Episode 2 Rip Off Britain


Episode 2

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

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

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

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We felt totally ripped off, and we paid to move somewhere else.

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It happens all the time,

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that somebody else has paid less for the holiday that I paid more for.

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

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a simple mistake or a catch in the small print,

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we'll find out why YOU'RE out of pocket,

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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 welcome to Rip-Off Britain,

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where this time we're bringing a taste of summer into your homes.

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For this series, we've come to the island of Tenerife in the Canaries.

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We're here to investigate some of the stories you've sent us

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about holidays that you've told us have gone horribly wrong.

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Disastrously so, in some cases.

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And the people that we're going to be hearing from would all say that when things DID start to go wrong,

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they were very much left to themselves to sort it out.

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Which, when you're thousands of miles from home, let's face it,

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is by no means an easy thing.

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Not a good position to be in.

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And what makes these particular stories worse

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is that none of the situations

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we'll be hearing about should ever have happened in the first place.

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As you'll see, it really is staggering how some of them are actually handled.

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And it's left several of the people involved

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not just seriously annoyed, but seriously out of pocket as well.

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Coming up - of all the jaw-dropping stories you've sent us

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about holiday villas, this tops the lot.

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Just wait till you hear what happened

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to these sisters and their husbands.

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Sheila was in tears. I was only just holding myself together.

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And five years after investing their savings

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in holiday homes in the sun,

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why are these viewers' dream properties still not built?

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We haven't been able to retire,

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because we've lost our only capital.

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I would love to take my grandchild,

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but we can't do anything.

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Now, you often tell us about your disastrous experiences

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of booking a villa abroad.

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But it's rare to hear of such a catalogue of disasters

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that befell two sisters who actually contacted us

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while they were still away.

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Through no fault of their own,

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they and their husbands found themselves booked into villas

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they should never have been sent to.

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It was almost like, this is just my worst nightmare.

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We just couldn't get in, and our hearts just sunk.

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It was a world away from the relaxing break

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that sisters Sheila Thorpe and Mo Hutson had been hoping for.

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Two years previously, they'd had

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such a great trip to Orlando, Florida with their husbands

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that when they started planning a holiday for August 2016,

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they went straight back to the company they'd used

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the previous time - a UK-based company called 3501 Travel Ltd.

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And they asked to book into the exact same villa

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in Haines City, Florida.

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When the agent told us that the villa was available,

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-we were chuffed to bits, weren't we?

-Oh, ecstatic.

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We were really excited, because, you know,

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we had happy memories associated with the villa.

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Sheila and Mo paid almost £3,200 for a three-week stay in the villa,

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including car hire.

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They paid by bank transfer,

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and were told by 3501 Travel Ltd

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that a confirmation of their booking would be sent to them

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four weeks before their departure.

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In fact, it didn't arrive until a week before they were due to travel.

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That was a bit unsettling,

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but all concerns were forgotten once their flight landed

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and they were on their way to the villa

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they'd been so looking forward to revisiting.

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When we were arriving at the property,

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I mean, we know the area very, very well

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and driving in, we knew exactly the way to go,

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and we're going, "Oh, there it is..."

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From the outside, the villa looked just as they remembered.

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But, when Sheila tried to get INSIDE the property, using the access code

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that 3501 Travel Ltd had sent them,

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she found the number wouldn't work.

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I don't think anyone believed me at first.

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-No.

-I was trying the lock box, and I thought, "Have I got it right,

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"have I got the number right? Yes, I've got it right."

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Tried it again, tried it again,

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and then everyone came and tried it.

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And we just couldn't get in, and our hearts just sunk.

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Instead of the welcoming holiday home they were expecting,

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the whole place was deserted,

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with no hint that any visitors were expected.

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The pool was covered.

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The gate was locked.

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The chairs were all over the place.

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-Yeah.

-You know, there was no preparation.

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Thinking there might have been a mix-up in their travel dates,

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Mo called the caretaker of the property,

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whose number was still in her phone from their previous visit.

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He gave the couples some shocking news.

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I explained the situation, and he said,

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"You won't get in the villa,

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"because it's been foreclosed."

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Sheila was in tears.

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I was only just holding myself together.

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When they eventually got internet access,

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they discovered an e-mail from 3501 Travel Ltd,

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confirming that the villa they'd booked and paid for

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had been repossessed by the bank.

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But, because one of the company's directors had been unwell,

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that message had only been passed on to Sheila and Mo

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after they'd already left the UK.

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3501 Travel Ltd WAS able to offer the sisters an alternative villa

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nearby, although it wasn't clear for how long.

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-We felt helpless, and that we had no control over the situation.

-Mm.

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And you're in a different country, different laws...

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When the couples arrived at the replacement villa,

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this time they WERE able to get in,

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but because they didn't know how long they'd be staying there,

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it was far from the relaxing start to the holiday they were expecting.

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We lived out of suitcases for the next several days,

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because we were expecting to move at any minute,

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so we never really settled and made ourselves at home,

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because we felt that at any time, we were going to move.

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Sheila tried calling 3501 Travel Ltd,

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to establish how long they were going to be staying

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in the new villa,

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or whether they should be prepared to move again.

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But she was told they could only communicate by e-mail,

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and in the end,

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it wasn't from the company they'd booked with

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that Sheila and Mo eventually got the answer.

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It was via a shocking phone call

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that came through on the property's line.

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He said, "I'm the owner of the property at Rebecca Drive,"

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and Mo said, "Thank you so much

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"for allowing us to stay in your property."

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And he said, "Well, I'm afraid I didn't know

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"that you were even in my property."

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The owner said he'd only discovered

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there were people staying in his property through neighbours.

