Episode 2 Rip Off Britain

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

holidays? And you came back with a catalogue of travel disasters.

Letting us come all this way to be told we're going home on the next

day? Just furious!

It has tainted the whole experience of booking holidays and trusting

-companies.

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

mistake, or indeed a catch in the small print,

we'll find out why you are out of pocket,

and what you can do about it.

Your stories, your money.

This is Rip-Off Britain.

Hello, and welcome to a very bright and sunny edition

of Rip-Off Britain,

where, for this special series, we're right here in Tenerife,

investigating more of the problems about which you've contacted us to

do with holidays and travel. And I tell you, we're going to be looking

-at some particularly shocking cases today.

-Yes, I have no doubt that one

or two of them will absolutely get your blood boiling, because they all

involve situations that have left people out of pocket,

severely inconvenienced or, in some cases, both,

thanks to the widely differing interpretation of the rules,

and even the law.

Now, in some cases, the regulations have simply been misunderstood.

But for the rest, let us just say that the rules are a little unclear,

allowing the companies involved to have it all their way,

while, one way or another, you lose out.

Well, we're going to have the information you need to make sure

that doesn't happen to you on your next trip.

Coming up...the airlines routinely overbooking their flights.

Could that mean your holiday starts the way this woman's did,

by being split up from her family

and refused the seat that she'd paid for?

When I had to wave goodbye to the children,

I was trying so hard to smile,

but I was still crying.

And Paralympian Libby Clegg exposes the hotels that risk breaking the

law by telling guests their guide dogs can't stay.

He just turned round to me and went, "No dogs allowed."

And I was just like, "You can't refuse her, you're breaking the law."

If you've ever booked a particular flight for a holiday or a business

trip, say, then the chances are it's because that is the flight you want

to be on. So you pay your money, job done.

Not necessarily so.

Unfortunately, there are some airlines who are repeatedly

overbooking their flights, which means, when you get to the airport,

somebody has got to get off that plane.

Now, usually they do ask for volunteers

and put them on a different flight.

But as you've been telling us, it's not always that simple,

and it can be a very distressing situation.

But hopefully not anything like as distressing as the situation that

occurred when one airline, who used a method to free up a seat which,

well, frankly, made headlines all over the world.

SCREAMING

It's hard to forget this mobile phone footage of a distressed

passenger being dragged off a United Airlines flight.

No, this is wrong! Oh, my God, look at what you did to him!

Oh, my God!

Staff forcibly removed from the plane a man who refused to give up

his seat when the airline said that it needed it.

United has since apologised to the man and compensated him,

but the case certainly brought to focus the issue of overbooking on

flights.

And while such heavy-handed tactics are not likely to be repeated,

the numbers of passengers who lose their already paid for seats on

planes is estimated at around 50,000 people every year.

Now, that's not always bad news,

as volunteers do usually receive some sort of compensation.

But it's one thing to choose to leave an overbooked flight,

quite another to have that decision made for you.

Especially if you're about to take off on a family holiday,

which is exactly what happened to Iona Delgado and her husband,

and their two children,

when they were due to board a flight from Cardiff to Alicante,

with the Spanish airline Vueling.

We go to Spain usually once or twice a year, because my husband's

Spanish, so we go to visit his family.

The children love going because they get to see their family and have a

bit of sun, as well, and have a holiday.

On the day of the flight, with two children and all of their luggage,

Iona and her husband arrived at Cardiff Airport in good time to

check in. But when they got to the Vueling desk,

they were in for a shock.

The lady looked a bit hesitant, slightly confused, and then she

said, "Unfortunately, only three of you can fly today."

So...I...

Well, I laughed at first and said, "What do you mean?

"There's four of us, we've got four tickets."

And she said, "Well, the flight's overbooked, so only three of you can fly."

To solve the overbooking problem,

passengers had been randomly selected to be taken off the flight

they'd chosen and bumped onto the next available,

and Iona's husband was among those picked.

Well, we were just absolutely gobsmacked.

I just thought, "This is crazy, there's no way that he's not going to fly."

Unfortunately, there was no room for negotiation.

Only three of the family could fly together.

