:00:21. > :00:28.We asked you to tell us who has left you feeling ripped off.
:00:28. > :00:31.think it is very, very wrong for what they have done. The bank pass
:00:32. > :00:35.charges, upon charges, upon charges. Legally it was right, morally, that
:00:35. > :00:40.is where the question and doubt comes in my view. You contacted us
:00:40. > :00:44.in your thousands, by post, e-mail, even stopping us in the street. And
:00:44. > :00:49.the message could not be clearer. You don't always get a straight
:00:49. > :00:52.answer, they try to to be you off. I'm not happy at all. There is
:00:52. > :00:56.always the small print with the clause in thaw didn't realise.
:00:56. > :01:00.are being ripped off big time. Whether it is a deliberate rip-off,
:01:00. > :01:04.a simple mistake, or a catch in the small print, we will find out why
:01:04. > :01:08.you are out of pocket, and what you can do about it. Keep asking the
:01:08. > :01:18.questions, go to the top if you have to. We do get results, that is
:01:18. > :01:26.
:01:26. > :01:30.the interesting thing. Your stories, your money, this is Rippon.
:01:30. > :01:34.- Rip-Off Britain, welcome. Our aim is to investigate your stories and
:01:34. > :01:37.give you the advice you need. We take on the companies no matter
:01:37. > :01:41.how big or small on your behalf, and get the answers you deserve.
:01:41. > :01:46.Today we will tackle the many pitfalls you have been talking
:01:46. > :01:48.about in your holidays. The major concern is what many of you think
:01:48. > :01:53.are unjust surcharges and administration fees.
:01:53. > :01:56.Still to come on Rip-Off Britain, we tackle the issue of on-line
:01:56. > :02:03.booking charges, why should you have to pay an extra cost just to
:02:03. > :02:07.book a flight. We have made an extra �620 last year, for doing
:02:07. > :02:10.absolutely nothing except booking a ticket with them and giving them
:02:10. > :02:15.the custom. Our travel expert had some brilliant advice for the
:02:15. > :02:18.people calling in to our pop-up shop. It is the airline which said,
:02:18. > :02:24.when you turned up at the airport with the story, they said sorry we
:02:24. > :02:29.won't take you. That strikes me as really, really hard hearted.
:02:29. > :02:34.On to a subject, which judges from your e-mail, is one of the single
:02:34. > :02:36.most infuriating things about buying a flight, that is the extra
:02:36. > :02:41.charges that you will often need to pay, just for the privilege of
:02:41. > :02:45.being able to use your own debit or credit card to purchase the ticket.
:02:45. > :02:48.Surcharges like this have come under severe criticism from
:02:48. > :02:51.consumer groups, and most recently from the Office of Fair Trading,
:02:51. > :02:56.who have now started a formal investigation into whether or not
:02:56. > :02:59.companies are actually hiding these extra costs from customers when
:02:59. > :03:02.they are booking on-line. They are cost that is can very quickly add
:03:02. > :03:11.up, especially if you are travelling in a group, and with
:03:11. > :03:18.unairline in particular. Meet some of the members of the
:03:18. > :03:23.Society of Mary in Ipswich. Rosemary, Bridgette, Celia and
:03:23. > :03:29.David. They are an anglo-Catholic group, who travel as a pilgrimage
:03:29. > :03:35.each year to the Festival of Our Lady of Grace in Italy. It is a big
:03:35. > :03:41.prosession, which takes the statue of Our Lady down from the basilka
:03:41. > :03:47.where it is normally kept, down to the town church there she remains
:03:47. > :03:51.for a week. It is very important to us, the statue they originally take
:03:51. > :03:55.to the prosession originally came from Ipswich, to the best of our
:03:55. > :03:59.knowledge and belief. It has a strong link. Celia books all the
:03:59. > :04:05.flights with Ryan air strikes the only airline that flies where and
:04:05. > :04:08.when they want. She is always looking to keep costs down. People
:04:08. > :04:12.can't afford to go on the trips, especially in the economic climate.
:04:12. > :04:15.A lot of people who come are priests, they are not high earners.
:04:15. > :04:19.Also the children with their families, they are not well off or
:04:19. > :04:28.anything like that. We want to keep the costs right down so people can
:04:28. > :04:33.feel that they can come. Ryanair, like many other airlines,
:04:33. > :04:37.charge an administration fee when you book using a debit or credit
:04:37. > :04:42.card. That is a cost added just for the privilege of paying by card.
:04:42. > :04:46.Celia is not happy about it. We are getting nothing extra for it, it is
:04:46. > :04:51.just making some extra money for them. I know they have to make a
:04:51. > :04:58.profit, they are a business, but I think they are passing it on for a
:04:58. > :05:03.service that isn't a service. Ryanair charge these fees per
:05:03. > :05:09.person, per flight, they are currently �6 each way. For a family
:05:09. > :05:14.of four going on a return trip, that is an extra �48. When Celia
:05:14. > :05:20.last flew Ryanair the charge was �5 each way. Which for a group the
:05:20. > :05:25.size of her's, really does add up. The actual booking fee for paying
:05:25. > :05:29.for the tickets on-line would have cost us �10 a person, last year
:05:29. > :05:33.that would have been all together, we had 62 people, including the
:05:33. > :05:39.children, last year, that would have been �620. Remember, that's
:05:39. > :05:42.not the cost of the flights, it is purely and simply the booking fee.