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He went on to say the villa had been up for rent on 3501 Travel Ltd

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entirely without his knowledge or permission,

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and Mo and Sheila weren't the first people

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that the company had sent there.

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For the sisters, it was a stunning blow.

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They could just about understand how the issue

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with the first villa had come about,

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but to find that they shouldn't have been in this second one either

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was almost too much to take in.

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If the floor could have opened up

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I would have been quite happy at that point,

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because I just did not know what to say to the man.

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To their intense relief, the owner of the villa told Sheila and Mo

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they could stay there until the end of the month,

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at which point it was let to someone else.

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But that still left them short of somewhere to stay

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for the final week of their trip.

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The man was so kind, and said, "Look, don't worry,"

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but we just didn't feel comfortable any more.

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We just felt that we were trespassing.

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Embarrassed and angry at the situation they found themselves in,

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Sheila and Mo once again contacted 3501 Travel Ltd.

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We saw the time creeping and creeping up,

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so I e-mailed the agent and said,

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"Look, we need a resolution of this."

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And then suddenly, we had the offer of a villa.

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Just six days before they were due to leave the temporary villa,

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3501 Travel Ltd contacted Sheila to say it HAD finally found

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somewhere for them to stay for their last week.

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Hugely relieved, Mo and Sheila agreed to go and check it out.

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But their hopes were soon dashed.

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The villa was in no way prepared for rental.

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The pool was green, the lanai was broken.

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The house was dirty, it was ill-prepared.

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Mm. the blinds were all hanging down in the windows...

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I mean, it was awful.

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By now, understandably fed up with 3501 Travel Ltd,

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the women decided to take matters into their own hands.

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I wrote to the agent and said, "We will find somewhere ourselves."

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And then we received an e-mail, didn't we,

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saying...

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-"Got a villa for you to look at."

-"Got a villa for you to look at."

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Despite promises of photos and information about this next villa,

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the details were scant.

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-He actually sent us the details from TripAdvisor.

-Yeah.

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Now, unfortunately, they had the owner's phone number on there.

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So, I phoned him.

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And, they had not heard from anybody about

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the possibility of the villa rental.

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They had booked...

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The period of time we were talking about

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had been booked actually since the previous September.

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With their trust in 3501 Travel Ltd completely shattered,

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Sheila and Mo decided

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they'd have to find and pay for another villa themselves.

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Well, it was just over £2,000 in all, wasn't it?

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It was, yeah. It's a considerable amount of money.

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-That we work hard for.

-Mm.

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Now back in the UK,

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Mo and Sheila have taken 3501 Travel Ltd and its owner

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to the small claims court

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to get back what they'd paid

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for a villa they never got to stay in,

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and to be compensated

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for the time and money they'd spent on sorting everything out.

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But in the meantime, they've been shocked to discover

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that the original villa - the one that was foreclosed -

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was still being advertised for let

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on a website called The Villa Rental Company,

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a related company of 3501 Travel Ltd.

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Oh, there it is!

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Just look what it says, Mo.

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"This grand villa is located on Kokomo Loop, on Southern Dunes,

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"and is a marvellous example

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"of how important the choice of where you stay

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"can make or break your vacation."

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Why is it still here? That's outrageous.

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Well, we contacted 3501 Travel Ltd

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to ask them how this succession of disastrous bookings

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could possibly have come about.

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But, just like the sisters, we've heard nothing back.

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However, there ARE ways to protect yourself

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when choosing a villa abroad.

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Booking your villa as part of a package,

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through a well-known, reputable British company,

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and paying by credit card,

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can offer security if things go wrong,

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as aviation expert Julian Bray explains.

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The key thing is, they must be registered in the UK

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in order to take advantage of the ATOL regulations,

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and I should say, that's the air tour operators' licences.

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Basically they're selling you a package,

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which means there has to be something like

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a villa and a flight involved.

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Now, if that happens, and something goes wrong,

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at least the Civil Aviation Authority is mandated

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to bring you back to the UK.

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And also, of course,

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you can then use the Consumer Credit Act to try and get back

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some of your money through the credit card company.

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But Sheila and Mo, who DIDN'T book that way,

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have been left counting the cost of a holiday

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that turned into a disaster.

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The whole process has left me feeling...

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..pretty exhausted and very angry.

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And what strikes us, I think, to this very day,

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is that we've never had an apology.

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We've never had this agent saying, "I'm really sorry for this."

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Now, for some people, the annual fortnight away simply isn't enough,

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and the prospect of year-round sunshine

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and perhaps even a whole lifestyle abroad

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can make investing in property overseas

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a very attractive proposition.

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But whilst homes in Spain and France have tempted Brits for decades,

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more recently it's been locations much, much further afield

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that some of you have signed up to.

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And although being hundreds of miles away from home

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can all seem part of the appeal,

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if the promises you've invested tens of thousands of pounds in

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DON'T materialise,

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then getting things resolved so far away from home,

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or indeed getting your money back, can prove almost impossible.

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Crystal clear waters, glorious sandy beaches, year-round sun.

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All the reasons why, until its recent sharp downturn,

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the Egyptian Red Sea coast was a firm favourite with holiday-makers

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seeking a luxurious but affordable destination.

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And busy pub managers Stephen and Jane Burr

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were set on buying their own slice of Egyptian paradise.

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The culture, the history is amazing,

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the Red Sea, it's absolutely beautiful.

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The people are so friendly.

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They can't do enough for you.

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The couple went online to search for properties in Egypt,

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and came across a new, glossy complex on Egypt's Red Sea coast,

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called Oasis Marina.

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So, curious to find out more, they flew out to take a look,

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and the agent showed them around.

