Keep up to date with news & views about timeshare termination, mis-selling claims and compensation payable to consumers throughout the UK. Follow us here.

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Financial Ombudsman Service Tells Banks To ‘Stop Blaming Victims’ !

In their latest newsletter, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has warned banks to treat victims of financial fraud more fairly, instead of assuming the victim was grossly negligent and to blame.

FOS see thousands of complaints from customers, who have had money stolen from their accounts, and assesses cases where the bank and customer both say they are not responsible for the loss.

Often victims have had their life savings stolen in sophisticated scams and to make matters worse, the banks often refuse to reimburse their customers when this happens. As state-of-art scams become more prevalent and more convincing, the … Read more

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Rural communities say they are alarmed as the rate of bank closures gathers pace

Some towns no longer have a bank or won’t have a bank by the end of the year. Latest figures published by Which? Say nearly 2,900 branches nationwide will have been lost between 2015 and the end of 2018. In the West Midlands alone 208 branches have or will be closed by the end of the year.

The banks say a significant drop in footfall makes many branches unviable. But many people are upset and feel their communities are being treated unfairly.

The people affected the most are local businesses who operate during business hours and need to deposit cash … Read more

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Scams We Should All Be On The Lookout For

Here are just some of the scams we should be on the lookout for.

Police are warning people over doorstep scammers who pose as ex-offenders. The scam involves people posing as ex-offenders going door to door selling items and Greater Manchester Police force are so concerned they have issued a warning. Bogus sellers are posing as reformed criminals and targeting homes in and around Greater Manchester.

Scammers have been visiting homes and telling residents that they are working as part of a probation service scheme, officers say there is no such scheme and have warned residents not to answer the … Read more

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How to claim compensation for cancelled trains.

Hundreds of people claim for compensation every day for disruption to their rail journeys, however many passengers do not bother or do not know that they actually have a valid claim.

Commuters who have experienced difficulties travelling on trains are being encouraged to claim back money through the Delay Repay Scheme. It is an initiative that enables passengers whose journeys have been severely disrupted.

Each franchised Train Company has a Passenger’s Charter which is a guide to the level of service you can expect to receive when using their stations and their train services.
If your journey is delayed you … Read more

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Birmingham Airport has unveiled £14 Million worth of improvements

Birmingham Airport has unveiled £14 Million worth of improvements aimed at reducing congestion for passengers. Last year the airport faced a barrage of complaints after queues built up and some passengers actually missed flights.

They will expand their do it yourself check-in areas designed to make checking in much faster. They also have a new liquid preparation area which reduces queuing in security aisles. The facility has new booths where passengers can clearly see what is and isn’t allowed and what should be bagged up.

The aviation minister, Baroness Sugg, visited Birmingham airport to see some of the changes for … Read more

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UK Flights With Primera Air Cancelled

UK Flights with Primera Air have been cancelled, as the airline ended more than 200 flight routes from Birmingham Airport, affecting thousands of passengers.

Just 4 months after launching flights from Birmingham airport, a budget airline has announced it is scrapping flights to all 7 destinations in the Mediterranean and Canary Islands.

Primera Air says the services will end during September and October. An average passenger drop of 1800 a day in the first half of this year, compared to last, is said to be the reason why.

Despite being peak summer season for all the airlines, Primera say there … Read more

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How will Brexit effect your travel next year ?

The UK will leave the EU on Friday 29 March 2019 and there will be many, many changes to get used to, but how will travel and holidaying abroad work ?

A transition period has been agreed, in principle, between the EU and UK, until 31 December 2020.

There is a lot of uncertainty amongst members of the public and some who think things will carry on as normal, but it is clear more clarity is needed on the impact of Brexit.

Alan Wardle from ABTA says: “Travel is one of those industries that has quite a big impact if … Read more

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Crackdown on Fraud must target new generation of online scams.

As people are becoming more and more aware of the types of scams out there, scammers are having to create new ones, to replace the old ones. We are all aware of Phising but have you heard about Vishing, Spoofing, Twishing and Smishing ?

Neither had we, but these are just some of the digital-age scams financial investigations unit’s all over the country are looking at. Here are some of the scams to look out for.

First there was Phishing, where fraudsters send out spoof emails in an attempt to steal personal information, such as passwords and banks … Read more

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The latest headlines from the timeshare industry.

Marriott and Starwood Merge for a colossal rebrand.
The merger, which was completed on 1 August, has created the largest portfolio, with 110 Million members and over 6,500 hotels, in 127 countries and 29 brands. They are taking all of these members and brands and combining them into one. This single brand is yet to be named. The company announced their loyalty program will begin in August and will remain in place until 2019 when they change the name. Members have been advised that nothing will change immediately but everyone will be kept informed. A spokesperson for the group said … Read more

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The Information Commissioners Office issues £100k fine to marketing company who made over 75 thousand nuisance calls.

AMS Marketing LTD, based in East Sussex, made 75,649 calls to people who had registered their telephone numbers on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).

The ICO and TPS received a total of 103 complaints about the unsolicited calls between the dates of 1 October 2016 and 31 December 2017.

It is against the law to call telephone numbers registered on the TPS unless the caller has gained specific consent to make the call. The company making the call needs to be able to demonstrate they have done this by providing evidence, and the ICO were not satisfied that AMS Marketing … Read more

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