:05:42. > :05:46.It affects the very people, like us, you know, who are trying to keep
:05:46. > :05:52.the costs down. You have worked incredibly hard to get all the
:05:52. > :05:55.other costs down. I did actually ask Ryanair if they did a group
:05:55. > :06:01.rate, some airlines do, and they said, no.
:06:01. > :06:06.But the size of the group should be irrelevant, because for every debit
:06:06. > :06:10.card transaction, the airline is only charged about 20p by the bank,
:06:10. > :06:14.however many people might be included in the booking. So if
:06:14. > :06:24.customers have to pay �6 for each leg of a flight, that is quite a
:06:24. > :06:24.
:06:24. > :06:29.mark-up. Recently, Which? Magazine launched
:06:29. > :06:32.a supercomplaint, claiming charges like this penalise customers,
:06:32. > :06:36.especially if they are not made clear. The European Parliament
:06:36. > :06:44.agrees, it has introduced legislation to make them illegal by
:06:44. > :06:48.2013. MEP Brian Simpson is chair of the Transport Committee. The new
:06:48. > :06:51.directive is to stop companies charging excessive amounts for use
:06:51. > :06:56.of credit and debit cards, when they themselves are not being
:06:56. > :07:00.charged those amounts. It is seen as a protection for the consumers
:07:00. > :07:06.that they are not getting ripped off on credit and debit card
:07:06. > :07:10.charges. I just think it is a money-making tool for airlines at
:07:10. > :07:15.the expense of the passengers. Office of Fair Trading has also
:07:15. > :07:19.called for such charges to end. But, until they do, on Ryanair there is
:07:19. > :07:24.only one way to avoid the booking charge. The airline has recently
:07:24. > :07:28.launched what it calls a cash passport card, which is a prepaid
:07:28. > :07:33.MasterCard that you get free from the airline, and then load up with
:07:33. > :07:41.cash before using it. Pay with that, and there is no booking fee. But
:07:41. > :07:51.otherwise, there is. Not that Ryanair sees it that way.
:07:51. > :08:10.
:08:10. > :08:16.In typically robust manner they But after the amount of money they
:08:16. > :08:20.paid out, our pilgrims wouldn't agree. For the one group they have
:08:20. > :08:28.made an extra shall we say �620 last year for doing absolutely
:08:28. > :08:32.nothing, except booking a ticket with them, giving them the custom.
:08:32. > :08:37.We're at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, for the first time Rip-
:08:37. > :08:42.Off Britain has opened its very first pop of up shop.
:08:42. > :08:45.We have deemed up with BBC Learning to transform this shop into a one-
:08:45. > :08:48.stop consumer advice shop, just for the weekend. That is because here
:08:48. > :08:52.at Rip-Off Britain, we think it is really important for us to meet
:08:52. > :08:58.people face-to-face, and hear your problems. And, this is the perfect
:08:58. > :09:02.opportunity to do exactly that. We have a fantastic team of experts
:09:02. > :09:06.here to help you with your problems. With a bit of luck we will put you
:09:06. > :09:12.in touch with the right person to give you the right advice and send
:09:12. > :09:16.you away feeling happier. It is amaze to go hear all the
:09:16. > :09:19.different stories people have been telling us. Opening up our very own
:09:19. > :09:22.pop-up shop here on Rippon is a great idea, it has given us the
:09:22. > :09:26.opportunity to hear all those gripes and confusions and doubts
:09:26. > :09:33.that are going on in your mind. I'm glad we are being kept busy, that
:09:33. > :09:37.is what we are here to do. Clay popped in to see Simon after a
:09:37. > :09:41.travel nightmare. He was taking his family on holiday from Manchester
:09:41. > :09:48.to Corfu and on to Albania. But his suit cautious containing his on
:09:48. > :09:54.ward travel tickets went missing between Manchester and Corfu.
:09:54. > :09:58.asked them about catching the boat across Albania, and I have tickets
:09:58. > :10:02.booked for travel across, so it is going to happen. The lady there
:10:03. > :10:09.said, sorry, but I don't know when this case is going to be coming. So
:10:09. > :10:14.I said what do I do then. She just told me she didn't know. I have to
:10:14. > :10:19.stay in Corfu two more days, paying hotels and accommodation, plus I
:10:19. > :10:23.paid extra money paying for the boat again to go across, I lost two
:10:23. > :10:27.days in the hotel in Albania. I have been waiting for this holiday
:10:27. > :10:32.for a year and they ruined it. were very badly advised in Corfu,
:10:32. > :10:37.to say there is nothing we can do was completely reprehensible, I
:10:37. > :10:41.have heard it said that we can't have cases flying around Europe if
:10:41. > :10:46.there is no person on the plane. That is complete tosh, the bags go
:10:46. > :10:49.missing the whole time, they are reunited, the vast majority by
:10:49. > :10:53.putting them on other people's planes.
