There have been complaints about unfair bank charges, insurance wrangles, items being lost by couriers…and even a plea for help from the other side of the world.
Every week the Raw Deal mailbag overflows with requests for help from stressed-out readers, and we’ve been busier than ever in 2020, the year of the coronavirus crisis.
Here we present our annual look back at the times when we stepped in to do battle with companies and institutions to set things right.
We’re gutted to miss dream trip but glad to have our money back
One of the biggest consumer stories of the year involved the tens of thousands of people left fighting for refunds for holidays that were called off because of the pandemic.
Travel companies and airlines have faced fierce criticism for being slow to reimburse customers for Covid-related cancellations.
Many customers are still out of pocket after months, and millions of pounds of refunds are still outstanding.
However the people’s champion, Raw Deal, has secured more than £40,000 in holiday refunds from travel firms and airlines for readers.
Among them were Kate and Chris Donegan, who are now enjoying the festive season after The Sunday Post helped them get their full £13,500 back after a dream holiday to Canada was scrapped due to the pandemic.
The retired couple, from Cambusbarron, Stirling, had saved for years to visit family across the Atlantic. The trip would have included visits to Toronto and Vancouver, a train ride across the Rockies and a spectacular cruise to Alaska. “We were supposed to be going in May but Barrhead Travel informed us in March that the holiday had been cancelled due to Covid,” said Kate, 67.
However, during lockdown she could not get any joy while seeking a refund from the travel firm.
After weeks of getting nowhere the couple turned to Raw Deal. We contacted Barrhead Travel and the £13,500 was soon back in their bank account.
Kate said the couple planned to use some of the cash towards a holiday in Portugal next September.
“The relief is immense,” she said. “This situation was causing us a lot of stress, until Raw Deal intervened. This has really made our Christmas.”
There have been complaints about unfair bank charges, insurance wrangles, items being lost by couriers…and even a plea for help from the other side of the world.
Every week the Raw Deal mailbag overflows with requests for help from stressed-out readers, and we’ve been busier than ever in 2020, the year of the coronavirus crisis.
Here we present our annual look back at the times when we stepped in to do battle with companies and institutions to set things right.
When Elaine Marshall’s elderly father passed away she took his bank to task over business charges that she felt were unfairly applied to his account.
Elaine, 57, complained to Clydesdale Bank after her dad, retired postmaster John Ireland, from Ayr, died the previous December, aged 82. “We couldn’t understand, as dad had no involvement in a business since at least February 2013 yet these charges were still being applied,” said Elaine. She combed through old bank statements and was sure her dad had been overcharged.
Elaine complained to the bank but said her mother Mary had only received an offer of £100 and a bunch of flowers.
When Raw Deal contacted the company, an investigation was launched. The bank performed a U-turn on charges going back seven years and agreed to refund Elaine’s mother in the region of £1,500.
A ROYAL RESCUE
Johan Hogg’s daughter Lily, 11, had been voted the local gala queen and was looking forward to parading through the streets of Prestonpans, East Lothian, with her friends.
For the June event, Johan had ordered nine bridesmaid dresses for the maids of honour in the middle of March.
Gala committee member Johan paid £782 for the outfits from the WED2B bridal shop in Edinburgh.
However, when lockdown measures were introduced towards the end of March, the shop closed. The children’s gala day was also then axed due to the pandemic and the outfits were no longer required. Lily and all her friends were understandably disappointed.
However, the mum of two ran into issues when trying to get the money back.
In frustration, Johan wrote to Raw Deal. We contacted WED2B and the company resolved the matter. A refund was soon issued for the full £782.
THE GRAND TOUR
A mum of two’s plan to tour Scotland by motorcycle is back on track after Raw Deal resolved a lengthy dispute over her faulty £4,000 bike.
Joan Williams, 59, a carer from Arbroath, had decided to rekindle an old passion for motorbikes and she’d saved up for new wheels.
In June 2019, she bought a BMW model from John Clark Motorrad in Dundee. Within months the bike developed mechanical problems.
When the issue dragged on, in February this year Joan wrote to Raw Deal. After we roared into action it wasn’t long before Joan got her £4,000 back.
“I’ve bought a new bike and can’t wait to be back on the road,” she said.