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They took us to Oasis Marina, which was a brand-new development.

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They only had, I think, 12 apartments built so far.

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It was going to be a hotel complex

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with restaurants, bars, spa facilities, things like that.

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So it all looked so enticing and...

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-A dream.

-Yeah.

-Living a dream.

-A dream home, basically, yeah.

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The couple were shown plans selling that dream,

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and the idea of a two-bed apartment in such a fantastic complex,

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with unbeatable views to boot, proved irresistible.

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You walked in through the back door, and there was a kitchen diner,

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a long living room, beautiful glass doors,

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and the Red Sea was there in front of you.

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So the couple took the plunge, and bought an off-plan two-bed apartment

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for £68,000.

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It's like... Can't believe this, our dream home.

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Something we can all share as a family,

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any friends that want to come over, it'd be great.

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Any time, it's there, it's ours.

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Back home in Bristol, they had to remortgage their home to pay for the

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Egyptian apartment. And it was quite an outlay, but it felt all worth it.

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Until a year later,

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when it became clear that the dream home hadn't materialised,

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and indeed was still only partially built.

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We went back to visit the apartments,

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and they were still in the same condition as when we first saw them.

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We thought, "'Ey up, what's going on?

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"Nothing's moving, there's something wrong."

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Well, that was in 2011.

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And since then, Stephen and Jane

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have been given a whole string of excuses

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from the company behind the resort,

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the Iraida Estate Agency.

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Most recently, they even blamed the delay

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on the country's political unrest.

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They blamed the revolution for the first year after it was supposed to be done,

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and then they said because of the celebrations of the revolution the year later,

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supplies was not coming down because people was partying

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and celebrating what had happened in Egypt.

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I need a gammon, darling, and a mixed grill.

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There are plenty of other people who sunk huge chunks of money

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into the Oasis Marina development

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without getting what they expected in return.

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-Pleased to meet you.

-Pleased to meet you...

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Well, they'd rather have met each other as neighbours

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enjoying the Egyptian sunshine, but instead,

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they're meeting for the first time at Stephen and Jane's Bristol pub.

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These property developers really want bringing to book.

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-Well, someone should...

-Someone's got to do something.

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We are just ignored.

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At the end of the day, all we want is our money back now, isn't it?

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Yeah, we want our money back.

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We have been so disappointed

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with years and years of pushing this on and on and on.

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They don't care about us.

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-All they care is what they can get from us.

-Exactly.

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Barbara Woodhead and her husband Barry

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had been after a place they could use themselves,

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but also rent out to gain extra income in their retirement.

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We were told that

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the up-and-coming place to buy a property was in the Red Sea.

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And then we saw the advert in a Sunday paper,

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so we contacted the agent.

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After a visit to the site, they used all their capital,

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including money from two pensions and the remainder of an inheritance,

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to pay for the apartment in full, totalling over £32,000.

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But seven years on, the apartment remains unbuilt,

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leaving the couple in a perilous financial position.

0:18:000:18:03

We haven't been able to retire.

0:18:030:18:05

Barry's still working part-time,

0:18:050:18:09

and I do a summer job because we've lost our only capital.

0:18:090:18:14

And it's affected our whole retirement,

0:18:140:18:18

and consequently our whole lives.

0:18:180:18:21

Susanne Lewis and her husband David are in a similar situation,

0:18:220:18:26

after paying just over £40,000

0:18:260:18:29

for what they thought would be a family holiday home.

0:18:290:18:33

It's a problem

0:18:330:18:35

that doesn't go away.

0:18:350:18:36

It's a problem you live with every day, every night,

0:18:360:18:40

trying to think of what we can do next.

0:18:400:18:43

And you also have rows amongst yourselves about it,

0:18:430:18:47

and it puts a strain on the marriage.

0:18:470:18:50

I would love to take my grandchild.

0:18:510:18:54

-Mmm.

-But we can't do anything.

0:18:570:19:01

Yeah.

0:19:010:19:02

Jim Quigley DOES actually have the keys to his apartment.

0:19:040:19:07

But as far as he's concerned,

0:19:070:19:09

the £58,000 in cash he shelled out for it wasn't worth it.

0:19:090:19:14

There's wires hanging down off the wall,

0:19:140:19:16

that should have been in behind the plaster and the tiling -

0:19:160:19:19

they were just dangling.

0:19:190:19:20

It was just...

0:19:200:19:22

..a shambles. That's the best way to say it,

0:19:220:19:25

it was just a shambles.

0:19:250:19:26

We paid for this luxury apartment -

0:19:260:19:30

it was not luxury at all.

0:19:300:19:32

Although they were introduced to the complex by different agents,

0:19:320:19:36

all these investors put the blame for the state of their properties

0:19:360:19:39

squarely on the company responsible

0:19:390:19:42

for developing and selling the apartments,

0:19:420:19:44

a business called Iraida Estate Agency.

0:19:440:19:47

And when we looked, we found that its website and other ones linked to it

0:19:470:19:51

were still advertising property for sale.

0:19:510:19:54

Now, the man behind the agency is Ehab Shahwan.

0:19:540:19:58

He describes himself as "Honorary Tourism Ambassador for Egypt".

0:19:580:20:02

But according to the investors WE spoke to, that title -

0:20:020:20:05

indeed if it's correct - is hardly well deserved.

0:20:050:20:07

And what rubs salt into the investors' wounds even further

0:20:070:20:11

is that here he is in New York,

0:20:110:20:13

apparently receiving an award for quality in construction.

0:20:130:20:16

We did deliver hundreds of apartments

0:20:160:20:19

during the last five years with very good quality.