They reluctantly decided that it made more sense for it to be Iona

that stayed behind, as the hire car in Spain was in her husband's name.

So the devastated mum had no choice but to stand and watch as the rest

of the family set off on holiday without her.

When I had to wave goodbye to the children,

I was trying so hard to smile...

..but I was still crying, and no matter how hard I tried,

I couldn't stop crying. And they could see that.

And I just felt terrible, waving goodbye to them...

..knowing that they were going to be upset getting on the plane.

11-year-old Luis felt terrible leaving his mum behind.

It was really upsetting, and I just...

Yeah, I just felt really sad.

And I felt really bad for her, as well.

To make matters worse, the next available flight wasn't a simple one.

Iona had to fly via Amsterdam, stay overnight there,

and then fly on to Alicante the next day.

We booked this holiday six months before,

we'd been looking forward to it,

the first holiday that the four of us had gone on in a long time.

And suddenly, because of overbooking, one of us can't fly.

It just ruins the whole thing.

Iona was offered 250 euros in compensation,

but she doesn't feel that that makes up for losing a day of her family

-holiday.

-I definitely don't think the compensation was worth it.

I would have much rather been with my family than having the 250 euros

compensation.

I really don't think they should be doing this.

I just don't really see the point of it, the benefit.

You know, you're spoiling people's holidays,

and it's not the right thing to do.

Well, when we contacted the airline, Vueling,

it apologised for the inconvenience caused to Iona and her family,

but said that overbooking is a commercial practice implemented by

most airlines in order to offer the best rates to customers.

It stressed it always aims to offer the best possible alternatives to

those affected - in this case,

booking Iona on the next available flight to minimise disruption,

and that it meets all European Union regulations regarding compensation.

Now, of course, the number of passengers who are denied boarding

because their seats are overbooked is just a small percentage

of the millions of passengers who fly every year.

But for those like Iona, who don't get a say in the matter,

it can cause huge stress and disappointment.

And it can be hard to understand why on earth airlines would want to

overbook seats anyway.

Well, airline pricing expert Oliver Ranson says, as ever,

it all comes down to money.

Airlines overbook flights because they operate in a very tough

economic environment where the sale of every seat matters.

The more passengers they can get onto the plane, the better.

And sometimes, when passengers don't turn up for their flight,

that would mean that, if they hadn't overbooked,

a seat would have been wasted.

Oliver says that, when managed properly,

overbooking can help airlines make some extra profit,

allowing them to balance out some of the heavy losses that they may

suffer in other parts of the business

without needing to increase fares.

Sometimes airlines won't overbook flights at all.

On a flight to Florida in the summer,

where every passenger is starting in London,

it's very unlikely that the airline is going to overbook because they

know that everyone is going to show up for that flight.

On the other hand, a busy business flight,

London to Frankfurt for example, could have a lot of travellers

cancelling because their plans change. And when that happens,

the airline will know that they can overbook by a good proportion,

sometimes by up to 50%,

and the flight will still go with some seats empty.

Airlines have to follow very clear EU regulations when dealing with

overbooked passengers.

They should start by asking for volunteers,

who will usually be offered money as an incentive.

But if there aren't enough,

they are able to deny boarding to passengers,

provided they offer compensation, cover certain out-of-pocket

expenses, and arrange an alternative flight as soon as possible.

But among those unhappy about the whole practice of overbooking is

Casper Reid, from West Sussex, and his mum Stephanie.

In the summer of 2017, Casper, who was 15 at the time,

was flying solo from Gatwick to Toulouse with EasyJet,

to visit his grandparents in France.

I went to the airport, we did the check-in,

we were given a boarding pass,

and I left him at the departure gate, and everything was fine.

With Casper airside and ready to fly, Stephanie made her way home.

But she soon received an unexpected call.

He called to say it was, he had been kicked off the plane.

So, you know, I was a bit...

..shocked and surprised,

and I could feel in his voice that he was really upset.

Stephanie raced back to the airport to find Casper in the departure

lounge. Despite being a child,

he'd been told by EasyJet staff that, as the plane was overbooked,

he'd have to sit and wait for the next available flight.

