Only carry the amount of money you need

Think about the money you carry. I have seen people in the Gambia open there wallets or purse and you see well over £100 sitting there in a country with an average wage of under £20 a week, 2 months’ salary in your wallet is a strong pull. Only take what you need.

Be careful what you carry

Same goes for what you carry, that expensive camera and video camera was a great buy in the sale, and so was your watch and the jewellery you wear. Just think what you have on your person could be worth over a year’s wages in a poor country.

Use the accommodations’ safe, sounds simple but do not forget to put things in the safe.

Credit Card fraud

According to ABTA and Retail Decisions (ReD), card fraud will be the biggest crime this summer. Here is some advice from ABTA and ReD, along with a few tips of my own. British travellers are most at risk due to the fact our cards are valuable, and therefore vulnerable as they tend to have the highest credit limits.

Highest risk destinations

Ghana, Nigeria, Indonesia, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Egypt, Dominican Republic. However crime can happen anywhere.

Before you leave home

All travellers should make a note of both there card numbers and the contact number in case of emergencies and leave these in safe keeping with a trusted friend. Better yet take a photocopy of both sides of your card. Of course NEVER give your pin numbers to anyone.

Contact your bank before you travel and inform them of your plans.

What should I look out for overseas

- Shoulder surfing at ATM’s, this occurs when someone tries to watch you enter your pin.
- Do not let your card out your sight; go to the pay point in restaurants etc.
- Never leave your card to run a tab.
- If you believe something has happened to your card contact your bank straight away.

Check your bank statements

Check your statements, if you do not recognise a transaction inform your bank. Sometimes a small transaction are put though your card as a test or to avoid the banks fraud detection software.

Use a travel payment card

Use a travel payment card these have several advantages. First if your card is stolen funds can be replaced. If you lose your bank card it is gone and you have no access to money. Travel payment cards are not connected to your bank account or credit history so it limits frauds done that way. Finally they come in different currencies so you can set your exchange rate before you travel.

Lastly do not think it cannot happen to you, be aware of what is happening and take out travel insurance.

Thanks to Nick for his excellent guest post today, giving consumer travel tips. Nick has worked for independent and multiple travel agents as well as a tour operator. He served on ABTA Eastern Board and currently runs his own independent travel agency for over 15 years.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

Will you be robbed on holiday?

CAA predictions not much help to consumers

Read the travel industry press, and like me, you will be outraged to read that and some agencies stopped taking Goldtrail bookings months ago. According to Travel Weekly, only this month, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) predicted “the collapse of a tour operator to the Eastern Med later this year”.

So, has the CAA learnt anything from previous travel collapses? It would seem not.

Poor consumer experience

I do not know how the travel industry works, but what I do know is that a number of travel agencies made the decision to stop selling Goldtrail holidays, yet, no one have appeared to step in and investigate why. You only have to read the reviews and posts on forums about consumer’s experiences with Goldtrail to see that they were problems.

All talk no action

Is this going to be another travel collapse that is swept under the carpet, or, is something going to happen so that consumers can continue to trust their travel agent when booking a holiday? This trust will diminish, if agents are selling holidays, knowing, that the tour operator or provider is struggling financially.

Travel agents attitude towards non package holidays

I also do not like this attitude from some travel agents towards consumers who have booked a non package holiday, that those consumers deserve everything they get. You should be financially protected no matter how you have booked your holiday, or how much it cost.

Lessons learnt from the collapse

Surely, any doubt whatsoever that a tour operator is struggling financially should be investigated.

It was refreshing to read an article by Travel Weekly that told it as it is and I would like to read more of this. I am interested to read comments from people, who work within the industry, do not be shy, what lessons need to be learnt from the collapse of Goldtrail.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

A consumer’s view of the collapse of Goldtrail

Thousands stranded abroad

So those holidaymakers who are stranded abroad will receive assistance. There are no more outbound Goldtrail flights, so if you were due to travel with them you need to check with the travel agent because your tickets will no longer be valid. More information can be found on the ATOL website.

Hope that CAA deal with claims quickly

According to media reports, over 50,000 consumers are affected by the collapse of Goldtail Holidays, and, I, for one, hope the CAA refund customers money a lot quicker than the likes of XL and Leisure Direct etc. No one should be waiting six months or anything up to a year for their money refunding.

Updates on the collapse of Goldtrail Holidays

According to the CAA, all scheduled flights from Turkey and Greece will operate as scheduled over the weekend, and up to and including Monday 19 July 2010. They are advising passengers who are due to return to the UK are advised to go to the airport as originally scheduled.

CAA gives advice to Goldtrail customers

Goldtrail updates expected on Monday morning

Further updates by the CAA are expected on Monday, so I will update this post then. In the meantime Sunshine.co.uk have produced a great guide to help Goldtrail customers complete their ATOL claim form. You can download the ATOL claim form and then get your travel agency to complete it.

I will post information here as soon as possible, but if you have been affected by this news please leave your questions in the comments section below.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

Turkey specialist Goldtrail goes into administration

Lack of cruise rants

It is single person supplements that make a cruise holiday impossible for me. I receive a lot of complaints from consumers, but I can’t remember the last time one that was cruise related. I was wondering what issues consumers have with cruises.

If you’ve been on a cruise, what did you not enjoy about it? Feel free to add your negative experiences in the comments section below.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

Your cruise holiday rants and complaints

Water for profit

Travel to any popular tourist hotspot and you will find that the modest bottle of water doubles in price. At the end of the day we live in a world where people in many countries have to travel for miles for water, we do take it for granted.

So should it be used as a way for hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions to make huge profit?

Stop purchasing from hotel mini bars

I refuse to purchase anything from hotel mini-bars because it is a complete rip off. They put it there because many people would rather pay the inflated price, than walk out of the hotel to the nearest supermarket. We should all stop using hotel mini-bars until they sell at retail price.

As usual, I would be interested to read your experiences and thoughts.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

Rip off hotel mini bars