I have booked a hotel in Plymouth this weekend but now want to cancel it due to the riots. Am I entitled to cancel and get my money back?
FL, By email.
Devon and Cornwall Police said six arrests have been made following unrest in Plymouth on Monday.
Dean Dunham responds: The first thing you should do is check the hotel’s terms and conditions to see what it says about cancellations.
If the hotel has a policy that allows cancellations in the event of emergency or unsafe conditions, such as riots or natural disasters, you may be entitled to a refund under the policy, but it will depend on the actual wording of the policy and the likelihood that the riots will affect Plymouth, where the hotel is located. It will also depend on whether the riots are likely to continue to be a problem over the weekend.
If the hotel’s cancellation policy doesn’t help, you’ll need to turn to the law. The Consumer Rights Act states that when a service is provided (such as the use of a hotel room), it must be provided with “reasonable care and skill.”
This definition is quite broad and includes the hotel’s consideration for your safety. So you could argue that as there is likely to still be unrest on the streets of Plymouth, the hotel will not be able to guarantee you that you will be safe entering or leaving (or even staying in) the hotel and on this basis you are entitled to cancel and receive a refund.
If the hotel rejects your refund request, you can make a chargeback claim if you paid by debit or credit card in the last 120 days; or a section 75 claim if you paid by credit card and the amount was more than £100. If you make one of these claims, you will need to cite the Consumer Rights Act argument mentioned above to the bank or card provider and say that the hotel is in “breach of contract”.
I was scammed by scammers posing as fraud hunters
My account was stolen after I was tricked into giving my bank details to scammers posing as National Crime Agency officials. The bank says it can’t help me because it should have known the call wasn’t genuine given public warnings about this scam.
WD, by email.
Dean Dunham responds: Many banks and other financial institutions have signed up to a voluntary code called the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, known as the “CRM Code.”
It appears that your bank is one of the subscribers, in which case it is obliged to reimburse you for the money you have lost, unless one of the exceptions prescribed in the CRM Code applies.
The three most common exceptions cited by banks are: 1. The customer ignored effective warnings (these are scam warnings distributed by their bank or any other public warnings); 2. The customer failed to take appropriate action following a clear negative confirmation of the beneficiary outcome (this is when your bank tells you that the beneficiary details do not match your bank details when you make a funds transfer); and 3. The customer made the payment without a reasonable basis to believe that the beneficiary was the person the customer expected to pay; the payment was for genuine goods or services; and/or the person or company they made the transaction with was legitimate.
It seems to me that your bank is relying on the first reason and in these circumstances my advice is to go back to the bank and deny that you knew or should have known about the scam and ask them to prove that there were “effective warnings”.
Starting October 7, strict new rules will require banks to reimburse all scam victims who have been tricked into sending their money.
If your bank is unable (or refuses) to do so, the next step is to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Make sure you send a copy of any correspondence you have had with the bank and tell the Ombudsman that the bank has failed to provide any evidence that effective warnings have been given about the scam you were victim of.
In my experience, when these steps are taken consumers often obtain a payment from the bank or achieve a satisfactory outcome with the ombudsman.
Starting October 7, strict new rules will require banks to reimburse all scam victims who have been tricked into sending their money within a week of the incident being reported, unless the customer acted with gross negligence.
Do you have a question for Dean? Write to Money Mail, 9 Derry Street, London, W8 5HY or email: d.dunham@dailymail.co.uk.
The Daily Mail does not accept any legal responsibility for the answers given.
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