:10:53. > :10:57.Are you saying he should pursue this to get an apology and some
:10:57. > :11:02.money as well? There is no automatic right to compensation if
:11:02. > :11:07.your bag goes astray but is then reunited with you. But in this case,
:11:07. > :11:11.because you were not given proper information, you weren't given a
:11:11. > :11:15.perfectly rational solution, you can quite legitimately go to them
:11:15. > :11:20.and say your agent on the ground in Corfu messed up t cost me a great
:11:20. > :11:25.deal of stress and money, please make a contribution towards that.
:11:25. > :11:29.The only long-term thing, I think, to say, Julia, is if you have
:11:29. > :11:31.really important stuff, never ever put it in case that you are
:11:31. > :11:36.checking in. Because you simply don't know what is going to happen
:11:36. > :11:41.to it. Anne Scott was also keen to meet
:11:41. > :11:46.Simon, to see if he could help her with a claim she had rejected by
:11:46. > :11:52.her insurance company, after her son lost his passport on a cruise
:11:52. > :11:57.ship in Spain. He reported it to the cruise desk, and he was told
:11:57. > :12:03.because I had a photocopy of his passport we would be OK in the
:12:03. > :12:11.airport, and we took their word for it, we arrived at Barcelona airport,
:12:11. > :12:16.he was turned back, he had to go to the consulate, we flew without him.
:12:16. > :12:19.He they issued him with a temporary travel document that cost him over
:12:19. > :12:24.100 euro, then new flights, taxi journalies back and forth, and the
:12:24. > :12:30.train back home. I rang to claim and was told that on my policy, on
:12:30. > :12:40.page 11, right down at the bottom, travel documents were not covered.
:12:40. > :12:42.
:12:42. > :12:46.Even had I seen it, I wouldn't have assumed that meant passports.
:12:46. > :12:54.know my insurance doesn't cover travel developments either, I
:12:54. > :12:58.bought a cheap one through a comparison website, and I only
:12:58. > :13:02.wanted it for certain things. Did you go for a more upmarket one?
:13:03. > :13:08.went through a price comparison website and took the cheapest.
:13:08. > :13:12.cost you �500, an awful lot of money, and yet I assume it was the
:13:12. > :13:16.airline which said, when you turned up at the airport, with this story,
:13:16. > :13:20.with a photocopy, they said, sorry, we will not take you. That strikes
:13:20. > :13:27.me as really, really hard hearted, it is just one of those things,
:13:27. > :13:31.where, you feel what a swiz, I completely sympathise, it seems
:13:31. > :13:35.really unjust, but I can't see any way of getting a bean back.
:13:35. > :13:39.If you want to make sure your travel insurance policy covers you,
:13:39. > :13:42.should the worst happen, Simon is here with more useful information.
:13:42. > :13:47.It is not illegal to leave the country without travel insurance,
:13:47. > :13:51.but it is pretty silly. For just a few pounds you can pick up a no-
:13:51. > :13:56.frills policy that will cover you for all the basics. Most important
:13:56. > :14:03.of which is medical treatment abroad, and if necessary, an air
:14:03. > :14:07.balm ambulance to bring you home. - - air ambulance to bring you home.
:14:07. > :14:14.You must notify insurers of any preexisting medical conditions. If
:14:14. > :14:19.you don't, and that trouble flares up on hole day, they won't pay out.
:14:19. > :14:23.Skiing in the alps, white water rafting through Africa. If you are
:14:23. > :14:28.planning anything remotely risky, for goodness sake tell the travel
:14:28. > :14:32.insurance company in advance, otherwise you won't be covered. A
:14:32. > :14:36.travel insurance policy isn't a carte blanche to do whatever you
:14:36. > :14:39.want, including having a couple of drinks and do something reckless.
:14:39. > :14:44.Your travel insurance policy doesn't cover stuff you do when
:14:44. > :14:47.you're drunk. You might think you have a
:14:47. > :14:50.perfectly legitimate claim, but the insurer won't pay out. That could
:14:50. > :14:55.be because you haven't got the right documentation, whether that's
:14:55. > :15:02.a letter from the doctor, or a certificate from the police. If you
:15:02. > :15:08.have been robbed. And any photoic evidence you can gather could come
:15:08. > :15:14.to the grb photographic evidence you can gather could come to your
:15:14. > :15:19.aid. If you are still not happy with your travel insurance company
:15:19. > :15:22.not settling up, go further. There is one country that insists on
:15:23. > :15:29.travel insurance, it is Cuba, and you won't even be let through
:15:29. > :15:34.immigration unless you can produce a valid certificate. If you are
:15:34. > :15:38.planning more than one holiday in a year, and I certainly will be, then
:15:38. > :15:44.for goodness sake get an annual insurance policy, it works out at
:15:44. > :15:49.far better value. Still to come on Rip-Off Britain,
:15:49. > :15:52.our experts have been rushed off their feet at our pop-up shop for
:15:52. > :15:56.consumer advice. Any time of year with the holiday company simply
:15:56. > :16:04.can't fill a space, they will say, OK, no single supplement, it might
:16:04. > :16:08.be the backend of November, but you will get some good deals.