0:20:190:20:22

And more worryingly still,

0:20:220:20:24

when we spoke to a lawyer based in Egypt representing some of those

0:20:240:20:27

fighting for their money back,

0:20:270:20:29

he told us that this was one of a whole string

0:20:290:20:31

of similar cases in Hurghada,

0:20:310:20:33

each involving hundreds of investors from all over the world.

0:20:330:20:36

And whilst those cases are unconnected with Shahwan

0:20:360:20:39

or indeed the Iraida Group of Companies,

0:20:390:20:42

they have created a backlog in the courts.

0:20:420:20:44

He told us that this, and the fact that the wheels of justice in Egypt

0:20:460:20:50

turn VERY slowly,

0:20:500:20:52

means that it could be years before these cases come to court.

0:20:520:20:56

So, we've called in overseas property lawyer Stefano Lucatello,

0:20:580:21:02

who's meeting the group to advise them on what to do next.

0:21:020:21:05

Thanks for coming, Stefano.

0:21:050:21:07

Stephen and the others had all assumed

0:21:070:21:08

that because they'd used an agent

0:21:080:21:10

to broker their property deals,

0:21:100:21:12

that they would be protected if something went wrong.

0:21:120:21:15

I thought I was clever because I went through an agent.

0:21:150:21:18

So I presumed they would have done all the homework for me.

0:21:180:21:21

But Stefano says that simply is not enough

0:21:230:21:25

to keep your money safe.

0:21:250:21:27

The first thing you need to do when you go to an agent

0:21:270:21:29

is to check up whether that agent is registered

0:21:290:21:31

with something called the Association of International Property Professionals.

0:21:310:21:35

The AIPP gives you the first step of credibility to an agent.

0:21:350:21:40

They have to go through a series of hoops to convince the panel

0:21:400:21:45

that they have indemnity insurance, that they've got a clean

0:21:450:21:48

track record, and that's what you want to be checking up -

0:21:480:21:50

check your regulatory body first of all.

0:21:500:21:52

But with that advice just too late for these investors,

0:21:540:21:57

they have a far more pressing question

0:21:570:21:59

they'd like Stefano to answer.

0:21:590:22:01

So do you think there's any chance of any of us getting our money back?

0:22:010:22:04

You won't get everything back that you've invested,

0:22:040:22:06

but in grouping together

0:22:060:22:08

it gives you power, and it gives you security.

0:22:080:22:11

I just want my money back!

0:22:110:22:12

Yeah.

0:22:120:22:14

But while Stefano thinks the investors may have power in numbers,

0:22:140:22:17

he's very cautious about their chances,

0:22:170:22:19

as he suspects not enough checks were made at the start.

0:22:190:22:22

In this particular case, I think what happened was

0:22:230:22:25

that the proper due diligence

0:22:250:22:27

that was necessary for Egypt wasn't followed.

0:22:270:22:30

They were led too much by the estate agent,

0:22:300:22:32

they were led too much by the developer.

0:22:320:22:34

And that's something that Stefano has seen far too often.

0:22:340:22:37

I've been doing this job 30 years, and I hear new ones every day.

0:22:390:22:42

New stories, people being bamboozled.

0:22:420:22:45

The common denominator is that most people lose their money.

0:22:450:22:49

Well, we tried contacting

0:22:510:22:52

the companies behind the Oasis Marina development,

0:22:520:22:55

the Iraida Estate Agency and Iraida Construction,

0:22:550:22:59

to discover just what had happened to the money

0:22:590:23:01

our investors had sunk into the project.

0:23:010:23:03

But I'm afraid we just didn't get a response.

0:23:030:23:06

For those affected, however,

0:23:070:23:09

the gathering together at Stephen's pub

0:23:090:23:11

has strengthened their resolve to find a collective solution.

0:23:110:23:15

I think it's lifted the morale...

0:23:150:23:18

-Yes.

-And Stefano here with his ideas and suggestions

0:23:190:23:25

has boosted the morale even higher.

0:23:250:23:28

We're going to keep on fighting until we get something.

0:23:280:23:31

You know. And don't forget I've got many years left inside me,

0:23:310:23:35

so, 20, 30 years, I'll still fight for my place.

0:23:350:23:37

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain...

0:23:470:23:48

A missing wheelchair, finally returned broken.

0:23:480:23:53

So what happens when vital equipment doesn't make it safely across the skies?

0:23:530:23:57

I'm just gutted. Totally gutted,

0:23:570:24:00

that my memories are of the disaster

0:24:000:24:02

and not the pleasures of the holiday.

0:24:020:24:04

Our travel expert Simon Calder

0:24:080:24:11

has all the secrets to save you money on your holidays.

0:24:110:24:13

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

0:24:130:24:17

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

0:24:170:24:20

This time, he's sharing tips on destinations that are exotic,

0:24:220:24:26

but affordable too.

0:24:260:24:28

Affordable, exotic locations?

0:24:280:24:30

You might be thinking that's a contradiction in terms.

0:24:300:24:33

Let me see if I can convince you otherwise.

0:24:330:24:36

Top of Simon's list is Bangkok.

0:24:360:24:38

Not least because he says fares there can be ridiculously cheap -

0:24:400:24:43

at least if you're happy to change planes along the way.

0:24:430:24:47

You can sometimes pay as little as £400 return,

0:24:470:24:50

which is just one reason why Simon is a big fan.

0:24:500:24:53

But it's also because the Thai capital

0:24:550:24:58

is full of enriching experiences,

0:24:580:25:00

from some of the best street food on the planet

0:25:000:25:03

to a massage in a temple,

0:25:030:25:05

all in the company of charming and welcoming people.