I think it was really disgraceful

that he was kicked off the plane and left on his own in the departure

zone...not knowing what to do.

To make matters worse, both the next two flights were fully booked,

meaning that Casper had to wait

another ten hours before he could fly.

I think the way EasyJet treated my son was really appalling.

I think it was really irresponsible and unprofessional.

Casper wasn't best pleased, either.

Not least because he felt there were other passengers flying on their own

that might have been better for the airline to bump from the flight

-instead of him.

-I got annoyed, cos I was a child.

There was a young 25, 30-year-old man there,

and he could've easily got off for me.

But according to EasyJet's terms, though Casper is classed as a child,

14 to 15-year-olds can travel on their own, just like an adult.

As a result, when the airline couldn't get volunteers and picked

the people who wouldn't be able to board,

he was lumped in with everyone else.

Even so, there's been a positive development on the story.

When we contacted EasyJet, it told us that, since Casper's experience,

it's reviewed and changed its procedures to protect unaccompanied

minors being overbooked.

The airline added that it had apologised to Casper at the time,

looked after him at the airport, and offered the required compensation.

EasyJet went on to say that, in 97% of cases, it gets overbooking right,

and that less than 1% of passengers are ever denied boarding.

What's more, the company says that, if it didn't overbook and flew

with emptier planes due to no-shows,

then it would force up prices for everyone else.

But Stephanie, and the many of you who've contacted us about this

issue, still thinks if you've booked and paid for a particular flight,

you should be on it.

I think the overbooking system is really wrong,

and when you buy your ticket, it should be...

..you should have a seat guaranteed.

Now, not all airlines routinely overbook.

In fact, some, for example Ryanair,

says it's the only airline in Europe not to do so.

US airline JetBlue also promises no overbooking.

But it is done by just about everyone else.

So Oliver Ranson would like to see the airlines introduce fairer,

more transparent systems when

selecting which passengers to remove.

Sometimes overbooking goes wrong,

and airlines can really improve the selection process.

They can take into account individual circumstances much better

than they do, and they should be more persistent

in calling for volunteers.

But if no amount of cash would tempt you to volunteer,

and you'd really rather stay on the flight that you've chosen,

Oliver has some tips to reduce the chance of being asked to leave an

overbooked plane.

My top tips to avoid being bumped off are joining the

airline's frequent-flyer scheme,

so that they know you're a loyal customer.

Checking in online, plenty of time ahead,

so that they know that you're going to come.

And turning up at the airport early, so that they know you're there.

My secret tip is to order an in-flight meal,

and you'll be their top priority to get on board.

But after her experience,

Iona, too, would like to see the airlines review their overbooking

procedures, so that other families

don't have their holidays ruined in the same way as hers.

I don't agree with overbooking but, if it does happen,

there should be a system in place to make sure that

everyone gets the same treatment.

There are certain elements of travelling - for example,

navigating your way around an unfamiliar place,

getting on public transport, or indeed checking into hotels -

which although part of the adventure,

can sometimes be a bit of a challenge.

And for anyone who is blind or partially-sighted,

they can be even more daunting.

But thanks to fully-trained assistance dogs that go everywhere

with their owners and help them with even the smallest of tasks,

these obstacles can very easily be overcome.

In fact, so essential are these animals that today

it's the law to accommodate them in public places.

But it's clear that not all hotels have quite got that message.

As one of the fastest women on Earth,

champion sprinter Libby Clegg is well used to being under pressure.

But over the last few years,

she's earned dozens of awards for her athletic ability.

-COMMENTATOR:

-And Libby Clegg gets the Gold medal!

Her most recent world famous being two Golds at the Rio 2016

Paralympics. Libby's eye condition

means that her sight is deteriorating,

but clearly that has never held her back.

I am a really independent person, and that's through my sport.

I've had the confidence over the years to deal with different

situations, so I never really let it get me down in the sense

that I wouldn't go out and do stuff.

Off the track, Libby is helped with day-to-day activities by Hattie,

a very clever guide dog.

I've had Hattie, my guide dog, for just over three years now.

And ever since I've had her, it's just been absolutely life-changing.

I don't feel as anxious crossing roads. It's much safer.