:16:08. > :16:12.Travelling with any kind of mobility problems means extra care
:16:12. > :16:16.for planning, in particular to make sure where you are going to stay
:16:16. > :16:21.can accommodate you, and has all the right facilities. Doreen Drake
:16:21. > :16:24.knows all about this better than most. Largely confined to a
:16:24. > :16:28.mobility scooter, she totally adores going on cruises and has
:16:28. > :16:33.always managed to book exactly the sort of room she needs, until her
:16:33. > :16:41.most recent trip, when she wasn't given one, as far as the holiday
:16:41. > :16:45.company was concerned, it seems, she just wasn't disabled enough.
:16:45. > :16:50.Doreen Drake enjoyed life to the full until 11 years ago she
:16:50. > :16:54.discovered she had multiple sclerosis. The former motorbike
:16:54. > :16:59.race recorder is registered disabled, although she tries to
:16:59. > :17:09.remain positive, her illness is debilitating. Just simple things,
:17:09. > :17:11.
:17:11. > :17:14.it is difficult to do anything. As the day progresses, I need help.
:17:14. > :17:18.Doreen uses a wheelchair and mobility scooter now, but doesn't
:17:18. > :17:22.see why that shoe stop her going on holiday. -- should stop her going
:17:22. > :17:26.on holiday she and her husband have found cruising to be the perfect
:17:26. > :17:33.solution for them getting away from it all. When booking a cuedz, her
:17:33. > :17:36.number one priority is to make sure she gets a cabin for the disabled.
:17:36. > :17:40.My life depends on a disabled room. I couldn't survive without a
:17:40. > :17:46.disabled room. I have to make sure there is no steps anywhere. Getting
:17:46. > :17:51.over into a bath is a no-go, I wouldn't attempt it. Last year
:17:51. > :17:55.Doreen and Albert decided to join friends on a trip on one of the
:17:55. > :17:59.best known cruise operators, MSC. They hadn't tried the company
:17:59. > :18:01.before, but they were looking forward to their holiday. From the
:18:02. > :18:05.company's glossy website, anyone would think the same. When she
:18:05. > :18:10.tried to book through travel agent, they said a cabin for the disabled
:18:10. > :18:20.simply couldn't be guaranteed. She called up MSE cruises direct, she
:18:20. > :18:21.
:18:21. > :18:30.said she was very clear about her needs. They showed me a priority
:18:30. > :18:34.disabled cabin and it would be there, and asked me for the
:18:34. > :18:40.dimensions of the mobility scooter, they knew I needed to be able to
:18:40. > :18:44.get into a cabin on the scooter. the day the cruise was due to
:18:44. > :18:48.depart from Dover, a huge traffic jam delayed Doreen and Albert's
:18:48. > :18:51.journey from Bradford, they missed the scheduled departure and had to
:18:51. > :18:55.join the ship two days late in Germany. When they arrived and
:18:55. > :19:01.checked in, exhausted, they discovered they had not been
:19:02. > :19:10.allocated a room for the disabled. There was a bath with a shower over
:19:10. > :19:14.it. I couldn't climb into a bath. It upset me very much. Distraught
:19:14. > :19:19.the couple complained, but were told that there were no more rooms
:19:19. > :19:25.for the disabled available, and Doreen says the impact on the
:19:25. > :19:33.holiday was huge. I couldn't get into the bath, so my husband had to
:19:33. > :19:39.wash me, strip wash me every day. I can't function without having
:19:39. > :19:45.things that a disabled person needs. I would never book a holiday or a
:19:45. > :19:50.cruise or anything unless I could be satisfied that they had disabled
:19:50. > :19:54.access. With the bathroom virtually a no-go area for Doreen, she
:19:54. > :20:03.started to use her friend's room to shower. That wasn't ideal. I had to
:20:03. > :20:08.go down four decks, in a bath robe, because if you could get in our
:20:08. > :20:13.clothes it tires me out. I couldn't get into the cabin on my scooter,
:20:13. > :20:17.so hi to leave it in the corridor. -- so I had to leave it in the
:20:17. > :20:21.corridor. It was a nightmare. Several days and complaints later,
:20:21. > :20:26.Doreen was given the use of a shower in an available cabin. Again,
:20:26. > :20:36.she needed her husband to help her use it. Just hard work for him. You
:20:36. > :20:41.know. He has looked after me and is my carer, it just made it harder to
:20:41. > :20:48.cope. When the Drakes returned to Bradford and complained to MSC,
:20:48. > :20:53.they were told that as there were only a limited number of rooms
:20:53. > :20:57.available for the disabled, priority were given to passengers
:20:57. > :21:01.who couldn't walk at all. Doreen didn't fill that criteria because
:21:01. > :21:06.she told them, when booking, she could walk a few steps. They sent
:21:06. > :21:14.me a medical sheet, and I had filled it in, and it had asked if I
:21:14. > :21:19.could walk, and I had said yes, a few steps. I should have answered,
:21:19. > :21:25.no, obviously. Albert was outraged and was
:21:25. > :21:31.determined to get a refund, instead the company offered first 20%, then
:21:31. > :21:35.50% off a future cruise as a gesture of goodwill. Albert turned
:21:35. > :21:41.this down, when he sadly died suddenly in May, Doreen vow today
:21:42. > :21:51.continue his fight for compensation. I'm just appalled at their attitude,
:21:51. > :22:01.I wouldn't go if they gave me 100% again with them. I wouldn't have
:22:01. > :22:04.
