Guest Post: Dodge Rip-Offs the WalletPop way
Serena Cowdy is a writer for the friendly WalletPop site, which provides up-to-the-minute personal finance news, advice and tools for people who manage their families’ money.
If I was running a rip-offs award ceremony, Michael O’Leary would get the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Ryanair boss is famous for his publicity stunts and for leading the Advertising Standards Authority a merry dance.
He’s now decided to charge travelers just for… well, just for turning up really. And he recently caused much fist-shaking and vein-popping when he announced he was considering charging customers £1 ‘to spend a penny’ on board his flights. Hilarious.
Anyway, this bad boy budget mogul got me thinking. He seems to revel in the glow of public vitriol – but there are some weird, sneaky and downright despicable rip-offs that many people don’t even know about.
Get ready, Miss Thrifty fans - it’s time to write that strongly-worded letter…
Weird insurance exclusions
Some travel insurance policies are enough to make your hair stand on end.
If you’re going to be taking part in an ‘extreme sport’ – like snowboarding – then you’ll need a package that explicitly covers this. Fair enough. But that’s just the beginning. Even ‘extreme sports’ policies have a host of exclusions you may never have thought about.
For example, snowboarders will probably only be covered if their boards are leashed to their ankles at all times. Scuba divers may only be covered down to certain depths. And hikers’ policies often don’t cover them above certain altitudes. So not that extreme after all.
If you’re ‘under the influence of alcohol’ and something happens – good luck. Many insurers will wash their hands of you and refuse to stump up for hospital treatment.
And the ‘weird exclusions’ thing doesn’t just apply to travel insurance. A friend’s mobile phone insurer would only pay out if her phone was ‘forcibly removed’ from her (it didn’t cover wear and tear, mechanical failure or being dropped down the toilet, either).
She put her phone down on her car roof while looking for her keys. It got nicked by a tiny hoodie shooting past on a bicycle – and she got zip.
Charges for sick people
These are so low they make me do my ‘Basil Fawlty’ angry dance.
Many NHS trusts in England charge patients big parking fees when they visit hospitals for treatment. Some demand £2 an hour or even more – meaning that patients with serious ongoing illnesses (like cancer) end up paying hundreds of pounds a year just to access life-saving treatment.
I think this is a disgraceful way to treat sick and vulnerable people. This ‘tax on the sick’ has now been put a stop to in Scotland, thank goodness. But in England, the rip-off is still going strong.
Some in-patients are also being charged huge amounts to watch TV and keep in touch with their families.
At three UK hospitals, the bedside TV and phone company Hospedia has just raised the price of using its equipment from £2.90 to an enormous £7 a day.
The old £2.90 charge covered only TV usage, while phones were charged by the call. The company justifies the price hike by saying that the new price will cover the TV service and free phone calls. But this is a pretty thin excuse – because there’s no lower charge for patients who don’t want to make calls.
Could this profiteering be a reaction to the recent lifting of the ban on mobile phone use in hospitals? Cynical old me…
Fake charities
Here’s another scam that makes me question my faith in human nature.
You know those leaflets you get through the door that ask you to donate your unwanted clothes and other items to a ‘good cause’? If they aren’t from a registered charity, don’t touch them with a bargepole.
Apparently. many of these are rackets in which the clothes are sold on, not given, with the profits ending up in some low-life’s pocket. Words fail me.
Your £3,000 holiday bill
And a jolly holiday tale to end up with. While on a foreign ski holiday, a British man decided to download a few shows to his laptop via a mobile internet connection.
And the bill? That’ll be £22,000 please, sir!
Needless to say – don’t do it. Foreign download charges are usually absolutely horrendous. Take a good book instead.
Actually, I wonder when Michael O’Leary will start passengers for taking books on board…
Image credit: Saad.Akhtar.