0:25:050:25:09

Daily life for travellers to Thailand can be blissfully inexpensive -

0:25:100:25:15

as is getting around the country.

0:25:150:25:16

But where next on Simon's list of hidden gems?

0:25:160:25:19

Researching the best exotic beach was an ordeal!

0:25:200:25:24

But I struggled through, from the Maldives to Malibu.

0:25:240:25:27

And the affordable answer -

0:25:270:25:29

Cabo San Lucas, at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula.

0:25:290:25:33

And with ferocious competition

0:25:350:25:37

between airlines across the Atlantic,

0:25:370:25:39

you can pick up a flight for as little as £450 in the month of February.

0:25:390:25:43

And according to Simon, with the Mexican peso flagging,

0:25:430:25:47

rooms, meals out, and local travel transport

0:25:470:25:49

are all gratifyingly cheap as well.

0:25:490:25:52

And, short-haul exotic?

0:25:530:25:55

It exists - and it's easy to find.

0:25:550:25:58

Just fly due south, to Morocco.

0:25:580:26:01

Marrakech is a kaleidoscope of colours and a feast of flavours,

0:26:020:26:06

all under four hours' flying time from the UK.

0:26:060:26:08

For something even more intense,

0:26:090:26:12

aim for the Moroccan city of Fez.

0:26:120:26:14

Fez is the most complete medieval city in North Africa,

0:26:160:26:19

and the birthplace of imperial Morocco.

0:26:190:26:22

It's the perfect place to do something completely different

0:26:220:26:26

for your next holiday, something that Simon enthusiastically recommends.

0:26:260:26:29

As you step into the ancient Medina, you leave the modern world behind.

0:26:310:26:35

Now, I'm sure that most of us will have allowed ourselves

0:26:430:26:46

just a moment of anxiety

0:26:460:26:47

when we hand over our luggage at the airport.

0:26:470:26:51

Will our cases get damaged?

0:26:510:26:53

Might they even go missing?

0:26:530:26:55

After all, we've all heard the horror stories.

0:26:550:26:57

But it's bad enough if it's your CASE that goes missing

0:26:570:27:01

or is damaged and suffers during transport -

0:27:010:27:03

quite another if it is the very thing

0:27:030:27:06

that you rely on to get around. Your wheelchair, for example.

0:27:060:27:10

And that is exactly what happened to the people in our next film.

0:27:100:27:14

And, as you'll see, while there ARE rules in place

0:27:140:27:17

to make sure that airlines sort this sort of problem out,

0:27:170:27:21

I'm afraid that things aren't always as easy to resolve as they should be.

0:27:210:27:26

Sometimes, a holiday is more than just a break in the sun -

0:27:290:27:32

it's a special journey that you've always hoped to make.

0:27:320:27:36

And for Alexis Macleod from Glasgow,

0:27:360:27:38

there was one place that she'd been desperate to visit -

0:27:380:27:41

Elvis Presley's former home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee.

0:27:410:27:46

My '68 Special dress.

0:27:460:27:48

I'm a number one fan,

0:27:480:27:50

and he is and always will be the king of rock and roll.

0:27:500:27:53

From my childhood,

0:27:530:27:54

I've always liked Elvis, and it's been my dream to visit Graceland.

0:27:540:27:58

Well, in January 2015,

0:27:590:28:01

Alexis finally had the chance to make that longed-for pilgrimage.

0:28:010:28:05

It was the first time

0:28:050:28:07

that I knew I could go

0:28:070:28:08

for a long time, do a big trip,

0:28:080:28:10

and it was his 80th birthday,

0:28:100:28:12

which is something that can never be celebrated again.

0:28:120:28:15

The holiday of a lifetime.

0:28:150:28:16

It's not easy for Alexis to fly.

0:28:190:28:21

She has post-polio syndrome - delayed symptoms

0:28:210:28:24

resulting from an attack of polio that she had as a child.

0:28:240:28:28

Because of muscle weakness,

0:28:280:28:30

she has used a wheelchair since she was a teenager,

0:28:300:28:33

but her disability has never put her off travelling.

0:28:330:28:36

I've been to Paris, Belgium, Portugal,

0:28:360:28:39

and it gave me the confidence to do this trip to Graceland for Elvis,

0:28:390:28:44

to celebrate his birthday.

0:28:440:28:46

Alexis paid £3,500 for the two-week trip and, as on previous holidays,

0:28:480:28:54

had made all the necessary arrangements to make sure

0:28:540:28:56

that her airline, British Airways,

0:28:560:28:58

was aware that she was a wheelchair user.

0:28:580:29:01

So, when the departure date arrived, she boarded the flight from Glasgow

0:29:010:29:05

trusting that her chair would be put in the hold

0:29:050:29:07

and seamlessly transferred to her connecting flight to the US.

0:29:070:29:11

Alexis had also arranged assistance at Heathrow,

0:29:110:29:15

so that she'd be met with another chair

0:29:150:29:17

to help her get across the airport.

0:29:170:29:19

She had 90 minutes to reach the departure gate -

0:29:190:29:22

which, with the help,

0:29:220:29:23

should have been enough.

0:29:230:29:25

But, thanks to fog,

0:29:250:29:27

her flight was over an hour late landing at Heathrow.

0:29:270:29:30

I was worried. "Am I going to miss my flight? What about my friends,

0:29:300:29:35

"how do I tell them where I am...?"

0:29:350:29:37

Erm... The anxiety, the frustration, the anger.

0:29:370:29:42

The fact that it was a holiday of a lifetime

0:29:420:29:44

that was going to be ruined if I didn't get to my flight.

0:29:440:29:49

It eventually became clear that with the late flight,

0:29:500:29:53

the person the airport support company had assigned to meet her

0:29:530:29:57

had clocked off for the day.

