2023-10-07 08:22:56
The desire to travel is greater than it has been for a long time. This also creates a boom for crooks and scammers. Because the anticipation of holiday happiness apparently clouds the common sense of many gullible consumers. They think about sunshine and ignore the fact that no one has anything to give away. A mistake, because expectant travelers have their money mercilessly taken out of their pockets. We name the typical rip-off methods and what can be done about them.
The trick with the holiday voucher
Congratulation, you won! The trick with the holiday voucher is the classic of all travel scams. Because honestly: who wouldn’t want a “free bus trip worth 450 euros”? You really don’t have to pay anything for the isolated hotel, but food and drinks are completely overpriced. The only change: excursions at ridiculous prices.
Tip: Place and location of the hotel offered in a review portal such as Holiday check or Check24 check. Profit advertising where the consumer has to pay something in order to receive the bonus has been banned for ten years (ECJ, Ref. C428/11). Nevertheless, there are still a lot of dubious providers. The Hamburg consumer advice center has three lists with hundreds of dubious companies vzhh.de posted online. Her tip: “Don’t take the ride. Order nothing. Do not call.”
A free room in a luxury hotel
As an ad on the Internet or via WhatsApp, a provider promises free overnight stays in luxury hotels. Only the additional costs have to be paid – and in the small print a “service fee”, a “processing”, “booking”, or “agency fee”, a “seasonal surcharge” or a “deposit” appear.
Anyone who gets involved in this has only themselves to blame. Because not only breakfast and food, flights and transfers have to be paid dearly, but also countless fees: for processing, seasonal, single room and energy surcharges. Together, you end up paying more than you would with an equivalent last-minute offer. And because the hotel was a gift, you can’t even complain.
Tip: take your time to compare prices and ask at a consumer advice center.
The scam with the holiday tester
“Become a holiday tester.” That would be a job! In fact, several companies rely on this scam. They promise “vacations for free in the most expensive five-star hotels”. Of course, you first have to pay for this – no less than 50 euros per month for membership in the “Holiday Tester Club”. Another tip is to register as a premium member straight away to increase your chance of a free tester holiday – for an additional fee, of course.
Stiftung Warentest tried something similar years ago and summed it up: “Stupid catch”. The testers advise getting the money back if it hasn’t been too long since the bank debit.
The second guest pays double the price
The friendly lady on the phone does a survey and the reward is a free boat trip, a free hotel stay or a supposedly valuable travel voucher. But the appearance of a cheap offer is deceptive. On closer inspection, the offer turns out to be only half a double room. For a single room you have to pay a lot more. Or you persuade a friend to come along, who then pays a completely overpriced price.
Tip: throw away the reward. Exerting psychological coercion on the winners is unfair competition and therefore inadmissible, the Saarbrücken Higher Regional Court ruled.
Nepp via Facebook or phone
A message lands on the cell phone, it’s a travel prize announcement. But only the company wants to make money: the “winner” should call back. Anyone who gives in to the recall reflex will quickly lose up to two euros. Then it either just cracks or you end up with expensive, endless tape messages until the caller gives up in exasperation.
Travel annoyances and tips against them:
Expensive 0137 numbers are usually used for the trick, which an amendment to the Telecommunications Act from December 2022 actually wanted to end. But the relevant crooks have long been circumventing the ban using new tricks such as automatic redirection. Tip: Do not call back unknown numbers.
Llama blanket instead of a free vacation
That must be a moment of happiness. You haven’t taken part in any competition and yet the main prize is in your mailbox. Unfortunately, the transmitter didn’t meet anyone; therefore the prize must be picked up in person. An ancient pawn-catching method: the happy winner is guaranteed to end up in a promotional event for llama blankets or timeshare vacation apartments.
It also happens that a travel voucher is to be handed over at a “small celebration”, which also regularly turns out to be a sales event. Tip: Be careful of winnings that have to be picked up! If you still want to try it out, it’s best to leave your credit card, bank card and money at home and resolve not to sign anything.
Destination carpet shop
The obligatory shopping stopover is particularly popular with cheap trips by bus, ship or plane: the travel price for the Dolomites tour, the Baltic Sea trip or the Turkey tour is remarkably cheap. The secret behind it: Half of the trips lead to carpet or leather factories, to jewelry dealers or other companies and often directly to an advertising sales event.
They may be beautiful carpets – but that doesn’t mean you want to buy one
Quelle: picture alliance/Prisma/Schnoz Rene
Trained staff often use aggressive methods to encourage participants to purchase overpriced products of dubious quality and effectiveness. The North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center advises: “Don’t get involved in such deals, otherwise the trip can become very expensive.”
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