Delayed or cancelled? Don’t fall victim to fraud, too
MAJOR DELAYS at airports, on the trains, ferries and in the air along with mass cancellations and road congestion have blighted the last couple of weeks for commuters, travellers and holidaymakers. In fact, coming out of a two-year lockdown, it’s no surprise things are taking a while to return to normal. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay for scammers to take advantage and exploit frustrated customers as they have been doing.
FERRY BAD NEWS
Kevin from Wimbledon, south-west London, was due to travel on a P&O ferry last week.When he turned up at the port he was told there would be a significant delay and, after a two-hour wait, was informed the ferry had been cancelled.
Whilst waiting, Kevin was approached by a man who claimed he worked for the “Port Authority” and asked to fill out a “serious delay form” which asked for various pieces of personal information such as his full name, date of birth and address.
Kevin thought nothing of this but has since discovered the man was in fact a fraudster. Kevin does not believe he has been affected but, as I explained to him, the fraudster now has all the information he needs to steal his identity and take out credit or carry out various other forms of fraud.
FRAUD ON THE LINE
Jacob from Maidstone, Kent, received a text message on Monday titled “Automatic Train
Delay”. It stated:
“We are sorry you experienced a delay on your train last week. Click here to claim your automatic compensation”. Jacob, a regular reader of this column, thought the message was suspect, even though he had indeed suffered from a train delay a few days before.
He was right, fraudsters send these messages out en-masse. While the majority of recipients will not have suffered a delay, some will and of those a few will fall foul of the trick.
GROUNDED
Gaynor from St Helens, Merseyside, was due to fly with easyJet this week but her flight was cancelled. She was enraged as she had waited two years to go on holiday and so took to the internet to see what her rights were.
She came across a website that claimed to guarantee compensation for cancelled flights. Users were directed to complete an online application form.At the end, it asked for full bank details for “verification purposes”.
At this point, Gaynor became nervous and abandoned the form. She contacted me to ask my thoughts and, of course, I informed her it was a scam.
The website has since disappeared but there will be others.
LONG QUEUES
Celia from Wigan, Greater Manchester, received an email last week offering a “fast track pass” to avoid current airport delays for a payment of £59.99. Celia was due to travel this week so took up the offer. Her flight was subsequently cancelled and, when she tried to claim the £59.99 back, she discovered it was a scam.
MY TIPS
If your plane, train or ferry is cancelled you should contact the travel provider first in relation to your compensation rights. They will have a process for making a claim, meaning you will not need to use a third party and, certainly if it’s a train delay, compensation will usually be “automatic”.
If the travel provider denies your claim ask if it is subscribed to an alternative dispute resolution scheme and if it is lodge a claim with theADR provider.Avoid the temptation to take up third-party claim offers via emails, texts or the internet – they are almost always a scam aimed at stealing personal details.