How changes in travel by land, sea and air may affect your wallet
IN different times, I’d be travelling around the UK to meet people and talk about consumer rights or solve money problems. Lockdown has nipped my roving ways in the bud and limited the TV appearances to ‘live from my living room’ instead.
But these changes have also got me thinking about the future of travel and how we get around in the future.
Here’s a look at the problems people are having with transport now – and what the future might look like.
TRAINS
Problems now: If you’ve ridden on a train recently, you’ll have seen that the carriages are looking distinctly empty.
At present, the main complaints I’m seeing are about season ticket refunds. Most businesses are being reasonable about refunds, but each company has a different approach.
If you’re after a refund, follow the process on the train company’s website. Annual season ticket refunds may have deductions for administration fees and because of the discount you get for paying yearly, you don’t get the exact proportion of your unused ticket back.
In the future: Train companies are already planning ‘flexible’ season tickets to reflect the fact that many of us will be travelling less or working from home more. Why not register your interest now – it’ll be cheaper than ‘pay as you go’. Bear in mind less travellers mean fewer trains and higher prices too.
FERRIES
Problems now: Holidaymakers ran to book ferry trips after lockdown eased. For many the prospect of being on a plane seemed less than enticing, whereas taking the car abroad and driving to your destination seemed much safer (and more of an adventure).
However, social distancing requirements and high demand have led to long queues for both UK and international ferry companies. I’ve also heard quite a bit of dissatisfaction about double bookings too.
If you feel you’ve lost out due to an error made by a ferry company there is a complaints process for each business. You can find more information at Resolver on how to make a complaint.
In the future:
It seems likely there will be a much higher demand for ferry trips in future as travellers going abroad go for the car option. So if you are getting a ferry in the coming year, confirm your booking, allow lots of time to get to the terminal and keep an eye on the news.
PLANES
Problems now: Where to begin?! Refund issues are still the single biggest area of complaint. But increasingly, I’m hearing from people who are unhappy that they’ve been billed for moving a booking, when these charges were initially suspended over lockdown. People are also saying they’re struggling to cash in vouchers or rebook flights at reasonable prices. Remember cancelled flights mean you are legally entitled to a refund.
In the future. At the moment, the industry is struggling to adapt, but as quarantine rules come in and out of force, it seems likely that we’ll see flexible tickets that you can move around more easily, transferable tickets for those who can’t fly and (hopefully) help from the insurance industry for administration costs.
Eventually, the Covid 19 restrictions will ease and we’ll all need to get around more. So keep an eye on the news and support travel firms if you can – we’ll need them more than ever in the coming years.
If you’re struggling with a travel problem resolver can help. See resolver.co.uk/