Consumer Advice August 2010
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Your holiday
rights
Trouble at the airport? Airline lost your luggage? Here's how to handle those potential holiday pitfalls...
- I've had my handbag pinched at the
resort: Whatever it is that's stolen, you'll need
to report it to the local police who will write out a brief report,
which you'll need for your insurance claim. It's always a
good idea to have a back up credit card or some spare cash stashed
safely away in your room in case everything else is taken. Remember
too to phone relevant companies - banks, card issuers, mobile phone
company - to freeze your accounts. Your travel insurer will let you
know where to get a replacement passport, though it won't cover
the cost, and your tour rep or airline will help with replacement
tickets if needed.
Why not consider card protection insurance from someone like CPP
(www.cpp.co.uk)?
It means you report missing cards to just one number; the insurer
then notifies the relevant issuers and gets replacements. They can
also get you replacement cash and sort out stolen tickets and keys.
It costs £35 per household for a year's protection.
- The flight's delayed: There are regulations for
airport delays - after a set period of time you're entitled to
refreshments, two free calls, emails or faxes and overnight
accommodation and transfers if required (don't go off and book
this, check with the airline first). Now get ready to be
confused... You can claim this: if your flight of under 932 miles -
UK to France, northern Spain and Italy - is delayed for more than
two hours; your flight within the EU of more than 932 miles, say
Athens, is delayed for more than three hours; your flight is to a
non-EU country and is between 932 and 2174 miles - southern Spain -
and is delayed for three or more hours; if any other flight is
delayed by four hours or more. Wherever you're travelling to,
if the flight's delayed for five hours or more, you have the
right to a refund.
- The airline's lost my luggage This is a hard
one as there are no real rules governing lost or damaged luggage
and the level of compensation you are entitled to. More, it's a
case of hoping for fair play from the airlines, which they're
not generally known for. The EU is in the early stages of looking
at air passengers' rights but in the meantime bear in mind the
following advice:
- check in on time so your baggage has plenty of time to be loaded correctly.
- use luggage that's in a reasonable condition as the airline may use defective luggage as an excuse.
- if you find luggage is missing or damaged, fill out a Property Irregularity Report form (PIR) at the arrivals airport - ask someone in the baggage hall - and keep a copy as you'll need the number to claim.
- check your airline's policy on refunding payments for essentials while your bag is missing - don't fork out, as you might not get it all back - and keep all receipts for making a claim.
- The company's gone bust: If you're on
a package holiday and the firm has gone out of business and your
holiday includes flights, you will be protected by ATOL (Air Travel
Organisers' Licensing scheme). This means the cost of the rest
of the stay will be met by ATOL or, if arrangements to stay on
can't be made, the ATOL scheme means you won't be left
stranded. Go to www.atol.org.uk to find out more.
- The flight's been overbooked: Passengers
will initially be asked to volunteer not to board the flight if
it's overbooked. You'll be entitled to a refund or a later
flight plus 'benefits' - these are up to you to negotiate,
you could try being upgraded and get an overnight hotel stay or go
for some financial compensation. Although if you didn't check
in until really late, you're unlikely to get any compensation,
just the replacement flights. If not enough volunteers step forward
the airline will pick passengers to 'deny boarding', in
which case you have the same rights to assistance and compensation
as you would if the flight was cancelled - a refund, the next
available flight or a flight that suits you.
Of course, you'll be better off all round if you have travel insurance in place. Policies sold through tour operators tend to cost a lot without offering much more than much cheaper policies. As Candis Club members, you can get a quote for travel insurance at candis.co.uk/travelinsurance.
Q & A
Pension problem
Q: I am due to retire at the age of 65 in 2016 - will I
have to work another year now?
A: After the Government's emergency budget in June, the retirement age for men looks set to rise from 65 to 66 in 2016 - so you will have to work another year. Women's retirement age was set to creep up to meet the men at 65 by 2020 and this will carry on beyond that to 66. After this time, it seems likely there will be rises to 68 - as put in place by the Labour government - and possibly to 70 at some point after that.
The reasons are clear and obvious: In 1940 when the retirement age was set at 65 for men and 60 for women, life expectancy was 72, these days for those reaching their 65th birthday, it's 86 for men and 89 for women. So if you retire in your 60s you'll spend nearly a third of your life drawing your pension - and someone's got to pay for it.
The other problem is that the baby boomers of the 1950s mean there are more people entering retirement and fewer born since to contribute to the pot.
So it looks like you'll be working longer than you'd hoped.
Digs delight
Q: My daughter
will soon be starting her second year at uni. She was in halls for
the first year but is moving into a shared house with friends this
year. Will she need to pay council tax?
A: If they're all students, they will be
exempt from paying council tax but will need to get an exemption
certificate from the council where they'll be living. Find out
more by searching for 'council tax' on www.direct.gov.uk
for England or www.scotland.gov.uk or www.wales.gov.uk; for
Northern Ireland, search 'rates' at www.lpsni.gov.uk.
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