37

But the company told her the maximum compensation it could offer

0:35:370:35:40

would be £700 which still left Jilly and her friends

0:35:400:35:44

£3,300 out of pocket.

0:35:440:35:47

I was cross when they said £700 was the most we were going to get back

0:35:470:35:51

because as far as I was concerned,

0:35:510:35:53

yes, they'd just advertised the villa

0:35:530:35:56

but, you know, you do have a responsibility.

0:35:560:35:58

I think they need to be a lot more vigilant,

0:35:580:36:01

they need to be able to see the deeds of the property,

0:36:010:36:04

they need to have all that evidence on file

0:36:040:36:06

before they can actually advertise.

0:36:060:36:08

When we contacted Owners Direct, the company reiterated that

0:36:080:36:12

Jilly had received the maximum available

0:36:120:36:14

from the free guarantee they provide

0:36:140:36:17

but pointed out that additional insurance IS available.

0:36:170:36:20

They're sorry she experienced online fraud,

0:36:200:36:23

saying that "one hard-earned holiday ruined is one too many"

0:36:230:36:27

and stressed they're doing all they can to tackle this

0:36:270:36:30

with "a Trust and Security team in place to identify

0:36:300:36:33

"and remove any fraudulent listings".

0:36:330:36:37

As a result, they say,

0:36:370:36:38

"Less than 0.1%" of customers fall victim to frauds like this one.

0:36:380:36:43

"But as a further security measure, they've recently introduced a

0:36:430:36:47

"secure online payment system

0:36:470:36:49

"offering up to £10,000 protection to combat

0:36:490:36:52

"the activities of increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals".

0:36:520:36:56

But Jilly and her family are not the only ones

0:36:580:37:01

to have been taken in in this way.

0:37:010:37:03

Scams like this are global,

0:37:030:37:05

affecting not just Brits going abroad,

0:37:050:37:07

but people from other countries coming here.

0:37:070:37:11

Sally Nordfelt and her nephew Ben live in Australia.

0:37:110:37:14

Over the internet,

0:37:140:37:15

they told us how last year Sally had booked accommodation in London

0:37:150:37:19

on a website called FlipKey.

0:37:190:37:21

It was advertised as a four-bedroom apartment

0:37:210:37:24

near the Natural History Museum and we thought this is amazing.

0:37:240:37:30

The owner asked for a £925 deposit - half the total cost.

0:37:300:37:36

He provided me with an e-mail with all of his banking details

0:37:360:37:39

so I did like a bank transfer to their account.

0:37:390:37:45

But after that, Sally heard nothing more from him.

0:37:450:37:48

I was stressing and so while we were travelling to the UK,

0:37:480:37:52

I had my daughter trying to e-mail him all the time,

0:37:520:37:55

two days before we were going to arrive in London

0:37:550:37:58

and I had called him about three times on his mobile

0:37:580:38:02

and I finally got an answer

0:38:020:38:03

and his response was that they had renovators in.

0:38:030:38:09

Claiming asbestos may have been found in the property,

0:38:090:38:12

the owner cancelled the booking.

0:38:120:38:14

Sally wasn't thrilled at having to find new accommodation

0:38:140:38:17

at the last minute, but she only started doubting the truth of what

0:38:170:38:20

she'd been told when she had problems

0:38:200:38:22

trying to get back her deposit.

0:38:220:38:24

I got in touch with FlipKey as soon as he cancelled it

0:38:240:38:28

and I gave them a copy of his e-mail and they just said,

0:38:280:38:31

"Oh, we just suggest that you liaise with the owner and sort it out

0:38:310:38:36

"and get your refund from him." And that was it.

0:38:360:38:40

And over a year later, Sally is still waiting for the property owner

0:38:400:38:44

to send any of her deposit back.

