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We asked you who's left you feeling ripped off when it comes to your | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
holidays and you came back with a catalogue of travel disasters. | 0:00:04 | 0:00:09 | |
A holiday's supposed to be a time of relaxing, not a time of more stress | 0:00:09 | 0:00:12 | |
and certainly not a time of stress whilst you're away. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:14 | |
It's just annoying that you think, what next, | 0:00:14 | 0:00:17 | |
what are they going to put a charge on next? | 0:00:17 | 0:00:20 | |
So, whether it's a deliberate rip-off, | 0:00:20 | 0:00:22 | |
a simple mistake, or, indeed, a catch in the small print, | 0:00:22 | 0:00:25 | |
we'll find out why you are out of pocket and what you can do about it. | 0:00:25 | 0:00:30 | |
Your stories, your money - this is Rip-Off Britain. | 0:00:30 | 0:00:34 | |
Hello, and welcome to Rip-Off Britain | 0:00:36 | 0:00:38 | |
from the sunny island of Tenerife, | 0:00:38 | 0:00:40 | |
where we're investigating all manner of problems to do | 0:00:40 | 0:00:43 | |
with holidays and travel. | 0:00:43 | 0:00:45 | |
And, you know, whilst time away really should be | 0:00:45 | 0:00:48 | |
about getting a rest, the opposite can happen | 0:00:48 | 0:00:51 | |
if you find yourself becoming the victim of a crime. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:54 | |
Now, most places around the world welcome tourists with open arms, | 0:00:54 | 0:00:59 | |
but I'm afraid there are those to whom they will always be seen as | 0:00:59 | 0:01:02 | |
rich and easy pickings, and, wherever you are in the world, | 0:01:02 | 0:01:05 | |
there will be criminals looking for any opportunity they can | 0:01:05 | 0:01:08 | |
to get their hands on your cash or, indeed, your belongings. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:12 | |
But today's programme is all about making sure | 0:01:12 | 0:01:14 | |
that doesn't happen to you. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:16 | |
And, as we hear about all the horrible things that can happen when | 0:01:16 | 0:01:19 | |
you let your guard down, we'll have plenty of tips to make sure that | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
your time on holiday is much easier | 0:01:22 | 0:01:24 | |
-and the criminals' lives much harder. -Good stuff. | 0:01:24 | 0:01:27 | |
Coming up... | 0:01:29 | 0:01:30 | |
We're out with the police catching pickpockets in Barcelona to | 0:01:30 | 0:01:33 | |
see how the city is tackling its reputation for petty crime. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:37 | |
Somebody came and banged on the table as a distraction and snatched | 0:01:37 | 0:01:40 | |
a bag and was away! | 0:01:40 | 0:01:42 | |
And what's the hotel's responsibility if someone's able to | 0:01:43 | 0:01:47 | |
break into your room? | 0:01:47 | 0:01:48 | |
As we looked round, it just absolutely dawned on me, | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
"Oh, my lord, we've been burgled!" We were just shocked, weren't we? | 0:01:51 | 0:01:55 | |
When we're on holiday, the fact that we're tourists will very often just | 0:01:59 | 0:02:03 | |
stick out a mile. | 0:02:03 | 0:02:04 | |
We've got rucksacks on our back, | 0:02:04 | 0:02:06 | |
we're looking at maps or guidebooks and, of course, | 0:02:06 | 0:02:09 | |
we're taking photographs. | 0:02:09 | 0:02:11 | |
All dead giveaways to pickpockets who are hoping to catch us off-guard | 0:02:11 | 0:02:15 | |
and make off with whatever they can get their hands on. | 0:02:15 | 0:02:18 | |
They don't just target tourists, of course, | 0:02:18 | 0:02:20 | |
but there is no doubt that when we're away from home, | 0:02:20 | 0:02:23 | |
and perhaps that little bit more relaxed, | 0:02:23 | 0:02:25 | |
we can be much easier targets for someone who's hoping to snatch | 0:02:25 | 0:02:30 | |
a quick opportunity and get our cash. | 0:02:30 | 0:02:33 | |
The good news is that in holiday resorts around the world, | 0:02:33 | 0:02:36 | |
dedicated teams of undercover police are out in force to protect us, | 0:02:36 | 0:02:41 | |
so we went out with one of those teams in Barcelona, | 0:02:41 | 0:02:44 | |
to see just what exactly they are doing to catch the criminals and, | 0:02:44 | 0:02:48 | |
most importantly, to keep your valuables safe. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
Watch this crowd at traffic lights in Romania. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:57 | |
The man in the blue cap is a pickpocket. | 0:02:57 | 0:03:00 | |
You can see that he's unzipping the rucksack of the man in front. | 0:03:00 | 0:03:03 | |
His accomplice, in the red, keeping watch. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:06 | |
In a split second, he's got the mobile phone. | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
His victim, none the wiser. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:11 | |
And in this footage, from Kuala Lumpur, | 0:03:15 | 0:03:18 | |
a tourist is standing at a takeaway counter, | 0:03:18 | 0:03:20 | |
her bag is next to her and a pair of thieves is ready to pounce. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:24 | |
The man in the white T-shirt distracts her, | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
while the other one dips into her bag and takes her purse. | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
The woman didn't see it happen. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:32 | |
Similar scenes are played out every day in cities across the world, | 0:03:36 | 0:03:40 | |
but in particular in Barcelona. | 0:03:40 | 0:03:42 | |
Gaudi's architecture, the Picasso Museum and the famous | 0:03:43 | 0:03:47 | |
Las Ramblas shopping street have made the Spanish city a favourite | 0:03:47 | 0:03:51 | |
weekend break destination. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:53 | |
But it's considered Europe's pickpocketing capital, | 0:03:53 | 0:03:56 | |
with a reported 300 incidents of thefts every day. | 0:03:56 | 0:04:00 | |
Trying to catch those criminals is the responsibility of this team, | 0:04:02 | 0:04:05 | |
Catalonia's urban police unit, highly-trained, | 0:04:05 | 0:04:09 | |
eagle-eyed, plainclothes cops who walk amongst the crowded streets, | 0:04:09 | 0:04:13 | |
spotting suspects. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
Every morning, the team are brought together and given | 0:04:23 | 0:04:26 | |
a list of mugshots, faces of people known to have committed | 0:04:26 | 0:04:29 | |
pickpocketing crimes and other scams targeting tourists | 0:04:29 | 0:04:32 | |
abroad, and they're all repeat offenders that police believe | 0:04:32 | 0:04:36 | |
are still very much active. | 0:04:36 | 0:04:38 | |
Ana has been with this department 12 years. | 0:04:51 | 0:04:54 | |
She has a photographic memory and can spot a thief a mile off. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:59 | |
Years of mingling with tourists and catching criminals means if there's | 0:04:59 | 0:05:03 | |
a pickpocket in the vicinity, she'll know who it is. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
And, today, she'll be looking in particular for people whose faces | 0:05:06 | 0:05:10 | |
were on that list who she knows have previously been arrested for | 0:05:10 | 0:05:14 | |
pickpocketing or other crimes, and are still considered a risk. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:18 | |
If she spots any of them, she can stop and search them right away. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:23 | |