:22:04. > :22:08.They said it was only when they received her medical form a month
:22:08. > :22:18.later, they realised she did. Based on the information on the form they
:22:18. > :22:23.
:22:23. > :22:27.felt the room they had given her They are adamant Doreen did not
:22:27. > :22:32.make that clear. Of course, Doreen insists she did. But her story
:22:32. > :22:37.shows how vital it is that when making any travel plans that all
:22:37. > :22:40.sides agree on exactly what has been booked.
:22:40. > :22:44.Last year on Rip-Off Britain, reinvestigated on-line shopping
:22:44. > :22:47.club that is offer discounts across a whole range of on-line and high
:22:47. > :22:50.street purchases. Everyone loves a bargain, there is nothing wrong
:22:50. > :22:54.with that, but it is the way some of the companies that get you to
:22:54. > :22:58.sign up that has put them on our radar, especially after one viewer
:22:58. > :23:03.wrote to us to say how he suddenly found himself locked into a credit
:23:03. > :23:09.agreement, and he no idea he had seen signed up to it.
:23:09. > :23:13.26-year-old recruitment consultant Darren, works hard, and plays hard.
:23:13. > :23:20.Amongst his many hobbies he likes to travel. In May 2010, he decided
:23:20. > :23:24.to take a break to Paris with his girlfriend, Kelly. I was
:23:24. > :23:33.researching the best deals for flights to go over there, I found
:23:33. > :23:37.one through Flybe, that was �280 return, I booked that. He was
:23:37. > :23:42.thrilled with the price, he felt they were a Great Barr again, a
:23:42. > :23:46.year later when looking at his bank account he noticed a payment he
:23:46. > :23:50.didn't recognise. I check my on- line accounts a bit more meticulous,
:23:50. > :23:57.I noticed �15 had been taken out of my K I did more research and
:23:57. > :24:02.realised it had been happening for some time. 12 months from the trip
:24:02. > :24:07.to Paris, a direct debit of �15 has been leaving Darren's account to a
:24:07. > :24:10.company called Rewards First. never heard of this company and no
:24:10. > :24:14.connection to them. I did research into the company, and nothing I
:24:14. > :24:19.would be interested in, I would never pay �15 a month to their
:24:19. > :24:23.service, to this day I don't know what they do. We can answer that.
:24:23. > :24:28.Rewards First offer discounts and vouchers for internet shopping, in
:24:28. > :24:32.turn for a monthly membership fee. Though he hadn't realised it, some
:24:32. > :24:37.how during his on-line booking, it seems that Darren had got himself
:24:37. > :24:41.all signed up. According to them I had agreed to membership, I never
:24:41. > :24:45.even heard of this company before, so it was actually rubbish.
:24:45. > :24:49.According to them I have entered my details and I greed to their
:24:49. > :24:54.membership details and signed their terms, on-line. Over the 12 months
:24:54. > :24:58.since his hole day, Darren had been charged around -- holiday, Darren
:24:58. > :25:03.had been charged �200 for a service he never agreed to or warranted.
:25:03. > :25:07.He's determined to get -- warranted, he's determined to get his money
:25:07. > :25:12.back. I called them, I couldn't get through to them, I sent an e-mail
:25:12. > :25:16.asking for a full refund. They said they were unable to do a refund
:25:16. > :25:21.because I had signed their terms and entered my details on the
:25:21. > :25:24.website. I didn't. I never talked to them, I tried to get on to them
:25:24. > :25:27.on the phone and various e-mails back and forth, no help whatsoever.
:25:27. > :25:33.I have asked to see proof that I have entered into their account,
:25:33. > :25:37.they keep prolonging it, I'm still awaiting an e-mail confirmation
:25:37. > :25:40.from them. Eventually Darren got in touch with the bank. I decided to
:25:40. > :25:44.get in touch with my bank, they explained they were unable to stop
:25:44. > :25:48.the money going through. Eventually they had to stop my entire bank
:25:48. > :25:52.account and reopen a new one. Darren's bank has agreed to refund
:25:52. > :25:58.the money. But Darren's experience, I'm afraid,
:25:58. > :26:03.is all too common. In 2008 nearly 130,000 people joined schemes like
:26:03. > :26:07.Rewards First, usually after clicking on a banner, promising �10
:26:07. > :26:10.cashback or money off future purchases. Not awful them would
:26:10. > :26:15.have known that they were signing up to a service they would be
:26:15. > :26:20.charged for, or that it was run by a company totally separate from the
:26:20. > :26:30.one whose site they were shopping on. But when we asked Rewards First
:26:30. > :26:55.
