In January I booked a Page & Moy tour to Apulia in Italy departing on September 9, returning on September 18. The advertised flights were with British Airways from Gatwick to Bari, leaving at 12.30pm – perfect for me as I could travel to Gatwick using the early flight from Newquay.
The Page & Moy agent said she would have to confirm the availability of the flights with BA before taking my deposit. Later in the day she phoned back to say the flights were available.
On April 8, I received a letter from Page & Moy saying that BA was unable to confirm seats on the original flights. Instead I was now booked on an indirect flight from Heathrow via Milan to Bari leaving at 08.50 and returning to Heathrow at 22.35, with a five-hour wait in Milan between flights.
Page & Moy says that these are not significant alternations and has offered a £5 voucher to pay for lunch in Milan as compensation. Abta, the Travel association, and my local trading standards office seem to think the change is significant because there's both a change of airport and an aircraft change en route.
What are my rights?
Gill Charlton replies
I don't know why Abta is taking this view because its own code of conduct stipulates that flight changes are not regarded as significant unless changed by more than 12 hours.
Page & Moy's terms and conditions also cover flight time and route changes: by saying: "All timings shown on your confirmation invoice are provisional and for your guidance only."
Legally, you don't have the right to cancel this holiday without losing your deposit. Is this fair? No it's not. From my investigation it appears that Page & Moy has played fast and loose. It sold the tour on the basis of confirmed BA flights and now cannot provide them. Why not?
At first it claimed BA could no longer provide the necessary allocation of seats on the Bari flights.
BA denied this. "The only reason we would cancel an agreed allocation [with a trade partner] would be if there was a flight cancellation."
BA says Page & Moy was fully aware of the total number of seats the airline was "able to support" from the offset and that this allocation has not been cancelled.
Page & Moy subsequently admitted it had never secured sufficient allocation from BA (in this case, for a 40-person group). In fact, it had only secured 12 seats on the return flight. It says it planned to buy more on an ad hoc basis as and when customers booked.
However, the tour sold so well that it became uneconomic to buy extra seats from BA (now selling in excess of £250 return). The decision was made to move everyone onto indirect flights via Milan because the group needed to travel together to the hotel which is a long way from Bari.
Page & Moy appreciates that you are unhappy with this change and will be contacting you to see if you would like to switch your holiday to dates when BA flights are definitely confirmed.
Family fun in the Algarve
Sally and Peter Philips write
We are the typical exhausted new parents of a six-month-old baby, desperate to have a break somewhere sunny, but not too hot, in June.
We want somewhere with a short direct flight and a four or five-star hotel with a well-run creche so we can have a few hours to ourselves each day.
Where would you suggest?
Gill Charlton replies
I think the Algarve would suit your needs very well. Classic Collection Holidays (0800 008 7299; www.classic-collection.co.uk) offers just this sort of tailor-made package with no-waiting private airport transfers to four and five-star hotels on the coast. It recommends the Vila Vita Parc in Porches, which has a spa, a creche for babies over six months old, and a children’s club. Another good choice is the Sheraton Algarve which has similar creche facilities. Expect to pay around £2,500 b & b for a family of three for a week in June, including flights and transfers. Creche charges are around £34 for a half-day; £51 for a full day. There’s the bonus of heated outdoor pools as the sea can be a little chilly on this coast, even in summer.
£1 cover for insolvency protection
David Bagnall, Leicester, writes
My family holiday this summer will cost £7,000 and I'd like to pay some of this sum by credit card to obtain protection in the event that the airline or the tour operator goes bust. However, I want to avoid the tour company's two per cent surcharge for using credit cards. What's the minimum sum that I should pay using the card to get protection?
Gill Charlton replies
You can get cover by paying just £1, though I suspect the tour operator will expect you to pay a higher minimum when using a credit card. The only proviso is that the total value of the goods or services you are buying is more than £100 and less than £30,000. To obtain this cover under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act you need to make sure that you are paying the supplier of the holiday (this should be listed on your confirmation invoice) and not the travel agent acting for the supplier.
The Financial Ombudsman Service stipulates that where customers use a credit card to buy airline or other travel tickets from an agent, they cannot normally claim against the agent if the airline delays or cancels the flight – or if the airline goes bust. This is because the travel agent is contracted to supply the ticket, not the flight. However, things are different if customers use a credit card to buy the travel agent's own package of travel arrangements listed on a single invoice. In such instances the FOS regards the agent as the supplier of the holiday package.
How to avoid 0870 numbers
Jenny Kemp, Stockport, writes
After holding on for nearly an hour on a 10p-a-minute number for easyJet, a friend told me that there's a website with ordinary 01 alternatives. Can you advise?
Yes, there's a very useful website – which lists alternative 01, 02 and 03 numbers for all kinds of businesses, including airlines and tour companies.
Do I need a new driving licence?
Mel Fisher, London, writes
My husband and I have the old green paper driving licences instead of the newer photo licences. I have just booked car hire in Naples with Avis and on the rental voucher it states: "UK licence holders will need to take their ID card and its paper counterpart." Does this mean that we now need photo-licences to drive in Europe?
Gill Charlton replies
The AA's website (www.theaa.com) says that all valid UK licences should be accepted in Italy, including the older all-green licences.
However, its advice goes on to say that these may be more difficult to understand – by police rather than rental firms, I imagine – and that drivers may wish to update them.
If you were to change your address, the DVLA would update your licences at no cost, but to update a green licence to a photo licence now costs £20.
Send your queries to Gill Charlton
Please provide your full address, daytime telephone number and any booking reference. Readers with complicated complaints may be asked for full documentation. We regret that we are no longer able to answer postal inquiries or deal with telephone calls.
www.myalgarvecars.com
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