And if they have any stolen items on them, she'll be able to arrest them. | 0:05:23 | 0:05:27 | |
Normally, when you travel to a foreign country, you're a tourist, | 0:05:27 | 0:05:31 | |
you're not thinking about pickpockets. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
And you're not paying enough attention to your belongings. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
So, they know that, they know that. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:41 | |
And that's why the tourist people are probably the perfect victims. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:47 | |
Today, only ten minutes into her shift, Ana receives a call. | 0:05:49 | 0:05:53 | |
Around here, I don't know where exactly. | 0:05:56 | 0:05:59 | |
Two suspected pickpockets are close by. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:03 | |
A quick check on the police database confirms they have previously been | 0:06:03 | 0:06:07 | |
arrested, so Ana wants to stop and search them to make sure that | 0:06:07 | 0:06:11 | |
they're not doing the same again. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:13 | |
The man is standing in black and the one with the ribbon. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:17 | |
Ana spots the two standing by the Metro. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:20 | |
And they are pickpockets. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:21 | |
She follows the two men without, it seems, being seen. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:26 | |
And they managed to shake her off their trail. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:32 | |
Probably they went inside the Metro. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:34 | |
Once the thieves go underground, it's virtually impossible to catch | 0:06:36 | 0:06:40 | |
them and sure enough, this time, they've gone. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:43 | |
Ana's certain that the two men will once again be targeting tourists | 0:06:45 | 0:06:49 | |
and they've managed to slip through her fingers. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:51 | |
It's frustrating, because you know they are staying and you can do | 0:06:52 | 0:06:56 | |
nothing, because in one second you have them, and | 0:06:56 | 0:07:00 | |
in the moment that you hide, you have the risk to lose them, so... | 0:07:00 | 0:07:05 | |
..it's all so frustrating. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:08 | |
We will look for them. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:10 | |
Police in Barcelona admit that this low-level street crime | 0:07:12 | 0:07:16 | |
is a serious problem. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:18 | |
That's why Ana's department works in shifts to patrol | 0:07:18 | 0:07:22 | |
the streets 24 hours a day and why the national government has issued | 0:07:22 | 0:07:26 | |
warnings to tourists to be careful. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
But places like this, Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, | 0:07:28 | 0:07:32 | |
the Sagrada Familia, continue to offer rich pickings for thieves. | 0:07:32 | 0:07:37 | |
So, spotting them amongst the crowd | 0:07:37 | 0:07:39 | |
has become part of Ana's daily routine. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:42 | |
All these people are staring at the Sagrada Familia and we're looking | 0:07:42 | 0:07:46 | |
for some thief that is only seeing the backpacks, perfect victim. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:53 | |
Now, you have a person taking pictures, with a bag, the backpack | 0:07:53 | 0:07:59 | |
in the back out of their control. They can open them up, | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
open the zip, and take anything inside. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:06 | |
They're absolutely perfect victims for our pickpockets, | 0:08:06 | 0:08:11 | |
so we're looking for anyone that is looking at the same things as me. | 0:08:11 | 0:08:16 | |
Ana knows every trick in the thieves' book. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:20 | |
They use big maps to open, to hide their hands with big maps | 0:08:20 | 0:08:26 | |
to open zips and take from inside. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
OK, there are many pickpockets, you have to take care. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:35 | |
The backpack in the front. | 0:08:35 | 0:08:37 | |
-Always. -OK? | 0:08:37 | 0:08:39 | |
Good for you. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:41 | |
SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE | 0:08:41 | 0:08:43 | |
Luckily, many of the visitors here today already know | 0:08:43 | 0:08:46 | |
to be on their guard. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:47 | |
I read the Barcelona handbook and I'm very surprised | 0:08:47 | 0:08:50 | |
in all of the information they're giving you about Gaudi | 0:08:50 | 0:08:53 | |
and the wonderful buildings, they said, "Beware of the pickpockets." | 0:08:53 | 0:08:56 | |
That was really big headlines. | 0:08:56 | 0:08:58 | |
Well, I was last in Barcelona 15 years ago and I actually had my | 0:08:58 | 0:09:02 | |
purse stolen, right here. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:03 | |
Yeah, making the typical tourist mistake of putting my big map away | 0:09:03 | 0:09:09 | |
into my purse and not paying attention to what was going on. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:12 | |
We had a handbag on the table and somebody came and banged | 0:09:12 | 0:09:15 | |
on the table as a distraction and snatched a bag and was away. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:20 | |
We've left our proper passports in the safe in the hotel, | 0:09:20 | 0:09:24 | |
so we don't lose those, | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
but we have copies of passports in case we need them. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
It ruins a holiday. | 0:09:29 | 0:09:30 | |
At least, it takes up a half day of your holiday, spending it | 0:09:30 | 0:09:33 | |
at the police station. So best to avoid it. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:36 | |
As Ana and her colleagues move on, it's approaching lunchtime, | 0:09:37 | 0:09:41 | |
a golden opportunity for opportunistic pickpockets. | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
It's now 12:30 and we're looking for some thieves going inside | 0:09:45 | 0:09:51 | |
the restaurants to steal the bags, or telephones, or whatever. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:57 | |
But, even on a crowded street, it doesn't take long for Ana | 0:09:57 | 0:10:01 | |
to recognise someone who's on the police force's list as having | 0:10:01 | 0:10:04 | |
plenty of pickpocketing form. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
That's a good pickpocket. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:08 | |
According to the police records, | 0:10:08 | 0:10:09 | |
the man in the blue shirt is a prolific pickpocket, | 0:10:09 | 0:10:13 | |
known to target tourists in restaurants and Ana has spotted him. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
She doesn't want to let the man out of her sight. | 0:10:18 | 0:10:20 | |
But she cannot be spotted. | 0:10:20 | 0:10:22 | |
Ana has the power to stop and search anyone who has previously been | 0:10:38 | 0:10:43 | |
arrested for similar offences, so she wants to catch the man to | 0:10:43 | 0:10:46 | |