0:29:570:29:58

But time was tight, so Alexis decided that

0:29:580:30:00

rather than wait for further support to arrive,

0:30:000:30:03

she'd try to get across the airport on her own.

0:30:030:30:05

But by the time she got to the gate, the flight had gone.

0:30:050:30:08

The next flight to Memphis wasn't for another 24 hours

0:30:080:30:11

so Alexis had to stay in a nearby hotel,

0:30:110:30:14

all the time knowing that the delay

0:30:140:30:15

was eating into her precious holiday time.

0:30:150:30:18

And when she did finally get to her destination, worse was to come.

0:30:180:30:23

Her luggage AND her wheelchair were missing.

0:30:230:30:27

This can't be happening. It's a nightmare.

0:30:270:30:30

Wake me up from it, please! This is an absolute nightmare.

0:30:300:30:33

They've already mucked up the start of my holiday -

0:30:330:30:37

how am I going to get about?

0:30:370:30:39

Alexis checked into the Heartbreak Hotel

0:30:410:30:43

feeling as blue as the man himself.

0:30:430:30:45

She had a jam-packed schedule planned

0:30:450:30:48

with, first up, a tour of Elvis's Memphis.

0:30:480:30:51

But without her lightweight wheelchair,

0:30:510:30:53

and struggling with a much heavier one

0:30:530:30:54

that the tour operator had provided as a temporary replacement,

0:30:540:30:57

such excursions were not easy.

0:30:570:31:00

I had to decide for myself

0:31:000:31:02

which parts I could do and which I couldn't

0:31:020:31:04

because I didn't have my wheelchair,

0:31:040:31:06

and there was too much walking involved.

0:31:060:31:08

Three days into her holiday,

0:31:100:31:12

Alexis WAS finally reunited with her wheelchair.

0:31:120:31:15

But even that wasn't the end of her troubles.

0:31:150:31:18

I was over the moon.

0:31:180:31:19

Until I saw it - because it was broken.

0:31:190:31:22

Erm... And my heart

0:31:220:31:24

just dropped to my feet.

0:31:240:31:26

I was like, "This cannot happen.

0:31:260:31:29

"This is just too much.

0:31:290:31:31

"What am I going to do?"

0:31:320:31:34

The bracket that holds the armrest in place was damaged,

0:31:350:31:39

leaving it dragging onto one of the wheels.

0:31:390:31:41

For Alexis, that made the chair all but useless.

0:31:410:31:44

I was in so much pain and so much discomfort,

0:31:440:31:48

and I was so restricted...

0:31:480:31:50

..and I'd missed so much of the holiday,

0:31:500:31:53

I was just...

0:31:530:31:54

..utterly, utterly despondent.

0:31:540:31:57

Though Alexis was determined to make the best of it,

0:31:580:32:02

much of the rest of the holiday was spent

0:32:020:32:03

trying but failing to get her wheelchair fixed.

0:32:030:32:07

Two weeks later, when she arrived back in Glasgow,

0:32:080:32:11

British Airways did arrange a full repair,

0:32:110:32:13

but by then, it was too late.

0:32:130:32:16

I'm just gutted. Totally gutted

0:32:160:32:18

that my memories are of the disaster

0:32:180:32:21

and not the pleasures of the holiday.

0:32:210:32:23

We took Alexis to meet Billy Finney,

0:32:250:32:28

who repairs and services mobility vehicles such as her wheelchair.

0:32:280:32:32

Alexis, really good to see you.

0:32:320:32:34

Billy's heard numerous similar stories of vital mobility equipment

0:32:340:32:37

rendered unusable because of damage sustained on a flight.

0:32:370:32:42

Ken Carle from Glasgow says it happened to him as well.

0:32:420:32:45

I had a mobility scooter,

0:32:450:32:48

coming back from New Zealand,

0:32:480:32:51

and the scooter was basically destroyed on the plane.

0:32:510:32:55

There was a piece of metal on the scooter

0:32:550:32:59

which was probably

0:32:590:33:00

three-eighths by half an inch

0:33:000:33:04

bent at right angles.

0:33:040:33:06

So the scooter was obviously dropped from a great height, or thrown.

0:33:060:33:10

Billy thinks that Alexis' wheelchair

0:33:100:33:13

may have suffered a similar fate.

0:33:130:33:15

It was this bracket here that was broken,

0:33:150:33:19

which allowed the armrest to drop onto the wheel and act like a brake.

0:33:190:33:24

So that was rubbing on the wheel?

0:33:240:33:26

Yes.

0:33:260:33:27

Without other damage, how could that happen?

0:33:270:33:30

There's only one way.

0:33:300:33:32

There's only one word - impact.

0:33:320:33:35

That's impact damage. It really is.

0:33:350:33:37

Though British Airways did cover the cost of just over £180

0:33:370:33:40

for repairing Alexis's chair,

0:33:400:33:44

Ken's costs weren't totally covered by the airline with which he flew.

0:33:440:33:48

It cost me £1,850 for a new one,

0:33:480:33:50

and they gave me £1,100, eventually.

0:33:500:33:53

Ken was left having to fork out £750

0:33:530:33:57

to replace his damaged mobility scooter.

0:33:570:34:00

And that's because, according to the Montreal Convention,

0:34:020:34:05

which sets the rules around international air travel,

0:34:050:34:09

wheelchairs or mobility scooters

0:34:090:34:11

are classed the same as personal belongings,

0:34:110:34:14

and when personal belongings are lost or damaged in transit,

0:34:140:34:17

airlines are only required to pay up to £1,000 in compensation.

