Champion Know your rights over travel delays
QI CALLED my energy provider to ask if there was a cheaper tariff I could move to. The agent said that if I paid by direct debit, I’d be put on the cheapest tariff automatically. Is this true or just a ploy to get me to pay via direct debit? Robert Cannes
A
IT’S true – most energy providers will move you to a cheaper variable rate if you pay via direct debit. There is no point switching at the moment, so this will be your best bet.
Q
I PURCHASED a new front door and arranged for a carpenter friend to hang it. After he had finished, we noticed the door was warped. I contacted the seller but they won’t help as he has already hung the door? Stephen Jones
A
THE problem you have now is proving the fault with the door was there at the point of purchase and not caused by the carpenter. If you can prove it was warped when you bought it, you’d be entitled to a refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. It is advisable to always check goods before installing them.
Q
I WAS recently gazumped on a house purchase. I’ve now found another house and do not want to lose it. Is there anything I can do?
Oscar Jacobs
AAIN recent times, this has been quite common as the property market has been very buoyant. To protect against being gazumped, you could enter into a pre-agreement with the seller.
Q
I PUT my car in to a garage for the wing mirror to be repaired. I was told it would be
£115. When I collected my vehicle, I was told the bill was £285 as they had discovered some further cracking on the casing so had to replace the whole thing. I paid it as I needed my car back, but were they allowed to charge me the extra? Ashley Windsor THE garage should have obtained your prior authority before incurring further costs. Technically, you are entitled to refuse to pay – or in your case, demand the money back – but the garage would be entitled to take the wing mirror back if you did this.
WE’VE had travel chaos for the last two weeks with major delays in the air, on the roads and at sea.
Whenever major events like this happen, fraudsters always seize the opportunity to dream up some new scams.
Here are some of the stories you have recently contacted me about:
FERRY SCAM
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.
While waiting at the port, Kevin was approached by man who said he worked for the Port Authority and asked him to fill out a Serious Delay Form.
This asked for various pieces of personal information, such as Kevin’s full name, date of birth and home address.
He thought nothing of this at the time but has since discovered the man was not from the Port Authority and that he was in fact a fraudster.
Kevin does not believe he has been affected by this 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.
TRAIN DELAY
Jacob from Maidstone in Kent received a text message on Monday titled Automatic Train Delay.
It went on to say: “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 and ignored it, even though he had recently been on a delayed train.
He was right to be cautious. Fraudsters send these messages out en masse and while most recipients will not have suffered any train delay, some – like Jacob – will. This is simply a coincidence.
CANCELLED FLIGHTS
Gaynor, from St Helens, Merseyside, was due to jet away with easyjet this week but her flight was cancelled.
She was furious as she had waited two years to go on holiday so
therefore went online to see what her compensation rights were.
She came across a website that guaranteed compensation for cancelled flights. Users were directed to complete an online application form – but towards the end, it asked for full bank details for “verification purposes”.
At this stage Gaynor became nervous so abandoned the form. She contacted me to ask my thoughts and of course I informed her that it was a scam.
The website has since disappeared but there will be many others just like it.
AIRPORT CHAOS
Celia, of Wigan, Gtr Manchester, received an email last week informing her about airport delays.
The email offered a “fast track pass” to avoid the current airport delays for £59.99.
Celia was due to travel this week so snapped up the offer but her flight was subsequently cancelled. When she tried to claim the £59.99 back, she discovered it was a scam.