make sure that he doesn't have any stolen belongings in his bag. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:50 | |
We will stop him. | 0:10:50 | 0:10:51 | |
If he does, Ana will arrest him. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:55 | |
But the man has nothing but his own possessions in his bag and Ana has | 0:11:01 | 0:11:05 | |
to let him go. | 0:11:05 | 0:11:07 | |
In the bag, he has not got anything, everything is normal. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:10 | |
For the moment, we can't do anything with him. | 0:11:10 | 0:11:13 | |
Though Ana made no arrest, her presence lets any potential | 0:11:13 | 0:11:17 | |
pickpockets know that she is watching them and it's not long | 0:11:17 | 0:11:20 | |
before Ana gets another call from her colleague, asking her | 0:11:20 | 0:11:23 | |
to check out two women who also appear on the police database | 0:11:23 | 0:11:27 | |
as having pickpocketed in the past. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
OK, the colleagues, they are chasing two more. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:32 | |
I will call them now, just to know where they are. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:37 | |
A key part of Ana's job is not simply to make arrests, | 0:11:39 | 0:11:42 | |
but to make any potential pickpocket's job harder, | 0:11:42 | 0:11:45 | |
by moving them on before they have time to strike. | 0:11:45 | 0:11:47 | |
These two girls are well known to police. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:52 | |
They've been arrested before for pickpocketing and have even been | 0:11:52 | 0:11:55 | |
given a ban on visiting the Metro. | 0:11:55 | 0:11:56 | |
So Ana has the power to search their bags and then | 0:11:56 | 0:12:00 | |
ask them to move on immediately. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:02 | |
We know them, we know that they are pickpockets. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
Normally, they act inside the Metro. | 0:12:04 | 0:12:08 | |
They both have been arrested before, | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
for pickpocketing and, well, we know them. | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
In the girls' bags are all the tools of a professional pickpocket. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:23 | |
They're carrying one cap, one of these, another one, | 0:12:23 | 0:12:27 | |
the one that he's carrying right now, just to look different. | 0:12:27 | 0:12:31 | |
They do the pickpocket, they take the wallet and if they are in white, | 0:12:31 | 0:12:36 | |
suddenly they are in pink, or in black. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:39 | |
They open the paper in order to hide hands, | 0:12:39 | 0:12:45 | |
to open zips and take the wallet from inside the bags. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:49 | |
But, with no immediate evidence of a crime, | 0:12:49 | 0:12:52 | |
all Ana can do is advise them to go home. | 0:12:52 | 0:12:55 | |
They will continue, of course. They will continue now. | 0:13:03 | 0:13:06 | |
Probably they will change the district | 0:13:06 | 0:13:07 | |
and they will continue in another suburb. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:09 | |
They will look for another entry for the Metro and they'll | 0:13:09 | 0:13:13 | |
continue doing it, but no luck from today. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:17 | |
They were lucky. Not us. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:18 | |
They may be lucky now, but we'll see these two again when we come back to | 0:13:20 | 0:13:24 | |
Barcelona and its potential pickpockets later in the programme. | 0:13:24 | 0:13:28 | |
Now, in the past in this programme, we've explored how hotels can react | 0:13:31 | 0:13:35 | |
if you're unlucky enough to have some of your possessions stolen from | 0:13:35 | 0:13:38 | |
your room when you're on holiday abroad. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:40 | |
And it turns out that you simply have not got the level of protection | 0:13:40 | 0:13:43 | |
that, perhaps, you'd hope for. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:45 | |
Well, it seems that the same is true if the theft was from a hotel | 0:13:45 | 0:13:48 | |
in the UK, because while you might assume that if your room | 0:13:48 | 0:13:52 | |
has been broken into and valuables taken, | 0:13:52 | 0:13:54 | |
that the buck stops with the hotel, | 0:13:54 | 0:13:57 | |
but I'm afraid it's not that simple. | 0:13:57 | 0:13:59 | |
Because, while the law does put some liability on the place where you're | 0:13:59 | 0:14:02 | |
staying, wait until you hear just how limited that liability is. | 0:14:02 | 0:14:06 | |
Now, think of a weekend in a classy four-star hotel, | 0:14:10 | 0:14:13 | |
and it's luxuries like these that spring to mind. | 0:14:13 | 0:14:16 | |
Not a room like a crime scene, | 0:14:18 | 0:14:20 | |
with rifled-through luggage strewn all over the place. | 0:14:20 | 0:14:22 | |
It was the last thing this group of friends imagined when they wangled | 0:14:27 | 0:14:30 | |
an eagerly anticipated weekend away. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:32 | |
It's really important that we spend time together. | 0:14:34 | 0:14:36 | |
We always stay overnight so we can do the getting ready together, | 0:14:36 | 0:14:39 | |
or the pamper and, then, in the evening, | 0:14:39 | 0:14:42 | |
we have a meal and things like that. We just love it. | 0:14:42 | 0:14:44 | |
For friends Lynn, Caroline and Jackie, the QHotel's | 0:14:45 | 0:14:49 | |
Park Royal Hotel in Cheshire was the perfect backdrop for | 0:14:49 | 0:14:53 | |
their pre-Christmas get-together back in December 2014. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:56 | |
We were all really excited to be spending some good quality | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
girl time, and it was Christmas, and we were going to be exchanging | 0:15:00 | 0:15:03 | |
gifts, and having a giggle, and hanging out at the spa. | 0:15:03 | 0:15:07 | |
It was a real fun time for us. | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
Following a lovely, busy day catching up, | 0:15:10 | 0:15:13 | |
chilling out and capped off with dinner, the friends then decided to | 0:15:13 | 0:15:17 | |
retire to their room for some peace and quiet. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:20 | |
We thought we'd just go back up to the room and just carry on having | 0:15:20 | 0:15:23 | |
a little chat up there, where it was more private. | 0:15:23 | 0:15:26 | |
But, no sooner had they turned the key in the lock of their first-floor | 0:15:28 | 0:15:31 | |
room, they realised it was not how they left it. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:35 | |
When we first opened the door, | 0:15:35 | 0:15:36 | |
it was obvious that something was wrong, | 0:15:36 | 0:15:38 | |
because the window was open and it was December, | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
-so we would not have left it... -The room was freezing, wasn't it? | 0:15:41 | 0:15:44 | |
-It was cold. -And the curtains were blowing. | 0:15:44 | 0:15:47 | |
It was only when they switched on the light that what had happened | 0:15:47 | 0:15:50 | |
-became crystal clear. -My handbag was upside down and I sort of thought, | 0:15:50 | 0:15:54 | |
I didn't leave that... And then we looked at each other and said, | 0:15:54 | 0:15:56 | |
"Did anybody leave the window open?" | 0:15:56 | 0:15:58 | |
And, as we looked round, it just absolutely dawned on me. | 0:15:58 | 0:16:01 | |