:26:55. > :26:58.to comment: Flybe told us the same thing, any
:26:58. > :27:02.links to an offer on their confirmation pay, makes it very
:27:02. > :27:06.clear it comes from a third party and terms and conditions apply.
:27:06. > :27:10.Now as I found out for myself, buying on-line can be a really cost
:27:10. > :27:14.effective way to shop, but here comes the warning, before clicking
:27:14. > :27:17.the payment button, do always read the small print, and make sure that
:27:18. > :27:21.you aren't signing up to anything you don't want to. If you think a
:27:22. > :27:30.company has taken money out of your account, without your authorisation,
:27:30. > :27:35.or you don't recognise any of the transactions, David Cresswell from
:27:35. > :27:41.the financial ombudzman service has advice. The om mudman looks as
:27:41. > :27:45.cases from consumers who are unhappy about the unauthorised
:27:45. > :27:48.transaction on the debit or credit card statement. An unauthorised
:27:48. > :27:57.transaction is one consumers say they are not responsible for, they
:27:57. > :28:00.don't recognise and has nothing to do with them. Every month the
:28:00. > :28:02.ombudsman gets complaints related to standing orders and continuous
:28:02. > :28:07.payment orders. The difference between continuous payment
:28:07. > :28:11.authorities and direct debits is that you can't cancel a continuous
:28:11. > :28:15.payment authority with your bank. It was a separate agreement that
:28:15. > :28:19.you set up with the company, that you got the goods from.
:28:19. > :28:24.Whether it is an on-line service, or whether it is a magazine
:28:24. > :28:27.subscription. You do have to give permission if you are setting up a
:28:27. > :28:32.continuous payment authority, but a lot of people don't read the small
:28:32. > :28:35.print, so they don't know that this is actually what they have done. Be
:28:35. > :28:41.particularly careful if you are setting up a trial arrangement,
:28:41. > :28:44.perhaps there are a few copies of a magazine, because there may well be
:28:44. > :28:47.that you inadvertantly sign a continuous payment authority. If
:28:47. > :28:51.you have a problem with a continuous payment authority, and
:28:51. > :28:54.you can't sort it out directly with the company involved, or with your
:28:54. > :28:59.own credit card company or bank, get in touch with the ombudzman,
:28:59. > :29:06.and we will try to work out with you what it is that has gone wrong
:29:06. > :29:16.and whether we can help. companies don't always make things
:29:16. > :29:20.easy to understand, and it can be confusing to work out why you
:29:21. > :29:29.didn't get what you expected. To help you out we have put together a
:29:29. > :29:34.book to sort things out. You can find a link on the website.
:29:34. > :29:37.To receive a copy in the post send an A5 self-addressed envelope to
:29:37. > :29:41.the address we will give you at the end.
:29:41. > :29:45.Opening up a pop-up shop in Manchester has been great way of
:29:45. > :29:53.getting in touch with you direct, and hearing about problems face-to-
:29:53. > :29:57.face. I'm May from Chester. What has
:29:57. > :30:01.brought you to us today? Single supplement holidays.
:30:01. > :30:06.It is not just in the queue that we are hearing about your travel
:30:06. > :30:11.problems. People are expressing their concern in our gripe box too.
:30:12. > :30:17.I have had a bad experience with a holiday recently. My issue is
:30:17. > :30:20.single supplements in hotels and cruises. I just want to air my
:30:20. > :30:26.grievance about the price of holiday through school holiday time.
:30:26. > :30:29.In order to go to Portugal for two weeks in July it will cost us �,000.
:30:29. > :30:34.Many of you have been telling bus the problems you have had away on
:30:34. > :30:42.holiday you have been speaking our travel -- keeping our travel expert,
:30:42. > :30:48.Simon, very busy. The fact that you are with the
:30:48. > :30:53.famous simmon, you have to have a problem with travel? Yes, I was
:30:53. > :31:03.going on holiday and found out information going to Lake Garda,
:31:03. > :31:03.
:31:03. > :31:10.the holiday started at �989,, now it is �789. You feel hard done
:31:10. > :31:13.by with the single supplement. I find it hard to understand the
:31:13. > :31:17.single supplements? One of the biggest rip-offs in Britain is the
:31:17. > :31:23.whole travel industry is designed for people in couples. Most hotels
:31:23. > :31:27.just have twin rooms. Cruiseships generally have cabin force two
:31:27. > :31:31.people. Result of that they will charge you for that empty bed. I
:31:31. > :31:34.have heard of 100% supplements because you are not tipping the
:31:34. > :31:38.crew, you are not going off and drinking because there is only one
:31:38. > :31:43.of you. It is a real, real unfortunate situation to be in. You
:31:43. > :31:48.can take action. Any time of year where the holiday company simply
:31:48. > :31:52.can't fill the spai, they will say no single supplement. It might be
:31:52. > :31:56.the back end of November but you will get good deals. Timing is the
:31:56. > :32:01.secret of anything in travel. If you can go in November, ideal month
:32:01. > :32:07.to go pretty much anywhere in the world. You know what you might go
:32:07. > :32:17.on a singles' holiday, find a lovely man, that is the enof the --
:32:17. > :32:22.