I don't bump into people as much as I did before. SHE LAUGHS

With Hattie by her side,

Libby says there's not much that she actually can't do.

And wherever she goes, Hattie goes as well.

In fact, the law in the UK's very clear about that.

From major events to pubs and hotels,

guide dogs or assistance dogs have to be accommodated.

But recently, Libby experienced a problem with that

when trying to book a hotel.

I was invited to go to Wimbledon and sit in the royal box.

So myself and my partner, you know, we're really looking forward to it.

He also can't see very well and has a guide dog,

so it was going to be a really nice little trip away.

As this was a very special treat,

Libby pushed the boat out and booked a 5-star hotel in Central London -

a room for her, her partner, and their respective guide dogs.

Normally, when I go away, I don't call the hotel to check whether I

can take my guide dog or not, because legally

they have to accept a working dog,

an assistance dog.

But at check-in, Libby says staff at the hotel were not as clear on the

law as they should've been.

I was just explaining to the

gentleman on reception that I had a guide dog.

And I was just informing him of that, so, you know, he was aware.

And he just turned round to me and went, "No dogs allowed."

And I was just like,

"Um, excuse me, it's a guide dog, like I've just said,

"and it's a working dog, so, you know, you can't refuse her,

"so you're breaking the law."

Give me a paw. Oh, thank you, Hattie.

-Give me your other paw. Oh, thank you.

-Libby was horrified.

She found herself having to explain that the law does make it very clear

that dogs like Hattie have to be accommodated.

And it was only after discussion with the manager that both

assistance dogs were eventually allowed in.

But Libby was really startled by the whole experience.

That situation should never have happened, and, you know,

it's definitely down to lack of staff training.

I was really cross, because I just kind of thought, you know,

"In this day and age, this should not be happening."

It really shouldn't.

In fact, any hotel excluding a guide dog in this way,

through ignorance or not, would be guilty of discrimination.

But it's clear that not all places to stay are aware of that...

..because Cathy Albutt from Devon has experienced the same problem.

Her son Trevor is registered blind,

and when two of his friends, who are also blind, visited from America,

Cathy says she too had huge problems trying to book a hotel in London for

them, simply because one of the group had a guide dog.

I tried to book them into a hotel,

and they asked how many people it was for.

And I said, "For the four of us, plus a guide dog,"

and immediately was told, "No pets allowed."

I said it wasn't a pet, it was a guide dog, a service animal,

to come with us to the hotel,

and was completely turned down straightaway.

Hoping this was a one-off, Cathy tried another hotel in the same

area, but we're afraid was met with the same response.

In fact, Cathy says that all ten of the hotels she contacted said the

same thing - "No dogs allowed."

I was really angry and embarrassed, really,

that our friends from America had come over to London, capital city,

and we're having problems trying to find somewhere for them to stay for

the evening.

Like Libby, Cathy had tried explaining that hotels have a legal

requirement to treat visually impaired people exactly the same as

everyone else, and that means accommodating their assistance dogs

if there's room. But she said it made no difference.

There was no discussion at all about the reasoning,

they just flatly said. "No, company policy."

Although Cathy did eventually find a place to stay,

she was now very disappointed and hurt by the reaction she'd had.

I was just embarrassed and disappointed that people who have

got a visual impairment, whether with a guide dog or not,

are treated so badly in all these hotels.

Still smarting from her experiences,

Cathy invited Libby round so that they can see if staff at the hotels

that turned her away are any clearer on the law now.

-We'll give them a ring and see.

-We'll give them a call now.

-Yes.

-INTERNAL RINGTONE

-'Good morning.'

Oh, good morning. We're thinking of coming to London,

and want to make a booking for some people,

one of which has got a guide dog.

-It's a service animal, yes.

-'Yeah.'

-Thank you.

-Thank you, bye-bye.

-Bye.

I kind of felt a bit bad for that man, actually, because it's

-obviously not his decision...

-Mmm.

-..and he's just following protocol.

-It's disappointing, though.

-Yeah.

But Libby's sympathy wears thin when she sees how widespread this

-problem can be.

-So I'm looking at coming down in the next couple of

-weeks...