"Oh, my lord, we've been burgled! | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
How can we have been burgled? We were shocked, weren't we? | 0:16:03 | 0:16:06 | |
-It was shock and fear. -Yeah. -And then anger. | 0:16:06 | 0:16:09 | |
And disbelief. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:11 | |
Unfortunately for the ladies, the room didn't have a safe and, | 0:16:13 | 0:16:16 | |
while they had tried to store their possessions out of sight, | 0:16:16 | 0:16:20 | |
the thieves had still made off with thousands of pounds | 0:16:20 | 0:16:23 | |
worth of jewellery, cash and much more. | 0:16:23 | 0:16:25 | |
It was really upsetting and the way that they had ransacked the room | 0:16:27 | 0:16:32 | |
meant that there was very little thought... | 0:16:32 | 0:16:34 | |
Everything, they'd just thrown everything around. | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
And it took us a while to really work out what had been taken, | 0:16:37 | 0:16:41 | |
which was pretty much everything. | 0:16:41 | 0:16:42 | |
As their losses sank in, Jackie noticed that her car keys, too, | 0:16:44 | 0:16:48 | |
-had also been taken. -When I realised my car keys had gone, | 0:16:48 | 0:16:52 | |
I just ran downstairs into the car park and I thought, | 0:16:52 | 0:16:56 | |
"Oh, my lord, my car's gone." | 0:16:56 | 0:16:58 | |
The ladies immediately called the hotel reception and, in turn, | 0:17:00 | 0:17:03 | |
they called the police. | 0:17:03 | 0:17:05 | |
Now, when the police arrived, they confirmed one of the windows | 0:17:05 | 0:17:08 | |
had been forced open and accessed via the flat roof below. | 0:17:08 | 0:17:11 | |
I would have expected it to be much more of a secure building. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:16 | |
Given that there was a flat roof underneath, | 0:17:16 | 0:17:18 | |
the window locks didn't appear robust in any way, shape or form. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:21 | |
By the time the police had finished their investigation, | 0:17:23 | 0:17:26 | |
it was the early hours of the morning, | 0:17:26 | 0:17:28 | |
so, very keen to get back home, the ladies arranged to come back | 0:17:28 | 0:17:31 | |
once again in the New Year to discuss with the manager | 0:17:31 | 0:17:34 | |
exactly what had happened. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:36 | |
But what the hotel told them wasn't exactly what they'd anticipated. | 0:17:37 | 0:17:41 | |
The hotel didn't accept responsibility for the loss of any | 0:17:42 | 0:17:46 | |
of our belongings. I was bewildered. | 0:17:46 | 0:17:49 | |
We thought because they'd broken in through their window, | 0:17:49 | 0:17:51 | |
which we thought, well, we're going to be covered by the hotel for | 0:17:51 | 0:17:54 | |
valuables that went missing out of the room or something, | 0:17:54 | 0:17:57 | |
-and nothing at all, no. Nothing. -We were shocked. | 0:17:57 | 0:18:00 | |
The hotel was unwilling to accept liability for the theft. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
Instead, offering £100 to each of the guests and a free stay at any of | 0:18:06 | 0:18:10 | |
the group's properties at a future date. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:12 | |
But for Lynne, Caroline and Jackie, it was a real blow. | 0:18:13 | 0:18:17 | |
I was just insulted. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:20 | |
Is that it? Is that the full extent of your responsibility for what | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
happened on that evening? | 0:18:25 | 0:18:26 | |
Yeah. Insulted and angry. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:28 | |
We assumed that they would have some legal responsibility to look after | 0:18:28 | 0:18:35 | |
and keep their guests safe. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
But, however disappointed the ladies may have felt, | 0:18:38 | 0:18:40 | |
the hotel was well within the law in offering them £100. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:45 | |
And that's because of legislation first introduced 60 years ago. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
The Hotel Proprietors Act 1956 says under certain circumstances, | 0:18:51 | 0:18:56 | |
hotel owners may be liable to make good any loss or damage to a guest's | 0:18:56 | 0:19:01 | |
possessions, but only to a maximum of £100. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:05 | |
Now, when the act came into force, | 0:19:07 | 0:19:09 | |
£100 would have been worth around £2,000 in today's money. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:13 | |
And, with the average annual earnings back then | 0:19:13 | 0:19:16 | |
being around £500, it was a significant amount. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:19 | |
But although the times and salaries have changed considerably since, | 0:19:20 | 0:19:23 | |
the fixed liability sum of £100 hasn't, something that | 0:19:23 | 0:19:27 | |
solicitor Gary Wrightcroft believes really needs to change. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:31 | |
I think it's really shocking that the law hasn't moved on | 0:19:31 | 0:19:35 | |
in the last 60 years | 0:19:35 | 0:19:36 | |
and that the amount of compensation you can claim as a hotel guest | 0:19:36 | 0:19:40 | |
has remained the same since 1956. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:42 | |
It remains £50 for one item or £100 for a group of items, | 0:19:42 | 0:19:46 | |
if you're staying in a hotel outside of London. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:49 | |
I think that's a really bad deal for consumers, because, clearly, | 0:19:49 | 0:19:53 | |
nowadays, people are bound to be taking goods that are worth far more | 0:19:53 | 0:19:57 | |
than those paltry figures. | 0:19:57 | 0:19:58 | |
So, the Government needs to step up to the plate here and change the law | 0:19:58 | 0:20:01 | |
and make it better for consumers, and safer for them. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:04 | |
That will also make it more of an incentive for hotel owners | 0:20:04 | 0:20:08 | |
to make your goods safe when you stay with them. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:10 | |
In fact, in London, the law has, to some extent, | 0:20:13 | 0:20:15 | |
kept pace with inflation. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:17 | |
There, the limits a hotel is liable to pay out in the case | 0:20:18 | 0:20:22 | |
of loss or damage to a resident's possessions on its property | 0:20:22 | 0:20:26 | |
is £1,500. | 0:20:26 | 0:20:27 | |
That's down to the London Local Authority's Act of 2004, | 0:20:28 | 0:20:33 | |
introduced at the request of the Metropolitan Police in a bid to | 0:20:33 | 0:20:37 | |
encourage London hotels, which had a significant problem with thefts, | 0:20:37 | 0:20:41 | |
to improve their security. | 0:20:41 | 0:20:43 | |
One of the reasons that the Metropolitan Police wanted | 0:20:43 | 0:20:45 | |
the figure increased for London back in 2004 | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
is because there was a spate of thefts from hotels in London. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:51 | |
So, I think increasing the strict liability limit, | 0:20:51 | 0:20:54 | |
whereby hotel owners have to pay compensation, | 0:20:54 | 0:20:56 | |
would make hotel owners raise their game, in terms of making sure that | 0:20:56 | 0:21:00 | |
when you stay at hotels, your goods are safe. | 0:21:00 | 0:21:02 | |
But none of that has helped Lynne, Caroline and Jackie. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:08 | |