0:34:170:34:22

That can leave owners of damaged mobility aids

0:34:220:34:24

seriously out of pocket,

0:34:240:34:27

which Billy thinks is unfair.

0:34:270:34:29

He believes mobility equipment

0:34:290:34:30

should be classed totally separately

0:34:300:34:33

and can't be compared with your typical lost luggage.

0:34:330:34:37

We need to differentiate,

0:34:380:34:39

because personal belongings - that could be a suitcase

0:34:390:34:42

with a couple of pairs of pants in it,

0:34:420:34:44

or, the other end of the spectrum,

0:34:440:34:46

that personal belonging could be a tailored, bespoke power chair,

0:34:460:34:50

costing tens of thousands of pounds.

0:34:500:34:53

There is chairs on the market,

0:34:530:34:54

there is chairs that people are using,

0:34:540:34:57

and they're worth £30,000, in excess.

0:34:570:35:01

Now, in America, the rules require airlines flying in or out of the US

0:35:020:35:07

to pay the full cost of repairing or replacing mobility equipment

0:35:070:35:10

that's been damaged in transit.

0:35:100:35:12

And the Civil Aviation Authority told us

0:35:140:35:17

that it's gathering data from airlines and airports

0:35:170:35:19

to see if better protection is required in the UK too.

0:35:190:35:23

It points out that the likelihood of a mobility aid

0:35:230:35:26

being damaged at an airport or on a flight

0:35:260:35:28

is very low,

0:35:280:35:30

with only seven complaints

0:35:300:35:31

coming in to the CAA about this issue in 2015.

0:35:310:35:34

In the meantime, however, we put Alexis' case to British Airways.

0:35:360:35:40

The airline told us

0:35:400:35:41

it's "very sorry that Alexis's wheelchair was damaged",

0:35:410:35:45

and while its ground handling teams

0:35:450:35:47

"worked extremely hard to ensure

0:35:470:35:49

"every customer's bag made their flight",

0:35:490:35:51

"on this occasion, the knock-on disruption caused by the fog

0:35:510:35:55

"meant that didn't happen."

0:35:550:35:57

It reiterated that it did pay to repair the chair,

0:35:570:36:00

reimbursed Alexis's expenses, and offered a gesture of goodwill.

0:36:000:36:04

We also spoke to Omniserv, the company responsible

0:36:050:36:08

for providing assistance between flights.

0:36:080:36:11

It, too, said it was "very sorry" that Alexis felt let down,

0:36:110:36:15

explaining that although a standby team WAS activated to assist her,

0:36:150:36:20

there simply wasn't enough time for her to make her flight.

0:36:200:36:23

It went on to say it did everything in its power to help,

0:36:230:36:27

and is committed to providing "legendary service" -

0:36:270:36:31

adding that it helps

0:36:310:36:32

over a million passengers with reduced mobility every year.

0:36:320:36:36

But Alexis says next time she travels,

0:36:370:36:40

she doesn't want to let her wheelchair out of her sight.

0:36:400:36:43

The next time that I go anywhere,

0:36:430:36:45

I will keep my wheelchair to the door of the aeroplane.

0:36:450:36:48

This has made me more aware of the problems that can occur.

0:36:480:36:53

It won't stop me travelling, but

0:36:530:36:57

I'll have to think about it much more carefully,

0:36:570:37:00

and plan more

0:37:000:37:02

than I've ever had to plan before.

0:37:020:37:04

Rip-Off Britain has been on the road again with our annual Pop-Up Shop.

0:37:110:37:15

It's a chance for you to tell us about your holiday woes,

0:37:150:37:18

and for top experts to try and help.

0:37:180:37:21

I mean, the thing is - who DO you sue?

0:37:210:37:24

And, time and again across the weekend,

0:37:260:37:28

you told us about problems caused by delayed flights.

0:37:280:37:32

As we've said before,

0:37:320:37:33

if your flight is delayed by more than three hours,

0:37:330:37:36

you may be entitled to compensation,

0:37:360:37:38

But Christine and Reg from Manchester

0:37:380:37:40

are among those to discover that, even if you qualify,

0:37:400:37:43

getting the airline to actually pay out isn't always easy.

0:37:430:37:46

We were going home from our holiday in Torremolinos,

0:37:480:37:50

and we got on the coach and we checked in,

0:37:500:37:55

and there was an eight-hour delay.

0:37:550:37:58

And were you given meals, drinks commensurate with the delay?

0:37:580:38:02

We were given a voucher. It sort of bought a sandwich and a drink...

0:38:020:38:06

-Yes.

-That was it.

0:38:060:38:08

Anyway, the day went on and, erm,

0:38:080:38:10

all told, it was about a 7.1 hour delay.

0:38:100:38:12

-That's what we were quoted...

-That's what was quoted on the website

0:38:120:38:14

when we went on and had a look.

0:38:140:38:16

It looks to me that it's a perfectly valid claim under EC261 rules.

0:38:160:38:21

For a journey like that - Malaga to Manchester, over 1,500 kilometres -

0:38:210:38:26

that's going to be 400 euros each.

0:38:260:38:28

There's six of you, so

0:38:280:38:30

that's getting on for nearly £2,000 in compensation.

0:38:300:38:34

And it seems to be a fairly straightforward case,

0:38:340:38:36

so what could possibly go wrong?

0:38:360:38:38

Well, I don't know. We applied, we got nothing from that,

0:38:380:38:42

so we applied a second time,

0:38:420:38:45

and a third time,

0:38:450:38:47

and we're sat here now.

0:38:470:38:48

Sadly, this isn't the first time we've heard that airlines

0:38:480:38:51

may not be keen on following the compensation rules.