-'Yeah.'

-..for two people and a guide dog.

Yes, an assistance dog.

-OK, thank you very much.

-'Is that fine?'

-Oh, dear.

So that receptionist didn't know the rules.

If it was company policy,

-the management would have trained the staff...

-And they didn't.

-..with this incorporated in it.

-Yeah.

-And she would already know whether it was.

-It's just disappointing, isn't it?

-It's frustrating.

It's a problem that's all-too-familiar to Helen Honstvet,

from the charity Guide Dogs For The Blind.

The impact of an access refusal on an assistance dog owner can be huge.

It can really knock somebody's confidence in going to new places,

and the whole point of a guide dog is to give people independence and

mobility. So if it's limiting the new places that people are going to

go to, that's a really bad thing.

It's also against the law.

But despite what the law says,

the charity estimates that around 70% of blind or partially-sighted

people will have been turned away from shops, restaurants,

-or public transport at some point.

-DOG BARKS

So, after hearing Libby and Cathy's experiences,

we wanted to get a wider sense of how many hotels might be getting

this wrong.

We rang 50 hotels in popular destinations around the UK,

each time asking to book a room, making it clear we have a guide dog.

I use a guide dog. Would I be OK to stay at your hotel?

Of the 50 places we called, the overwhelming majority, 45 of them,

said that they would accept assistance dogs.

But although that seems like a positive result, out of these

hotels, nine of them, in an experience that mirrors Libby's,

seem very unsure,

only agreeing after double-checking with management.

And that's something that Helen feels really needs to be addressed.

This really signals to me that staff are not being properly trained

in how to welcome disabled people,

and assistance dog owners in particular, to their business.

It would be really great to see businesses looking to make sure that

all of their staff are properly trained.

Many already do this but,

where it doesn't happen, it can cause real problems.

What's more, two of the 45 hotels that said yes made it clear that,

although they would accept the dog,

there would be an extra charge.

And what's the £10 charge for, sorry?

And at the second of these hotels,

the charge amounted to an extra 50% of the total price of the room.

So, sorry, it's £25 for the dog, and how much for deep cleaning?

Of the remaining five hotels, one simply didn't know,

and the other four? Well,

that's where we find the most concerning behaviour.

All of them refused to accept a guide dog for various reasons.

My dog is trained...

They are all, I'm afraid, breaking the law.

Do you know why not?

Why is it I can't stay in your hotel, sorry, with the dog?

While the majority of places we called would let a guide dog in,

enough were unsure, or indeed got it wrong,

to confirm Libby's fear that hotel staff do not

fully understand the law.

And, as a result, people who rely on assistance dogs aren't getting the

equal treatment they should.

And when Libby shared our results

with Helen from Guide Dogs For The Blind, she was equally unimpressed

with some of the detail of what we were told.

What do you think of the two hotels that said, "Yes, but there would be a charge"?

It's against the law.

Under no circumstances should they be charging you anything extra to

-stay there.

-One of the hotels said no because they had a carpet.

Hotels and bed and breakfasts have a duty to welcome assistance dog

owners into their premises,

and to make sure that they have the same positive experience as any

other guests, and the examples that you've given me definitely wouldn't

be cause to refuse access to an assistance dog owner.

Well, after making those calls,

we did contact the hotels that gave us incorrect information,

and we put them right on what they should be saying

to anyone with a guide dog.

And, back on track, Libby is determined to keep up the pressure

-on hotels to do the right thing.

-In the service industry, you know,

there needs to be more knowledge on the difference between, you know,

a guide dog or an assistance dog and, you know, a pet,

that there is a massive difference. It isn't a pet, it is a working dog,

and it's there to do a job and assist the person.

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain...

A precious holiday meticulously planned -

so why was this family's trip such a let-down?

I am absolutely devastated, the way I've been treated.

More so for my grandson, who's not getting memories

of what...of a holiday that I wanted him to have.

Our travel expert Simon Calder

is full of tips to save you money on your travels.

He's got plenty of advice on everything, from how to avoid the

crowds, to the best way to steer clear of tourist traps.

This time, it's all about one of Europe's most visited cities -

Barcelona.