As their trip was only a short drive from their homes, | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
they hadn't even thought to take out travel insurance. | 0:21:11 | 0:21:13 | |
And, chances are, if you're planning a short break in the UK, | 0:21:15 | 0:21:18 | |
you might not think of it either, which could mean, | 0:21:18 | 0:21:21 | |
depending on the rest of your insurance, | 0:21:21 | 0:21:23 | |
you might be dangerously unprotected. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:25 | |
So, while in this case, Caroline and Jackie were able to claim | 0:21:26 | 0:21:29 | |
for the majority of their missing belongings on their car and | 0:21:29 | 0:21:32 | |
home insurance, Lynne, I'm afraid, didn't have the same cover | 0:21:32 | 0:21:36 | |
and as a result, she's been left about £2,000 out of pocket. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:40 | |
When you go on holiday in this country, you actually don't even | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
think about having travel insurance to stay in a local hotel | 0:21:43 | 0:21:47 | |
in an area that you're familiar with. | 0:21:47 | 0:21:49 | |
It just did not occur to me to take out holiday insurance. | 0:21:49 | 0:21:53 | |
When we spoke to QHotels about the theft, it said, | 0:21:53 | 0:21:56 | |
"It's unpleasant for everyone involved when the crime is committed | 0:21:56 | 0:21:59 | |
"and it's regrettable that an incident took place, | 0:21:59 | 0:22:02 | |
"spoiling these ladies' stay." | 0:22:02 | 0:22:04 | |
But it stressed that, "As soon as the theft was reported | 0:22:04 | 0:22:07 | |
"to hotel staff, police were called to investigate." | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
And it doesn't accept that security measures were inadequate, | 0:22:10 | 0:22:13 | |
pointing out that reports into the crime concluded, | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
"That considerable force was used to gain entry to the room." | 0:22:16 | 0:22:20 | |
The company went on to say that | 0:22:20 | 0:22:22 | |
it had exceeded its legal requirement | 0:22:22 | 0:22:24 | |
in this particular case, having made an additional gesture of | 0:22:24 | 0:22:28 | |
goodwill, which actually it wasn't obliged to do. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:31 | |
But it is sorry that the ladies don't feel that the offer of | 0:22:31 | 0:22:33 | |
compensation was sufficient under the circumstances. | 0:22:33 | 0:22:38 | |
So, if you want to avoid being seriously out of pocket if things do | 0:22:38 | 0:22:41 | |
go missing, then there are some very easy ways to protect yourself. | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
If you're going to stay at a hotel in the UK, then take precautions. | 0:22:46 | 0:22:49 | |
Don't take valuable items unless you really have to. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
If you do have to take valuable items, | 0:22:52 | 0:22:55 | |
then ask the hotel if there is a safe for you to use in the room, | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
and, if there is, then use it. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:01 | |
Even if there is a safe, you may want to ask the hotel to look after | 0:23:01 | 0:23:04 | |
the items themselves behind reception. And, if they do that, | 0:23:04 | 0:23:08 | |
they take on responsibility for the items, and, if they are lost, | 0:23:08 | 0:23:11 | |
then you're entitled to be compensated for those items at full value. | 0:23:11 | 0:23:15 | |
And whilst this very sound advice is useful for future trips, | 0:23:16 | 0:23:20 | |
the ladies are still left reeling from their experience. | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
You do presume, though, that when you stay in a hotel, | 0:23:24 | 0:23:27 | |
that they are going to take good care of you and your belongings. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:29 | |
And when you think how much you've lost, including a car, | 0:23:29 | 0:23:32 | |
£100 does not go very far whatsoever, does it? | 0:23:32 | 0:23:35 | |
Still to come on Rip Off Britain, | 0:23:44 | 0:23:46 | |
we're back in Barcelona, on the trail of more pickpockets. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:49 | |
They're well-dressed, friendly, nice people. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:53 | |
But they are pickpockets. It's their profession. | 0:23:53 | 0:23:57 | |
Our travel expert, Simon Calder, has all the secrets to save you money on | 0:24:01 | 0:24:05 | |
your travels. He's full of tips on everything from | 0:24:05 | 0:24:08 | |
how to avoid the crowds, | 0:24:08 | 0:24:10 | |
to the best way to steer clear of those tourist traps. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:13 | |
This time, he's in Paris. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
Despite recent tragic events, | 0:24:17 | 0:24:19 | |
Paris remains our favourite foreign city by a mile and from wherever you | 0:24:19 | 0:24:24 | |
are in the UK, it's pretty accessible, too. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:27 | |
You might be thinking, "Oh, I went there five years ago. | 0:24:27 | 0:24:30 | |
"It won't have changed much." | 0:24:30 | 0:24:32 | |
Well, you'd be wrong. | 0:24:32 | 0:24:33 | |
The first time I came to Paris as a backpacker, | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
I camped in the Bois du Boulogne, | 0:24:42 | 0:24:44 | |
the woodland on the edge of the French capital. | 0:24:44 | 0:24:48 | |
The Bois du Boulogne has been miraculously transformed, | 0:24:48 | 0:24:52 | |
with the addition of a "vaisseau de verre," | 0:24:52 | 0:24:55 | |
a glass ship, housing the Louis Vuitton Foundation. | 0:24:55 | 0:24:58 | |
The architect, Frank Ghery, | 0:25:01 | 0:25:02 | |
deployed 3,600 glass panels to form a dozen sails in this | 0:25:02 | 0:25:07 | |
modern art space, which also offers new views of the city. | 0:25:07 | 0:25:12 | |
The usual admission fee of 16 euros is a bit steep, | 0:25:12 | 0:25:15 | |
so come along on Friday nights between 7 and 11 | 0:25:15 | 0:25:18 | |
where you'll find you get two tickets for the price of one. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:21 | |
There's an art to saving money at museums in Paris. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:27 | |
The admission for the Rodin is 10 euros, but you can get in | 0:25:27 | 0:25:31 | |
for just 4, so long as you're a citizen of an EU country, | 0:25:31 | 0:25:35 | |
including Britain - | 0:25:35 | 0:25:37 | |
for the time being - and you're under 25. | 0:25:37 | 0:25:40 | |
If, like me, you narrowly missed that last qualification, | 0:25:40 | 0:25:45 | |
don't worry, just come along on the first Sunday of the month | 0:25:45 | 0:25:49 | |
and the same discount applies. | 0:25:49 | 0:25:51 | |
Paris is the kind of city where getting around can be | 0:25:51 | 0:25:54 | |
more of a pleasure than a pain, | 0:25:54 | 0:25:56 | |
largely because there are so many ways you can do it, | 0:25:56 | 0:25:59 | |
and Simon would always choose one in particular. | 0:25:59 | 0:26:02 | |
My personal favourite, the bikes. | 0:26:03 | 0:26:06 | |
The citywide rent-it-here, leave-it-there bike scheme, | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
known as Velib, is tremendous value. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:14 | |
For less than the price of a single metro ticket, | 0:26:14 | 0:26:17 | |
you get unlimited use of bikes all day long. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:21 | |
And with over 400 miles of cycle paths in Paris, | 0:26:21 | 0:26:24 | |
