Why you should be wary of low cost airlines

With the summer holiday season just around the corner there will be many people on the lookout for low cost flights and holidays so that they can get some time away without breaking the bank in the current climate. However, far too many people will be enticed by the remarkably low prices that are advertised by no frills budget airlines, little realising that once it comes to making the booking they could end up pay twice as much as they originally thought it would cost.

The problem with no frills airlines is that they appear to offer extremely good prices, which makes holidaymakers believe that they can get a really good deal. However, when you actually start making the booking you realise just how much more expensive it will be to travel compared to the amount you thought it would cost by the headline price. There are so many things that are added on as you go the cost can go up by double – in some cases even more.

This practice of adding on fees and charges as you go through the booking is known as price dripping and is a practice that no frills airlines are known for. Ryanair, for example, adds on all sorts of fees, from fees for checking in online, which you have to do anyway, to fees for baggage, priority boarding, and a hefty administration fee to top things off. What’s more these fees are all doubled because they are charged each way, so you could find that the price has suddenly shot up to two, three, five, or even ten times the amount you originally thought depending on what the original headline price was.

Many officials are concerned that these airlines are so shifty when it comes to the clarity of these charges. Whilst baggage and priority boarding are optional extras that the traveller can choose to add if they wish to do so other charges such as online check in fees and the administration fee is something that all customers will have to pay, so officials want to know why these charges are not just added onto the headline price. Many believe that these headline prices are misleading because they do not reflect other mandatory costs, which makes them look like they are a far better deal than they are.

One official said: “It’s ridiculous that a flight advertised at ten pounds can end up costing closer to a hundred. Even if the final cost represents a good deal, the customer still ends up feeling resentful when they come to hand their money over, especially when they’re charged again for the privilege of paying. Airlines shouldn’t be scared about being upfront with their prices.”

Tags: realising, administration fee, time, upfront, traveller, climate, online check

Ministry of Justice warning over another scam

The Ministry of Justice has recently issued a warning over another scam that has been used to dupe many consumers in the UK and swindle them out of large sums of money. According to the MoJ fraudsters are cold calling consumers and pretending to be government officials. Read more

Tags: office of fair trading, fraud, Ministry, Ministry of Justice, fortune, upfront, Ministry of Justice scams, claims management firms

Mortgage application fees on the rise

The fees charged for a mortgage application have almost doubled in the last three years, according to website Find.co.uk.

Figures, obtained by Defaqto, show that the average application fee for a fixed-rate mortgage now sits at £611, a massive increase on the £334 that was charged in February 2004.

The disparity between the highest and the lowest fees is also more pronounced in 2007 than it was in 2004.

Three years ago the cheapest was £149 from Darlington Building Society, while the most expensive was £2,5000 charged by Bank of Scotland Mortgages Direct.

In 2007 the smallest fee is £49, charged by Halifax, while the largest is £2,499 which is charged by Bank of Scotland.

Kate Marsden, marketing director at Find.co.uk, commented that those who are taking out a loan to buy a home need to do their homework first if they want to get the best deal.

“Borrowers need to do their sums to calculate the total cost of a mortgage, including all fees, so they can compare like with like when assessing different deals,” she said.

“After all, that upfront mortgage application fee could be your redecorating fund.”

If you are looking to get a mortgage make sure you shop around for the deal that is best suited to you.

Tags: deal, massive increase, United States, increase, upfront, Kate Marsden