Millions of visitors head to this beautiful Spanish city every year,

and to Las Ramblas,

the famous pedestrianised boulevard that runs through the heart of it.

In August 2017,

the Ramblas was the location for a dreadful terrorist attack.

Yet its popularity as a tourist destination was undimmed by that

-awful event.

-Thankfully, such events are very rare,

but what sadly isn't are the petty thieves who haunt not just

Las Ramblas, but all of Barcelona's most popular sites,

preying on distracted tourists.

I've experienced attempted theft no fewer than three times.

And so you don't learn the hard way, like Simon did,

here are the thieves' most common tricks to watch out for.

The simple phone grab!

Keep an iron grip.

The attempted bag snatch!

And the too-casually-placed wallet.

Yes, it's a bit of a free-for-all,

so be very aware of your surroundings.

And best of all, don't go out with anything you can't afford to lose.

It's easy to see why tourists are so distracted,

with some of the most awe-inspiring architecture in the world,

including this - the Sagrada Familia.

Beauty like this comes at a price - 15 euros is the standard entry fee.

But, ever resourceful,

Simon has found ways that at least some people can get in for less.

If you happen to be under 30, take your passport.

You'll save two euros.

And if you have younger children,

take them before their 11th birthday -

they'll get in free.

And if Barcelona itself isn't enough,

then Spain's fabulous train network can shuttle you to an entirely

different city in next to no time.

In under three hours, you can be in the Spanish capital, Madrid,

or even across the border

in the beautiful French city of Montpellier.

As always, book well ahead to get the best fares.

Now, we all know that some holidays take months to arrange.

Working out exactly where you want to go,

and whether it's got the facilities to keep everyone you're travelling

with happy, involves a lot of time and effort.

So, if the holiday company you booked with suddenly changes one or

other element of your carefully-planned and

put-together trip,

it could be very annoying and make a big difference to how much you enjoy

it. That's especially the case if what's being altered is something

which you think is fundamental.

In your terms, it's a major change to what you'd envisaged.

Trouble is, what you consider to be major may be rather more minor to

the holiday company, and that's a difference of opinion that can

lead to a real problem.

The perfect holiday takes a lot of planning.

Whether it's choosing flights at a particular time,

or finding a hotel with just the right combination of activities and

facilities, you may have put a lot of effort into

pulling all the elements together.

When Lynn Crawford, from County Durham, was organising a holiday for

her grandson Jaden and his mum Claire,

she knew exactly what she wanted.

I promised my grandson of two years old that I would take him on holiday

when he was six, to have memories.

The holiday was just for him, I wanted him to be occupied,

from getting up to going to bed.

I wanted play areas, splash parks, clubs,

whatever, to keep him busy all day.

So Lynn went to her local travel agent, Hays Travel,

where she was thrilled to hear about an all-inclusive holiday to Tenerife

with Jet2holidays,

which seemed, from the website, to tick all the boxes.

When I went to see the agent,

she told me that there was apartments in Los Cristianos that

had an indoor play area, it had a swimming pool, it had a splash park,

and that there was activities for Jaden all day,

which sounded absolutely perfect.

The only snag was that the picture of the splash park on the hotel's

website was labelled as an artist's impression.

I asked about the splash park and why it was artist impressions, and

they said that they hadn't received the photographs yet of the new one.

Lynn was told that the splash park was still being built,

and while the notes on the agent's system stated it would be ready for

summer 2017, there was a chance it might not be fully open.

Even so, Lynn continued with the booking,

happy that, with the soft play area and the children's entertainment,

there'd still be plenty for Jaden to do.

-What have you done? Fall?

-But just four days before their trip,

Lynn and Claire received an e-mail from Jet2holidays,

telling them that the hotel's indoor soft play area,

which Jaden had been especially looking forward to, was closed.

I was absolutely gutted, but there was so much else in the package that

would keep him entertained that we were still looking forward to going,

and Jaden was still excited about going,

even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to play indoors.

So the family made the trip to Tenerife,

confident that this child-friendly hotel would keep Jaden entertained.

But, on arrival, Lynn, Claire,

and Jaden couldn't find any sign of the much anticipated splash park.