it's the cheapest way of getting around, apart from walking, that is. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:28 | |
But, if you pull up for a coffee, watch out, | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
because it can cost you a packet. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
If you're a regular visitor to Paris, | 0:26:34 | 0:26:37 | |
you'll be wearily accustomed to the notion that drinking anything... | 0:26:37 | 0:26:41 | |
Ah, merci beaucoup! | 0:26:41 | 0:26:43 | |
..on the terrace of a cafe trebles the cost. | 0:26:43 | 0:26:46 | |
Thankfully, in some places, that tradition is beginning to change. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:50 | |
Even so, you could still be forking out up to six euros for a coffee | 0:26:50 | 0:26:55 | |
instead of two if you sit at the bar. | 0:26:55 | 0:26:57 | |
But old Parisian customs are changing, | 0:26:57 | 0:27:00 | |
and that is also true when it comes to hotels. | 0:27:00 | 0:27:03 | |
With nearly 2,000 in the city, competition between them means | 0:27:03 | 0:27:07 | |
that if you follow Simon's last bit of advice, | 0:27:07 | 0:27:10 | |
you can save while you sleep. | 0:27:10 | 0:27:12 | |
A few years ago, I found it tricky to get a decent Paris hotel room | 0:27:12 | 0:27:16 | |
for under 100 euros a night. But, these days, it seems hoteliers are | 0:27:16 | 0:27:20 | |
prepared to negotiate, so don't be shy about bargaining. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:24 | |
You might get the same room on a quiet night for 60 or 70 euros, | 0:27:24 | 0:27:29 | |
so you can spend the difference on indulgence. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:31 | |
Earlier in the programme, we went out with a team of Barcelona | 0:27:36 | 0:27:39 | |
police to capture the culprits that have earned the city the unwelcome | 0:27:39 | 0:27:42 | |
reputation of being the pickpocketing capital of Europe. | 0:27:42 | 0:27:45 | |
And, as we join them now, listen out for some tips to make sure that | 0:27:45 | 0:27:48 | |
wherever you're heading on your next holiday, you won't end up having | 0:27:48 | 0:27:51 | |
your belongings pinched. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:53 | |
We're back on police patrol in Barcelona, | 0:27:58 | 0:28:01 | |
at one of the city's busiest tourist attractions, Casa Batllo. | 0:28:01 | 0:28:05 | |
Undercover cop Ana works for the local Catalonian urban police team. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:10 | |
Her job is to catch the criminals who surround tourists like wasps | 0:28:10 | 0:28:15 | |
and, today, there are rich pickings. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:17 | |
This lady is carrying her own bag in the back, with two zips. | 0:28:19 | 0:28:25 | |
It's perfect. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:26 | |
They're distracted, they are taking pictures, they are having fun. | 0:28:26 | 0:28:31 | |
And what the perfect professional pickpocket looks for is opening | 0:28:31 | 0:28:35 | |
the zip and taking anything from inside. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:37 | |
And, in no time at all, Ana spots two very familiar faces. | 0:28:38 | 0:28:43 | |
We first saw them earlier in the programme | 0:28:43 | 0:28:45 | |
in another part of Barcelona. | 0:28:45 | 0:28:46 | |
Two girls previously arrested for pickpocketing on the city's Metro | 0:28:46 | 0:28:50 | |
and, as a result, currently banned from travelling on it. | 0:28:50 | 0:28:54 | |
Ana had advised the girls to go home. | 0:28:54 | 0:28:56 | |
But they didn't take the hint, | 0:28:59 | 0:29:00 | |
instead, simply moving to a different part of town. | 0:29:00 | 0:29:03 | |
And now it seems they're heading underground. | 0:29:03 | 0:29:06 | |
Remember that they act in the Metro. | 0:29:06 | 0:29:08 | |
If the girls do head underground and Ana catches them at it, | 0:29:08 | 0:29:12 | |
she can arrest them. | 0:29:12 | 0:29:13 | |
But the girls have seen Ana and made a run for it. | 0:29:13 | 0:29:16 | |
Now, they are nowhere to be seen. | 0:29:16 | 0:29:18 | |
Bad luck. Bad luck again. | 0:29:18 | 0:29:20 | |
It's reckoned Barcelona has at least 200 pickpockets operating each day. | 0:29:20 | 0:29:24 | |
In this city of tourists, there are so many targets | 0:29:24 | 0:29:28 | |
and so many unattended bags and mobile phones, | 0:29:28 | 0:29:31 | |
especially in cafes like this one. | 0:29:31 | 0:29:33 | |
The pickpockets acting in restaurants, | 0:29:33 | 0:29:36 | |
what they will look is inside these kind of restaurants. | 0:29:36 | 0:29:41 | |
These two people is writing with a computer, so they won't be able | 0:29:41 | 0:29:48 | |
to see if anyone take the bag from the side. | 0:29:48 | 0:29:53 | |
Thieves distracting diners is a common way to steal bags and there's | 0:29:54 | 0:29:58 | |
another long-practised trick that all tourists should be aware of. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:01 | |
This first table, the two women have a telephone on the table. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:06 | |
There's another kind of pickpocket. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:08 | |
They use paper, they write anything, like, | 0:30:08 | 0:30:13 | |
"I am poor, I need to eat, give me a coin." | 0:30:13 | 0:30:17 | |
So, they show the paper written, asking for the coin, | 0:30:17 | 0:30:22 | |
they put it on the table, on the telephone, | 0:30:22 | 0:30:25 | |
and when they take it off, the telephone is here. | 0:30:25 | 0:30:29 | |
But not all tourists are sitting ducks. | 0:30:30 | 0:30:33 | |
Many holiday-makers, having heard of the dangers, have come | 0:30:33 | 0:30:36 | |
fully-prepared, or, at least, | 0:30:36 | 0:30:38 | |
with a heightened sense of personal security. | 0:30:38 | 0:30:40 | |
I have my money in my pocket, here, | 0:30:40 | 0:30:42 | |
which is only in a small wallet, but I've wrapped it around paper | 0:30:42 | 0:30:45 | |
and tickets and all sorts of things. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:47 | |
My partner made this before we came. | 0:30:47 | 0:30:51 | |
It was supposed to hold a mobile phone as well, | 0:30:51 | 0:30:53 | |
but that wasn't a success. | 0:30:53 | 0:30:55 | |
He designed it, I sewed it. | 0:30:55 | 0:30:56 | |
Really, the only precaution I take is that I will put my wallet in my | 0:31:00 | 0:31:02 | |
front pocket. In America, I wear it in the back pocket. | 0:31:02 | 0:31:06 | |
I've got a bag here with some personal belongings and the like, | 0:31:07 | 0:31:11 | |
and what I do is, just like my wife, I keep it in front of me, | 0:31:11 | 0:31:15 | |
and I keep my arm over it, and that seems to do the trick. | 0:31:15 | 0:31:18 | |
My wife is calling this a man purse. | 0:31:18 | 0:31:21 | |
I don't agree with that, but it seems to be working. | 0:31:21 | 0:31:24 | |
Ana is on the move again. | 0:31:26 | 0:31:28 | |
She's permanently on the lookout for criminals. | 0:31:28 | 0:31:30 | |
In a city of over five million, with almost 11.5 million tourists | 0:31:30 | 0:31:34 | |
each year, that's a challenge. | 0:31:34 | 0:31:36 | |
But Ana never forgets a face and she soon comes across several more that | 0:31:36 | 0:31:41 | |
she and her colleagues think they recognise from the police database. | 0:31:41 | 0:31:45 | |
I saw three, but I'm not sure. | 0:31:45 | 0:31:49 | |
Ana thinks that she recognises one of the men, not as a pickpocket, | 0:31:49 | 0:31:52 | |
but as someone recently detained for another crime. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:55 | |
