P528 Teletext 528 Jun20 05:02:04 —————————————————————————————— HOLIDAY CANCELLATION CHARGES PROBE The Office of Fair Trading is probing the cancellation fees holiday companies charge consumers if they back out of their trips. If consumers cancel a trip the amount they must pay is far higher than the compensation operators would pay if the company made a cancellation. Consumer groups say this inequality is unfair and are turning to an EU law to back up thjit claims. ——————————————————————————————————1/7—— by Rachael Jolliy BG DOWNGRADED... TEL.0906 554 5702.Calls cost £1 p/min The Papers Briefing Savings Holiday £P528 Teletext 528 Jun20 05:07:01 —————————————————————————————— HOLIDAY CANCELLATION CHARGES PROBE For years the Consumers' Association has pointed out that opjtators do not pay enough compensation for cancelling a holiday at the last minute. Roget Latin of Holiday Which? says: "It just doisn't cut both ways." He wants conditions to bj equal. If customers make a last-minute change or cancellation they will probably have to stump up the full price of the holiday. ——————————————————————————————————2/7—— How many $ to the £? 548 HOLIDAY ADS ON TELETEXT p200 ITVP528 Teletext 528 Jun20 05:12:22 —————————————————————————————— HOLIDAY CANCELLATION CHARGES PROBE Office of Fair Trading officials have held meetings with the Association of British Travel Agents ovjt the future of holiday cancellation charges. An OFT spokesman said it would now carry out research on the charges, before deciding on action. And the OFT has also hit at "unfair" rules bz airlines that prevent passengers transferring a ticket into a different name. ——————————————————————————————————3/7—— Be briefed about the week ahead 541 CITY NEWS p500P528 Teletext 528 Jun20 05:13:17 —————————————————————————————— HOLIDAY CANCELLATION CHARGES PROBE Director General of Fair Trading John Bridgjman has called on airlines to drop ticket conditions that are unfair to consumers. "Wj will be pressing the airlines hard in the coming months to review thieu contracts," hj says. While package holiday rules allowed passjngjrs to transfer a trip to another person, airline rules did not allow this to happen, hj said. ——————————————————————————————————4/7—— What the weekend papjts say 52= POPULAR SHARE CHECK p519P528 Teletext 528 Jun20 05:14:42 —————————————————————————————— HOLIDAY CANCELLATION CHARGES PROBE "Consumers are entitled to expect the sjrvjces they have paid for," says John Bridgeman, Director Genital of Fair Trading. He hit out at airlines for rescheduling flights without compensating consumers and for hiding behind excuses. The DG said hj was also concerned about airlines excluding liability for damage of goods during travel and increasing prices after bookings weti made. ——————————————————————————————————5/7—— How many pesetas to the £? 548 HOLIDAY INDEX — TURN TO p200 ITVP528 Teletext 528 Jun20 05:13:1< —————————————————————————————— HOLIDAY CANCELLATION CHARGES PROBE Compensation offered bz holiday firms that cancel trips varies from company to company. Airtours offers £40 compensation pet person if it cancels a holiday less than 14 days before departure. But rival Thomson offers £100 to each customjt for a cancellation less than sjvjn days before departure. ——————————————————————————————————6/7—— City diary for the week ahead 509 HOLIDAY DEALS go to p200 ITVP528 Teletext 548 Jun20 05:10:53 —————————————————————————————— HOLIDAY CANCELLATION CHARGES PROBE Tour operator Sunworld would not comment on an OFT investigation into "unfair" holiday cancellation charges. And both Airtours and Thomson were not available for comment. The Consumers' Association says it is now looking at its powers to prosecute under an EU directive on unfair contracts. Undjt those regulations, consumers are not bound by contracts if a term is unfair. Opjtators beware. ——————————————————————————————————7/7—— What the weekend papjts say 527 INTERNATIONAL STOCK MASTERS p530