LOST AND FOUND
Joanna Lynch will be a bit more comfortable in her old age after Raw Deal helped get her works pension reinstated after she fought an 18-month battle to have it recognised.
The 57-year-old mother of two, from Midlothian, was employed as a printer at a government stationery office in Edinburgh for almost seven years, starting in the late 1980s.
However, when Joanna was going through a divorce two years ago and needed an estimate of what her occupational pension was worth, she was shocked when the civil service told her they could not locate it.
“I was in a real panic,” she said.
After Raw Deal contacted the Cabinet Office, Joanna was informed that her missing pension had been found and would be reinstated.
“I can’t thank Raw Deal enough,” she said.
CLAPPING FOR CARERS
Nurse Avril Brown had enough to cope with on the coronavirus frontline without a shock £800 bill from her internet data provider.
The NHS worker had received the hefty demand out of the blue for using her Samsung tablet.
After Raw Deal stepped in, Avril, who works at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, was refunded her £800 and also received a 15% discount on future bills from Vodafone.
BANK HELD TO ACCOUNT
When Elaine Marshall’s elderly father passed away she took his bank to task over business charges that she felt were unfairly applied to his account.
Elaine, 57, complained to Clydesdale Bank after her dad, retired postmaster John Ireland, from Ayr, died the previous December, aged 82. “We couldn’t understand, as dad had no involvement in a business since at least February 2013 yet these charges were still being applied,” said Elaine. She combed through old bank statements and was sure her dad had been overcharged.
Elaine complained to the bank but said her mother Mary had only received an offer of £100 and a bunch of flowers.
When Raw Deal contacted the company, an investigation was launched. The bank performed a U-turn on charges going back seven years and agreed to refund Elaine’s mother in the region of £1,500.
LIGHT AT END OF THE TUNNEL
College lecturer Lesley Hodgens received a parking fine after a two-hour appointment at Specsavers in Arbroath, Angus, in February, ran over time.
As a result, she was issued with a fine from the parking operators at Abbeygate Shopping Centre, which climbed to £170 – and she was also being pursued by a debt collection agency for the money.
Lesley, 49, said: “I wasn’t too worried because Specsavers said they had arranged with the parking company to have my car there slightly longer.”
However, demands for payment started arriving. We wrote to both Specsavers and London-based parking firm CP Plus and the charges were soon scrapped.
NO MORE WATER WORKS
Roger Manning and his partner Elspeth Ditcham were left in a bind after a flood at their home.
Heating pipes blew off the wall of their bungalow in the Borders village of Sprouston after Scottish Water carried out maintenance work in April.
When Roger contacted his insurance company, Age Co, they instructed a firm from West Lothian to carry out the repairs but he was unhappy with the contractors.
After Raw Deal got involved, Roger and his partner Elspeth Ditcham were given permission to use local tradesmen. The insurer also provided Roger with £2,500 to pay for materials.
SLEEPING SOUNDLY
One of Raw Deal’s more unusual cases happened in August when expat Brian Watt contacted us from his home in Perth, Australia.
The Scot asked for help on behalf of his mum Inger who stayed in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.
Inger had bought a blow-up bed from online retailer Easylife but it had sprung a leak.
When she tried to return it, couriers turned up three times but left empty-handed because she did not have the right labels. After the long arm of Raw Deal swung into action, Easylife soon refunded Inger and said it didn’t need the faulty airbed back.
“It was ridiculous that I had to step in to try to help from the other side of the world,” said Brian. “It is just as well I remembered about Raw Deal and you certainly came through for us.”
MUSIC TO SELLER’S EARS
Tom Armstrong was quids in after Raw Deal put the squeeze on a courier company that lost a vintage accordion he had sold online.
In October 2019, Tom, from Kelso, Roxburghshire, sold the instrument to a buyer in London, via Gumtree, for £300 – half of its estimated value.
Tom, 84, had the accordion couriered via Royal Mail’s Parcelforce service and paid £30 for next day delivery. But he became concerned when the buyer contacted him to say the accordion had never arrived.
After he got nowhere with Parcelforce, Raw Deal got involved in February and Tom was soon compensated to the tune of £330.
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