0:38:440:38:47

FlipKey, part of TripAdvisor,

0:38:480:38:50

told us that while they're sorry to hear about Sally's experience,

0:38:500:38:54

they always advise site users to pay

0:38:540:38:56

using the company's payment platform,

0:38:560:38:58

NOT directly to the owner.

0:38:580:39:00

If she had, she'd have qualified for the site's

0:39:000:39:03

"Peace Of Mind Guarantee".

0:39:030:39:05

They added that after advising her to liaise with the owner

0:39:050:39:08

about a refund, they heard nothing more

0:39:080:39:11

and if they'd known he hadn't paid up, they'd have tried contacting him

0:39:110:39:15

and, if necessary, removed the property from their site.

0:39:150:39:18

Tony Neate is an expert on online security.

0:39:210:39:25

He says if you're hunting for a holiday home online, it's up to YOU,

0:39:250:39:29

not the website you're using, to make sure you don't get scammed.

0:39:290:39:33

It's your responsibility to make sure that property exists

0:39:340:39:37

and that you're paying the right person.

0:39:370:39:39

So you can research the individual

0:39:390:39:41

and you can research the property that you're looking to rent.

0:39:410:39:45

There are lots of websites that give reviews,

0:39:450:39:48

see the time span that those reviews are over

0:39:480:39:51

because what we find is that these criminal enterprises

0:39:510:39:54

pick a particular property,

0:39:540:39:56

but they will only stick with them for six or seven months,

0:39:560:39:58

because, of course, once people start going there,

0:39:580:40:01

they start telling other people that they're fraudulent.

0:40:010:40:04

But Jilly, who's lost over £3,000 AND her holiday,

0:40:040:40:08

thinks the websites that unwittingly advertise fraudulent properties

0:40:080:40:12

should be doing more to help.

0:40:120:40:14

I do think that they have a responsibility to ensure

0:40:140:40:18

that the people that booked through them are looked after.

0:40:180:40:21

And they just need to maybe make sure that

0:40:210:40:23

they are more vigilant in policing their website.

0:40:230:40:27

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

0:40:350:40:37

then get in touch with us via our Facebook page

0:40:370:40:40

BBC Rip Off Britain,

0:40:400:40:42

our website, bbc.co.uk/ripoffbritain

0:40:420:40:46

or e-mail us at:

0:40:460:40:47

Or if you want to send us a letter,

0:40:510:40:53

then our new address is:

0:40:530:40:54

You know, not all of the scams we've heard about today are ones

0:41:070:41:10

you could necessarily have spotted in advance,

0:41:100:41:13

but quite a few of them are avoidable

0:41:130:41:15

if you know exactly what to look out for.

0:41:150:41:17

And quite often, it comes down to advice that actually

0:41:170:41:19

we've given out on this programme plenty of times before,

0:41:190:41:22

not least to be wary of companies that say that you can only pay them

0:41:220:41:25

by bank transfer.

0:41:250:41:27

With trusted traders, that can sometimes be OK.

0:41:270:41:30

But in the cases you typically tell us about,

0:41:300:41:33

not only have you ended up losing your cash,

0:41:330:41:35

but you also don't have any of the recourse you'd have got

0:41:350:41:38

if you'd paid by credit card.

0:41:380:41:40

So when it comes to a sizable purchase like a holiday

0:41:400:41:42

or a flight ticket, it's always safest to pay by card.

0:41:420:41:46

That's especially true if you're dealing with a company

0:41:460:41:48

that you've never heard of before.

0:41:480:41:50

I'm afraid that's where we have to leave you for today.

0:41:500:41:52

But please do keep telling us about anyone at all that's left you

0:41:520:41:55

feeling ripped off, on any subject, not just on holidays.

0:41:550:41:58

And it could be your experience that we'll be looking into

0:41:580:42:01

on a future programme.

0:42:010:42:03

But in the meantime, thanks so much for joining us all here today

0:42:030:42:05

-and we hope to see you again soon. Until then, bye-bye.

-Bye.

-Bye.

0:42:050:42:09

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