So, once she's confirmed that he is indeed who she thinks he is | 0:31:55 | 0:31:59 | |
by checking the police's official list, | 0:31:59 | 0:32:01 | |
she's allowed to stop and search him. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:03 | |
It seems Ana was right to be concerned. | 0:32:12 | 0:32:15 | |
This man from Morocco was recently arrested for drugs trafficking, and, | 0:32:15 | 0:32:19 | |
after checking police records, Ana discovers that his visa has run out. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:23 | |
He's hanging out with somebody else Ana recognises. | 0:32:23 | 0:32:26 | |
A man who she hasn't seen for a while | 0:32:26 | 0:32:28 | |
but who police records confirm used to be a pickpocket. | 0:32:28 | 0:32:31 | |
So, she's allowed to stop and search him to see whether he has | 0:32:31 | 0:32:35 | |
any stolen possessions on him. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:37 | |
He's been arrested before, five times doing pickpockets. | 0:32:37 | 0:32:41 | |
Two or three years ago. Now he's good, he says. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:44 | |
The Spanish national police arrive | 0:32:46 | 0:32:48 | |
to take the other man in for questioning. | 0:32:48 | 0:32:50 | |
When we saw them, we thought that these faces were familiar to us. | 0:32:52 | 0:32:58 | |
That's why we're stopping. | 0:32:58 | 0:33:01 | |
By now, it's mid-afternoon and Ana heads back to the Casa Batllo, | 0:33:01 | 0:33:05 | |
as this is the time the pickpockets start to get busy. | 0:33:05 | 0:33:08 | |
In terms of personal safety, | 0:33:08 | 0:33:10 | |
Barcelona is among the top five safest cities in Europe. | 0:33:10 | 0:33:13 | |
It's low-level street crime that creates problems for tourists and, | 0:33:13 | 0:33:18 | |
yet again, in a busy crowd, Ana spots another two people that | 0:33:18 | 0:33:21 | |
the police force class as repeat offenders. | 0:33:21 | 0:33:25 | |
Two people, two women, young women, one blonde, one dark. | 0:33:25 | 0:33:29 | |
With their shirts, blue, red and white, over there. | 0:33:29 | 0:33:34 | |
Two women. | 0:33:34 | 0:33:36 | |
Ana says these well-dressed women have been known to steal from | 0:33:36 | 0:33:40 | |
wealthy tourists, and once she's checked that the girls | 0:33:40 | 0:33:42 | |
are on the official police list, she's in hot pursuit. | 0:33:42 | 0:33:45 | |
Normally, they steal inside shops. | 0:33:50 | 0:33:53 | |
They steal wallets from inside the bags. | 0:33:54 | 0:33:59 | |
We've got them there. | 0:34:01 | 0:34:02 | |
Ana wants to stop the pair before they go into any more shops, | 0:34:02 | 0:34:06 | |
potentially to steal, but, as before, she has to check | 0:34:06 | 0:34:09 | |
they are definitely on the police's most wanted list | 0:34:09 | 0:34:11 | |
before she can stop and search them. | 0:34:11 | 0:34:13 | |
If she then finds stolen goods on them, she can arrest them. | 0:34:13 | 0:34:17 | |
They're in the city centre trying to steal any wallet from any bank. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:36 | |
As you can see, they are well-dressed, they are friendly, | 0:34:36 | 0:34:40 | |
they are nice people, but they are pickpockets. | 0:34:40 | 0:34:44 | |
It's their profession. | 0:34:44 | 0:34:46 | |
Like the women that Ana confronted earlier, | 0:34:46 | 0:34:48 | |
these two are carrying a range of useful disguises, | 0:34:48 | 0:34:51 | |
the sort typically employed by any pickpocket. | 0:34:51 | 0:34:54 | |
We're again looking for some... | 0:34:54 | 0:34:56 | |
..anything that is not theirs, any wallet, | 0:34:57 | 0:35:00 | |
any document from any victim, but nothing for the moment. | 0:35:00 | 0:35:06 | |
Nothing. We have the shirt, one jacket to change of colour... | 0:35:07 | 0:35:12 | |
Nothing here. | 0:35:16 | 0:35:18 | |
The women have no stolen property in their bags, | 0:35:18 | 0:35:20 | |
but Ana wants them to know that she and her team | 0:35:20 | 0:35:23 | |
are keeping tabs on them. | 0:35:23 | 0:35:25 | |
What they do is go into shops, expensive shops, probably Gucci, | 0:35:27 | 0:35:32 | |
Emporio or Chanel, they go inside, open bags from victims | 0:35:32 | 0:35:38 | |
and take the wallet from inside. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:40 | |
Despite protesting their innocence, the way they answer our producer's | 0:35:40 | 0:35:44 | |
next question certainly sounds like some sort of confession. | 0:35:44 | 0:35:48 | |
But, for now, as the women have got nothing on them, | 0:35:53 | 0:35:55 | |
Ana has to let them go. | 0:35:55 | 0:35:56 | |
We weren't lucky again. | 0:35:56 | 0:35:58 | |
Well, she says she was unlucky, but, in fact, | 0:35:59 | 0:36:01 | |
even in the time we'd been with her, Ana's managed to spot no less than | 0:36:01 | 0:36:05 | |
seven previously convicted pickpockets | 0:36:05 | 0:36:07 | |
in Barcelona's busy streets. | 0:36:07 | 0:36:10 | |
Every day, you're in the middle of the city, | 0:36:10 | 0:36:13 | |
just having a look and, suddenly, between the crowd, | 0:36:13 | 0:36:17 | |
you can see two pickpockets working in front of you and the job begins. | 0:36:17 | 0:36:23 | |
So, every day is similar to this. | 0:36:23 | 0:36:26 | |
So, while today she's made no arrests, those Ana has stopped | 0:36:28 | 0:36:31 | |
have been given a clear warning that she's on their tails, | 0:36:31 | 0:36:34 | |
and by confronting or pursuing them, she hopes she'll at least | 0:36:34 | 0:36:37 | |
have stopped tourists in the immediate vicinity from having | 0:36:37 | 0:36:41 | |
their valuables stolen. | 0:36:41 | 0:36:42 | |
Better yet, you've been able to pick up some tips to make sure that | 0:36:42 | 0:36:45 | |
whichever city you visit next, no pickpocket will be getting | 0:36:45 | 0:36:49 | |
their hands on your stuff either. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:51 | |
Rip-Off Britain's pop-up shop is back in business. | 0:36:56 | 0:36:59 | |
This time, we took our team of experts to Manchester's bustling | 0:37:02 | 0:37:05 | |
Trafford Centre to hear more of your problems, face-to-face. | 0:37:05 | 0:37:10 | |
Now, there is absolutely nothing to stop you going to court. | 0:37:10 | 0:37:14 | |
Being a victim of a crime is made all the worse if it happens while | 0:37:15 | 0:37:19 | |
you're on your holidays and a recent survey found no less than | 0:37:19 | 0:37:22 | |
a third of us have had an item stolen whilst we were away. | 0:37:22 | 0:37:26 | |
Pamela Handy, for one. | 0:37:26 | 0:37:28 | |
But, as she discovered, getting your insurance company to pay out | 0:37:28 | 0:37:32 | |
for your loss isn't always easy, | 0:37:32 | 0:37:34 | |
so she's come to see Simon Calder for advice. | 0:37:34 | 0:37:36 | |
-Pamela. -Yes, hello. | 0:37:36 | 0:37:38 | |
You were the victim of a theft on holiday. | 0:37:38 | 0:37:40 | |
-Tell me about it. -Yes, we were burgled whilst on holiday. | 0:37:40 | 0:37:44 | |
Presumably some high value items were stolen? | 0:37:44 | 0:37:47 | |
Yes, they were small laptops that both my sons had, and a phone, | 0:37:47 | 0:37:51 | |
and my husband's Kindle. | 0:37:51 | 0:37:53 | |
Enough. Well, as soon as Pamela got home, | 0:37:54 | 0:37:57 | |
she made a claim on her holiday insurance, | 0:37:57 | 0:37:59 | |
which she got through her bank account. | 0:37:59 | 0:38:01 | |
But, although the company agreed to pay out, there was a catch. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:05 | |
Tell me what happened, Pamela? | 0:38:05 | 0:38:07 | |
Well, we approached the bank and they said we had to pay four lots of | 0:38:07 | 0:38:10 | |