:32:22. > :32:26.end of the problems. I might not come back! Write if you find a man!
:32:26. > :32:30.The world has become a smaller place, cheaper flights have opened
:32:30. > :32:35.up the skies and made travelling to far flung places as easy as driving
:32:35. > :32:39.to the other end of the country. But sometimes things go wrong,
:32:39. > :32:44.those aifrlly laid travel plans may have to be cancelled. If the, you
:32:44. > :32:47.could find yourself hit -- if they are, you could find yourself with
:32:47. > :32:54.charges you wouldn't expect. One of our viewers was furious when that
:32:54. > :32:58.happened to her. Anne and Bruno are living proof
:32:58. > :33:03.that blind dates can bring true love. Their meeting was set up by
:33:03. > :33:07.Anne's cousin, after Bruno came to England to learn the language.
:33:07. > :33:12.met Bruno in Huddersfield, we met on a blind date. He was going to
:33:12. > :33:21.stay just for 18 month, but he met me, and decided to stay here and
:33:21. > :33:25.live here. We have been married for 50 years next member. Bruno is a
:33:25. > :33:30.wonderful husband and we are really very happy. With most of Bruno's
:33:30. > :33:35.family still in Italy, the Huddersfield family have many happy
:33:35. > :33:42.trips there. We like the people, we like the food, most of all, we
:33:42. > :33:48.enjoy going out, and we enjoy staying with relatives. In June,
:33:48. > :33:53.2011, Anne booked for the couple to fly to Milan with Flybe, two weeks
:33:53. > :33:57.before they were due to travel, their plans were thrown into chaos
:33:57. > :34:01.when Bruno had sudden severe chest pains. It was quite a shock when I
:34:01. > :34:06.had to call for the ambulance. He was admitted to hospital, he stayed
:34:06. > :34:13.in there three days. We thought it was a heart attack, but it was a
:34:13. > :34:18.severe angina attack. Anne cancelled the flights, rang
:34:18. > :34:23.her travel insurance company, and then concentrated on her husband's
:34:23. > :34:30.recuperation. It was quite hard, really, he wasn't sleeping very
:34:30. > :34:36.well, and we were up an awful lot in the night. He was worried, I was
:34:37. > :34:41.worried. We were having to ring the doctor all the time. It was really
:34:41. > :34:44.stressful. Luckily the couples' insurers
:34:44. > :34:48.agreed to cover the cost of the flights and most of the charges,
:34:48. > :34:54.but said Anne would have to contact the airline to reclaim the taxes
:34:54. > :34:58.she had paid. So she did. When Flybe agreed to refund the money,
:34:58. > :35:05.Anne was delighted, or she was, until she found out exactly what
:35:05. > :35:10.she would get back. When Flybe wrote to her, they said although
:35:10. > :35:20.they would refund the taxes, it was my mus the administration fee.
:35:20. > :35:36.
:35:36. > :35:40.Let's see how that break down. The I couldn't believe they were
:35:40. > :35:45.repaying �1.22, how could that be, unbelievable. I wrote them a letter
:35:45. > :35:51.and asked them if they would have a re-think. And I was enclosing a
:35:51. > :35:57.cheque for the �1.22, I would have liked to tell them where to stick
:35:57. > :36:01.this check cheque, but I'm too much of a lady to do that.
:36:01. > :36:06.In August, they wrote to Anne to say they would be prepared to pay
:36:06. > :36:11.out the full value of the taxes afterall, but not in cash, in
:36:11. > :36:15.vouchers. By Anne is refusing to accept. I didn't pay them in
:36:15. > :36:21.vouchers and I don't see why they should repay us in vouchers, we
:36:21. > :36:28.want the money back, because we paid them money for the tickets.
:36:28. > :36:30.We contacted Flybe who said their fares are non-refundable and during
:36:31. > :36:33.the booking processes it shows there are terms and conditions
:36:33. > :36:38.applied to airport charges and taxes, which need to be accepted
:36:38. > :36:41.before a booking is confirmed. As fou for the cost of their admin
:36:41. > :36:45.charge, they justified that by saying there are a number of
:36:45. > :36:51.internal and external costs, requiring a combination of manual
:36:51. > :36:55.and automated processes. But that doesn't fly with Anne. Now
:36:55. > :36:59.Bruno is on his way to recovery, she's looking forward to future
:36:59. > :37:03.trips to Italy with her family, but says next time she will be booking
:37:03. > :37:06.with a different airline. When you are planning a holiday it
:37:06. > :37:11.is not unreasonable to expect to know exactly how much your flight
:37:11. > :37:14.is going to cost, so that you can do price comparison, and budget
:37:14. > :37:21.accordingly. You would think. Unfortunately, as we have been
:37:21. > :37:26.hearing, all those pesky little surcharges, and the hidden extras
:37:26. > :37:29.can add up to a very expensive nasty surprise. Time to talk to the
:37:29. > :37:35.consumer affairs minister, and find out what, if anything, the
:37:35. > :37:38.Government can do about it. Minister, British consumers are not
:37:38. > :37:41.just fed up they are down right angry at the fact that when so
:37:42. > :37:45.often they book an airline ticket and other kinds of tickets, that
:37:45. > :37:49.there are hidden charges and surcharges, what is your reaction?