0:38:510:38:55

Let me just put it into context from, just for a moment,

0:38:550:38:58

the airline's point of view.

0:38:580:38:59

All the airlines hate these rules.

0:38:590:39:01

They say, "It's ridiculous.

0:39:010:39:03

"You might have paid only £50 for your flight from Malaga to Manchester,

0:39:030:39:07

"and yet we have to give you

0:39:070:39:08

"£250, £300 in compensation. It's completely ridiculous."

0:39:080:39:13

So they hate it.

0:39:130:39:15

They will do everything they possibly can to fight it.

0:39:150:39:17

If they can, they'll say it was extraordinary circumstances,

0:39:170:39:21

the weather, a strike...

0:39:210:39:22

In your case it seems as though that's not a possible defence,

0:39:220:39:26

and so what they do is they just blank you.

0:39:260:39:28

Christine and Reg's delayed flight was five-and-a-half years ago,

0:39:300:39:33

so they're just within the six-year limit on making a claim.

0:39:330:39:36

And, even though the airline appears to be ignoring them,

0:39:360:39:39

there are a couple of ways that they could tackle that -

0:39:390:39:41

firstly, by going through the small claims court.

0:39:410:39:45

It's going to cost you, for a claim like that, £105, I think.

0:39:450:39:48

They may, annoyingly, say,

0:39:480:39:49

"No, you've got to claim for everybody individually,"

0:39:490:39:52

in which case it will cost twice as much as that - but don't worry,

0:39:520:39:55

you will get that back with the settlement.

0:39:550:39:57

Or, you go to one of the no-win, no-fee solicitors

0:39:570:40:00

who have been set up and been making fortunes

0:40:000:40:03

by doing kind of industrial scale

0:40:030:40:07

processing of these claims.

0:40:070:40:08

And if you hand your problem to them, they'll say,

0:40:080:40:10

"Yep, we know all about this flight,

0:40:100:40:12

"we've already claimed successfully for it."

0:40:120:40:14

They'll write all the legal letters,

0:40:140:40:16

you will get your money,

0:40:160:40:17

but crucially, they'll keep about a third of it.

0:40:170:40:19

Fight on. Don't let them grind you down,

0:40:190:40:22

which is exactly what they're trying to do.

0:40:220:40:24

Thank you very much.

0:40:240:40:26

Well, just as Christine and Reg began looking into

0:40:260:40:29

the small claims procedure,

0:40:290:40:31

out of the blue, the airline DID finally get in touch -

0:40:310:40:34

with, I'm delighted to say,

0:40:340:40:36

a cheque for just over £1,800,

0:40:360:40:38

to cover compensation for all six of them.

0:40:380:40:42

And though that's great news,

0:40:420:40:44

there were plenty of others still waiting for compensation

0:40:440:40:46

calling into our Pop-Up Shop's Gripe Corner.

0:40:460:40:49

What really annoys me

0:40:490:40:51

is that airlines won't pay out when your flight is delayed.

0:40:510:40:55

When I came back from Australia, one flight was cancelled,

0:40:550:40:58

one was delayed. I was 17 hours late, having paid additional money.

0:40:580:41:02

It's money that we're owed, and thousands of other people are owed.

0:41:020:41:05

Four months later from when I first applied for compensation,

0:41:050:41:09

I have not heard anything...

0:41:090:41:10

And they won't pay out, that's what really, really annoys me.

0:41:100:41:13

I'm still waiting. And it really annoys me.

0:41:130:41:16

If you have a story you'd like us to investigate,

0:41:220:41:24

then we now have even more ways to get in touch.

0:41:240:41:27

You can join in the conversation on our Facebook page -

0:41:270:41:30

just look for BBC Rip-Off Britain.

0:41:300:41:32

As well as the most up-to-date news, you'll also find exclusive

0:41:320:41:35

behind-the-scenes clips and pictures from the show.

0:41:350:41:38

Or you can log onto our website,

0:41:400:41:43

bbc.co.uk/ripoffbritain,

0:41:430:41:45

where there's plenty of advice and fact sheets

0:41:450:41:48

full of tips on how you can avoid getting ripped off.

0:41:480:41:52

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

0:41:520:41:55

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

0:41:590:42:02

Well, I'm afraid that's just about all we have time for today,

0:42:150:42:18

but some of the really shocking experiences we've just heard

0:42:180:42:20

simply underline how vital it is

0:42:200:42:23

that the companies we rely on to look after us when we're away

0:42:230:42:26

do step up to the mark

0:42:260:42:27

and put things right when we need their help.

0:42:270:42:29

After all - THEY'RE supposed to be the experts, not us.

0:42:290:42:33

Which, of course, makes it all the more absurd

0:42:330:42:35

to hear of that company that was sending people to villas

0:42:350:42:38

that they had no right to be in.

0:42:380:42:40

But indeed, some of the stories that we hear on this programme

0:42:400:42:43

genuinely do leave me, and all of us, I think, absolutely astonished.

0:42:430:42:46

But there is no doubt that when the company with whom you book

0:42:460:42:50

doesn't quite live up to its promises,

0:42:500:42:52

it really can completely derail the rest of your trip.

0:42:520:42:55

Well, clearly, some of the businesses that do so well

0:42:550:42:58

at winning our custom in the first place

0:42:580:43:00

need to really try that bit harder in their service

0:43:000:43:02

after we've handed over the cash.

0:43:020:43:05

But that's the point, I'm afraid, we have to leave it for today.

0:43:050:43:07

We're going to be back to investigate more of your holiday horror stories very soon.

0:43:070:43:11

So, until then, from all of us in the sunshine, bye-bye.

0:43:110:43:13

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

0:43:130:43:14

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