excesses, which was quite high, so we said, "Well, why?" | 0:38:10 | 0:38:14 | |
Because if we were burgled at home, regardless of what they take, | 0:38:14 | 0:38:18 | |
it's just one excess. | 0:38:18 | 0:38:20 | |
By the time Pamela had paid four lots of excess, | 0:38:20 | 0:38:23 | |
it wouldn't leave much to cover the cost of all those electrical items | 0:38:23 | 0:38:26 | |
that had been stolen. | 0:38:26 | 0:38:28 | |
And what was the insurance company's response? | 0:38:28 | 0:38:30 | |
They just said that's the way their policy operated, | 0:38:31 | 0:38:35 | |
but it was actually with our own bank account. | 0:38:35 | 0:38:38 | |
When it comes to thefts on travel insurance, | 0:38:38 | 0:38:41 | |
they are getting tougher and tougher, because they say, | 0:38:41 | 0:38:45 | |
"Well, we get an awful lot of fraudulent claims | 0:38:45 | 0:38:47 | |
"and that pushes the price up, and the only way | 0:38:47 | 0:38:50 | |
"we can afford to cope with that is if we keep the amount we pay out | 0:38:50 | 0:38:54 | |
"as low as we possibly can." | 0:38:54 | 0:38:55 | |
The problem, I think, is that when you get travel insurance through | 0:38:55 | 0:39:00 | |
a financial provider, like a bank, | 0:39:00 | 0:39:02 | |
had you studied all the terms and conditions on it? | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
-No, but, then, who does? -Right, exactly. Nobody does, | 0:39:05 | 0:39:09 | |
even though, of course, you're supposed to. | 0:39:09 | 0:39:11 | |
But you'll find, I imagine, that the home insurance | 0:39:11 | 0:39:15 | |
and the travel insurance have very different levels of cover. | 0:39:15 | 0:39:19 | |
Pamela's insurance was part of a so-called packaged bank account, | 0:39:19 | 0:39:24 | |
where, for a fee, you get a variety of other services. | 0:39:24 | 0:39:28 | |
But, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service, | 0:39:28 | 0:39:30 | |
such accounts are the country's second most complained about | 0:39:30 | 0:39:34 | |
financial product and that's often because the insurance policies | 0:39:34 | 0:39:38 | |
that come with it didn't quite give the cover you'd expect. | 0:39:38 | 0:39:42 | |
Now, of course, it's all very easy to say, "Read the small print before | 0:39:42 | 0:39:45 | |
"you take out insurance," but Simon is very wary of forking out for | 0:39:45 | 0:39:48 | |
anything that doesn't deliver, and he takes a different tack. | 0:39:48 | 0:39:52 | |
So, can I just tell you, Pamela, what I do with travel insurance? | 0:39:52 | 0:39:55 | |
-Yes. -Well, I don't have any insurance for any valuables whatsoever, | 0:39:55 | 0:40:00 | |
because I guess I've heard too many cases like yours, | 0:40:00 | 0:40:03 | |
where something really valuable goes missing and you don't get any joy | 0:40:03 | 0:40:07 | |
from the travel insurance company, | 0:40:07 | 0:40:09 | |
so I just get a very basic family policy, | 0:40:09 | 0:40:12 | |
£60 for the four of us, and that is really just to cover | 0:40:12 | 0:40:15 | |
emergency medical stuff. | 0:40:15 | 0:40:18 | |
That really helps to keep the cost of the insurance down. | 0:40:18 | 0:40:21 | |
It also means you're less inclined to take expensive stuff abroad, | 0:40:21 | 0:40:25 | |
where it might, very sadly, as you found, go missing. | 0:40:25 | 0:40:28 | |
Well, in the end, Pamela stuck to her guns and did not pay her insurer | 0:40:29 | 0:40:33 | |
for all those excess charges, and, to avoid any further hassle, | 0:40:33 | 0:40:37 | |
she replaced her stolen goods by buying second-hand instead. | 0:40:37 | 0:40:40 | |
Many of you who came to see us spoke about similar hidden charges, | 0:40:41 | 0:40:45 | |
whether it's insurance excesses or even charges for air conditioning. | 0:40:45 | 0:40:50 | |
And when Simon went out and about during our pop-up event, | 0:40:50 | 0:40:53 | |
he heard of another charge that families really ought not to pay. | 0:40:53 | 0:40:57 | |
What at the moment annoys you about flying? | 0:40:57 | 0:40:59 | |
Well, when we went to Tenerife this time, we travelled | 0:40:59 | 0:41:02 | |
with my two daughters, who are nine and ten, | 0:41:02 | 0:41:04 | |
and we all got separated on the plane, | 0:41:04 | 0:41:06 | |
so my nine-year-old had to sit on her own and I was three rows behind, | 0:41:06 | 0:41:11 | |
my mum was right at the front of the plane, | 0:41:11 | 0:41:13 | |
and I didn't think that was right. | 0:41:13 | 0:41:14 | |
Right. I don't know what airline it was, | 0:41:14 | 0:41:16 | |
but under Civil Aviation Authority rules, | 0:41:16 | 0:41:20 | |
any child under 12 has to be sat next to a parent. | 0:41:20 | 0:41:24 | |
That might possibly be in the seat in front, but within easy range. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:29 | |
If there'd been an emergency, which, of course, is extremely rare, | 0:41:29 | 0:41:33 | |
your first thought is, "I've got to look after my children." | 0:41:33 | 0:41:36 | |
If that ever happens to you again, make sure that you say, | 0:41:36 | 0:41:39 | |
"Sorry, civil aviation rules mean that you have to seat us together." | 0:41:39 | 0:41:43 | |
Well, we're going away again in six weeks, and, this time, I thought, | 0:41:43 | 0:41:46 | |
"I'm not risking it." We pre-booked seats. | 0:41:46 | 0:41:49 | |
Well, maybe that's what they... | 0:41:49 | 0:41:50 | |
So, in a way, I suppose they've got more money out of us. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:52 | |
Exactly, I'm lucky enough to have two daughters | 0:41:52 | 0:41:55 | |
and I wouldn't pay a penny to sit next to them! | 0:41:55 | 0:41:58 | |
Not that I don't like them, but it's just you don't need to. | 0:41:58 | 0:42:00 | |
So, I'm sorry that happened to you, but don't let it happen again. | 0:42:00 | 0:42:03 | |
-Thank you. -Thank you. -Thank you. | 0:42:03 | 0:42:05 | |
If you've got a story you'd like us to investigate, | 0:42:10 | 0:42:13 | |
then get in touch with us via our Facebook page, BBC Rip-Off Britain, | 0:42:13 | 0:42:18 | |
our website, bbc.co.uk/ripoffbritain, | 0:42:18 | 0:42:21 | |
or e-mail us at... | 0:42:21 | 0:42:23 | |
Or, if you want to send us a letter, | 0:42:26 | 0:42:29 | |
then our new address is... | 0:42:29 | 0:42:31 | |
Well, the cautionary tales that we've heard today really are | 0:42:43 | 0:42:46 | |
a reminder that you do need to keep your wits about you at all times, | 0:42:46 | 0:42:49 | |
even when you're away on holiday. | 0:42:49 | 0:42:51 | |
You just never know when some sort of opportunist or thief might be | 0:42:51 | 0:42:55 | |
there to take advantage of you. | 0:42:55 | 0:42:57 | |
But what I did find really interesting during the programme and | 0:42:57 | 0:42:59 | |
reassuring, was all the work that Ana and her team in Barcelona are | 0:42:59 | 0:43:03 | |
doing to get one step ahead of the pickpockets and stop them before | 0:43:03 | 0:43:06 | |
they steal anything. | 0:43:06 | 0:43:08 | |
I thought it was fabulous to see how she's always on the lookout and, | 0:43:08 | 0:43:11 | |
as you can tell, it really is true that she never, ever forgets a face. | 0:43:11 | 0:43:15 | |
-Julia. -A talent I only wish I shared and don't get me started on names. | 0:43:15 | 0:43:21 | |
But that's all we've got time for today. | 0:43:21 | 0:43:23 | |
We hope your next trip is relaxed and incident-free, | 0:43:23 | 0:43:26 | |
but if for whatever reason it's not, please do let us know and it might | 0:43:26 | 0:43:30 | |
be your experience we're sharing on a future programme. | 0:43:30 | 0:43:33 | |
For now, though, it's hasta la vista from us. | 0:43:33 | 0:43:36 | |
-Bye. -Bye. -Bye-bye. | 0:43:36 | 0:43:38 |