:37:49. > :37:53.I completely share their anger. Many times I have booked an air
:37:53. > :37:55.ticket on-line, you get to right to the end, you have been going
:37:55. > :37:58.through the website, you have filled in lots of boxes, ten
:37:58. > :38:02.minutes later you find you are being asked to pay a price which
:38:02. > :38:06.you didn't expect. I can understand people's anger, that's why we want
:38:06. > :38:10.to do something about it. How are you going to know whether they are
:38:10. > :38:13.excessive or not, has anyone in the Government or the OFT done the math,
:38:13. > :38:17.the companies will say they are not surcharges but they are covering
:38:17. > :38:21.our overheads, or they will say, quite legitimately, as a company we
:38:21. > :38:26.need it make a profit? You are right to say there is a question of
:38:27. > :38:30.fact here, how much is the business having to pay to the provider of
:38:30. > :38:33.the payment processing services to make that payment. That will be a
:38:33. > :38:37.question when we implement the legal changes. I can tell you what
:38:38. > :38:42.they are, we have done the math and worked it out? It will vary,
:38:42. > :38:49.depending on the type of payment on the credit card. On average if you
:38:49. > :38:53.use a credit card it is 1-2% of the price, if you use a debit card it
:38:53. > :39:00.is 10-20p charged by the operator to the company. If a company is
:39:00. > :39:05.charging �6 for us to use your debit card they are making profit.
:39:05. > :39:08.If we have a law to ban surcharges they will not be able to make the
:39:08. > :39:11.profit. They claim they are not surcharges, how do you close the
:39:11. > :39:14.loophole that says this is a surcharge, that is an acceptable
:39:14. > :39:19.form of profit making? These are complicated matters, you are right
:39:19. > :39:22.to raise that point with me. We want to make sure when we transpose
:39:22. > :39:26.this European legislation we get it right, so there aren't loopholes.
:39:26. > :39:31.For example, if we tried to do this just nationally there is a danger
:39:31. > :39:36.that some airlines, that aren't based in the UK, would escape. That
:39:36. > :39:40.is one of the benefits of having European legislation here. European
:39:40. > :39:45.legislation won't come in for ten years, in the meantime British
:39:45. > :39:48.consumers are having to deal with the loopholes? There are
:39:48. > :39:53.protections. It is not strong enough, they are getting away with
:39:53. > :39:56.it? Quite a few of them aren't. The Office of Fair Trading now have
:39:56. > :39:59.under the consumer protection regulations are getting greater
:39:59. > :40:03.transparency, they have voluntary agreements with a number of
:40:03. > :40:06.airlines so these surcharges are put up front, sometimes you see
:40:06. > :40:09.Governments legislating rather too quickly, getting it wrong and they
:40:09. > :40:13.haven't dealt with the problem. We will not make that mistake. What
:40:13. > :40:17.you are doing is everything you possibly can to make sure from here
:40:17. > :40:20.on in the British consumer has the protection, not just of the OFT,
:40:20. > :40:24.but the Government to protect those vulnerable in society? Absolutely.
:40:24. > :40:27.The vulnerable in society get a rough deal in a number of areas, we
:40:27. > :40:32.have to make sure they are protected.
:40:32. > :40:37.Thank you. Here at Rip-Off Britain, we are
:40:37. > :40:40.always ready to investigate more of your stories. Confused over your
:40:40. > :40:44.bills, trying to wade through endless small print, that leaves
:40:45. > :40:49.you none the wiser. I might have been stupid for not reading it, or
:40:49. > :40:53.I have read it and not took it in. I could kick meself, Rhyl could.
:40:53. > :40:58.Unsure what to do when you discover you have lost out. That called
:40:58. > :41:04.great deal has ended up costing you money. I thought this cannot be
:41:04. > :41:08.true, it is totally unacceptable, I was so angry.
:41:08. > :41:11.You might have a cautionary tale of your own and want to share your
:41:11. > :41:15.mistakes with us, so others won't do the same. Nobody knows about
:41:15. > :41:18.this, this is very, very strange to me, I really would like to get this
:41:18. > :41:28.much clearer. You can write to us on the above
:41:28. > :41:41.
:41:41. > :41:45.The team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.
:41:45. > :41:48.That's all for today. We have heard some brilliant advice from our
:41:48. > :41:50.experts on what to be aware of when you are booking your holidays and
:41:50. > :41:56.insurance. So the message is, obvious lie
:41:56. > :42:00.don't be put off going on holiday, but the main point to remember is
:42:00. > :42:04.to carefully read the small print of your policies, and once gist
:42:04. > :42:07.again, it is the old addage of, be aware of your rights, and shop
:42:07. > :42:11.around, you might find a better bargain.