Far from being unfinished,

it appeared to them that building work hadn't even started.

We did have a look around the hotel. It was built up around the pool.

There was the bar, there was the rooms, there was no splash park

anywhere. We looked, for the life of us, we looked, we couldn't find it.

And when they asked at reception,

they were told the splash park was being built,

but it was only in the very early stages.

He was absolutely devastated.

He has been to a splash park before, so he knows what one is,

and to know that it's not there,

he was absolutely gutted.

The hotel did offer the family unlimited passes to another water

park out of the resort, but that was a bus ride away,

so it didn't make up for not having the expected splash park onsite.

It all felt very different from the family-friendly hotel that Lynn had

deliberately chosen.

It wasn't catered for kids at all. There was no splash park,

there was no entertainment for him.

As far as Lynn's concerned, she didn't get the holiday she paid for.

So when she arrived back in the UK, she complained to the travel agent,

who referred her back to the package provider, Jet2holidays,

but that company disagreed that the holiday had been ruined.

As far as my complaint for the holiday,

I just got the impression that, "You've had a holiday,"

and that just nobody was taking me serious.

The company also told Lynn that children's entertainment is subject

to change, depending on season and occupancy level.

But Lynn says this wasn't something she was told

when she booked the trip.

And in any case, it wasn't just one child-friendly element she felt was

missing - it was all of them.

And for her, that was a major change from what she'd booked.

To some people, this might not be a big issue to them.

If the splash park wasn't there, or the soft play area wasn't there.

But to me, it was a one-off holiday that I paid for,

for everything to be there for Jaden.

Just for Jaden. And we didn't get that.

And solicitor Gary Rycroft agrees.

He can see why Lynn feels aggrieved,

and he believes that she shouldn't give up on her complaint.

You aren't going to be able to bring a claim if the weather isn't quite

as nice as you were expecting,

but you are going to be able to bring a claim if you think the value

of your holiday wasn't what you paid for,

because there weren't facilities that you were, in essence,

paying for under the contract,

or if there have been things that have happened which have

significantly reduced your enjoyment, because the swimming pool

wasn't open, because excursions that were promised couldn't take place,

because the children's entertainer promised wasn't there.

Gary thinks it's worth Lynn taking her case to the ABTA arbitration

scheme, which was set up to try and resolve cases like this one.

The application process costs £108, but Gary reckons it's worth it.

It's often much more cost-effective and, indeed, less stressful,

to go to arbitration than to go to court.

So, although the ABTA arbitration scheme does cost, in my view,

that is money very well spent indeed.

We spoke to both the companies Lynn has been dealing with.

The travel agent, Hays Travel,

said it was sorry her holiday didn't live up to expectations,

but that, as it was acting as agent on behalf of the tour operator,

it could only relay the information available at the time of booking.

Meanwhile, Jet2 told us that Lynn should have been told that the

splash park was not yet open,

and apologised for not letting her know that it was closed.

But it believes that, as Lynn and her family had unlimited access and

free travel to a nearby water park,

the trip still constitutes a child-friendly holiday.

So it's clear that, even if you think a change in your holiday was major

enough to have a significant impact,

the company you booked with won't always agree,

and proving your case, particularly when it comes to standards of

accommodation or facilities,

isn't easy when, in most cases,

there is no official definition of what makes a change major or minor.

Things are a little clearer with flights,

where what's considered a major change is spelled out more clearly.

The industry says it's if you end up flying to a different

destination, or your flight time is altered by more than 12 hours.

But for Alison Miller,

a change of far less time could still have major implications.

Alison has type 1 diabetes,

and managing her condition means any travel has to be meticulously

-planned.

-Being able to fly at a certain time,

being able to have the time in the morning to prepare,

to be able to get to a resort, to be able to have a meal,

to be able to have access to food and drink is really important to me.

So when she and her husband Alan

booked a seven-day break to Greece in 2017 to celebrate a friend's 70th

birthday, Alison organised it all especially carefully.

So we chose to fly an afternoon flight, 2pm in the afternoon,

because it gives us the added bonus of landing at a reasonable time in

resort. We'd arranged to meet up with the rest of the party, to have

a meal, and it's also better for me, due to my health condition.

Alison booked flights with Thomas Cook through the agent On The Beach,

but it was only when one of the party tried to book them all into

the airport's VIP lounge as a special treat that they found out

their flights had been shifted three-and-a-half hours later to 5:30pm.

Obviously, we chose flight times

that met our needs for specific reasons.

I was told by the customer service person at On The Beach that,

as it was a minor change,

that there was nothing that we could do about it.

The change in flight time, though significant to Alison,

was classed as minor because it was under 12 hours.

But that wasn't the end of it.

Alison's return flight was also moved from 9pm at night to 12:45am.

She'd only get back to the UK at 3:10am in the morning,

meaning she'd be unlikely to be in a fit state for her job as a social

worker, so she'd have to take an extra day off.

I don't agree that travelling the early hours of the following day is

a minor change. I don't agree that I have to take an extra day's holiday

from work because of a minor change.

I don't think that that's fair.

And again, solicitor Gary Rycroft agrees.

He'd argue that, in light of Alison's medical condition,

and the fact that she was only going away for seven days,

she would have grounds to claim the changed flight times were a

significant alteration to her plans.

It would be a major change to most people's holiday to have a

significant change in the time of your flight.

However, in Alison's case,

it's even more compelling because she is diabetic,

and so, for her particularly,

this is a significant and major change to her holiday

and, in my view,

it is of the magnitude which entitles her to cancel her holiday

and have a full refund.

Alison and Alan stuck to their guns, and the airline Thomas Cook

did finally agree to move their flights to more convenient times on

the following day.

But that still left Alison having to take an extra day's leave that

she hadn't originally planned.

Well, of course, we contacted the two companies involved.

The booking agent, On The Beach, told us that it had advised Alison

of the changes eight weeks ahead of her departure and, while it

understands the frustration,

airline changes are outside its control.

It reiterated that, under the rules of the airline,

this was classed as a minor change.

As for Thomas Cook,

it too said it understands how frustrating such changes can be,

but it does try to keep any disruption to a minimum,

and to give customers as much notice as possible about any changes.

In this case, it says it told On The Beach of the revised times

six months before departure.

But both Alison and Lynn's cases show just how tricky it can be for

customers to establish whether they have genuine grounds for complaint

following a disappointing holiday.

So Gary suggests one thing that can help is to put it all down in

writing when you book the parts of the trip

you'd consider most essential.

If you're told about things that will happen at the hotel,

or things that go on in the resort,

if you're told that the resort is very quiet and it isn't when you get

there, then it's really helpful for you to have written down those

representations that were made to you by the holiday company at the

time of your booking. Because although those representations

aren't, strictly speaking, part of the contract,

if they have induced you to sign the contract,

then it's really important that there is a record of what was said

to you at the time, because in that case

they can be inferred as part of the contract.

But since neither of the companies in her case have budged,

Lynn remains bitterly disappointed by a holiday she's adamant wasn't

the one she'd booked and paid for.

I am absolutely devastated, the way I've been treated.

More so for my grandson, who's not getting memories

of what, of a holiday that I wanted him to have.

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Well, I'm afraid that's just about it from us for today, but, you know,

I have to say I was absolutely shocked at just how some of

those hotels really did not know the law when it came to giving access to

guide dogs. I really do hope that, after being contacted by us,

those who got it wrong will indeed change their policies,

and get themselves up to speed with the law.

Absolutely right. But, you know, it's the airlines overbooking

seats on flights that really bothers me,

and I totally felt for that poor mum who couldn't get on the plane with

her family, even though they'd booked it months in advance.

Altogether, so disappointing.

But doing this programme, I often wonder, do big companies sometimes

forget what it's like to be on the receiving end of their own policies?

Good question. Well, to put it mildly,

there seems to be an awful lot of confusion out there -

not just among customers but, rather more worryingly, from some of the

businesses responsible for taking care of your trip.

So we really hope that today we've been able to clarify a few things,

so that your next holiday is the enjoyable time it's supposed to be.

We'll see you again very soon

-but, for now, from all of us, goodbye.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.