Travel trap: Beware of Booking.com scammers
Booking travel and accommodation has never been easier thanks to the internet, but as Booking.com users have found, the modern convenience is not without its traps.
In the year ending December 2023, Australians lost more than $337,000 to scammers impersonating some of the online travel agency’s accommodation partners.
Staying power: What are your rights if an Airbnb host cancels?
So you’re one of the lucky ones who’s secured tickets to a Taylor Swift concert. You’ve even been organised enough to book a reasonably priced Airbnb for the occasion. The excitement level is rising.
Then you get a message. The Airbnb host is cancelling your reservation. You will have to find somewhere else to stay closer to the event when almost everything is booked out or is really expensive. Worse still, you later discover the host has relisted your accommodation for a higher price for the same time.
Hyundai drivers demand action over peeling paint
Angry Hyundai drivers whose cars are worth little more than scrap due to a common paint peeling issue have ramped up their push for compensation.
About a dozen owners and their supporters drove their shabby looking cars to Channel 7 in Perth for a public protest just before Christmas.
Dangerous ground: Alarm over access to children’s flight bookings
When Louise* logged in to the Qantas app to check her return flight from a family holiday she was shocked to find the booking was no longer there.
But she was filled with horror when she found out the reason. Her former husband, who has a police-initiated domestic violence order (DVO) in place against him for harassment and stalking, had cancelled them.
Losing ground: Qantas sued over ‘ghost flights’
Are you one of the thousands of Australians affected by Qantas flight cancellations? Forced into a long layover at an international airport? Or hundreds of extra dollars out of pocket after your flight was rescheduled at the last minute?
You would be furious to learn that the national carrier had cancelled those flights well before you booked. Or that even if you had booked a real flight, rather than a ‘ghost’ one, Qantas delayed telling you that it had cancelled your flight for an average of 18 days.
Taking flight? Here’s how to deal with delays
Qantas proudly sells itself as “the spirit of Australia” but if that’s the case the spirit is not happy. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Qantas received the highest number of complaints of any airline in the 2022 financial year. Most grievances related to service issues, such as flight delays and long wait times to speak with customer service agents.
Hyundai and Kia face new class actions over faulty engines in Australia
Hyundai and Kia are facing two class action lawsuits in Australia over allegations that the car manufacturers sold cars with potentially faulty engines that breached Australian consumer law. The lawsuits come after a series of recalls and safety concerns in Australia over the past few years.
On 15 February 2023, law firm Johnson Winter Slattery filed lawsuits against Hyundai and Kia, claiming that vehicles sold since 2011 were fitted with defective engines that violate Australian consumer law.
Vehicle recalls: Take the driver’s seat with safety issues
When you hear your vehicle has been recalled, it’s natural to go into panic mode. However, a recall is not necessarily a bad thing - it means the manufacturer is staying on top of safety regulations.
It becomes an issue when the manufacturers don’t communicate properly with vehicle owners or conduct repairs in a timely manner.
Travel lighter with these hot tips
It’s great to be back out and about again, isn’t it? But before you step beyond the confines of your state or national borders, it pays to do some homework.
Not only will a little planning save you a lot of money, it could also save you a few headaches at your destination. After all, holidays are supposed to be relaxing, not stressful.
Apply the brakes: Top car rental traps to avoid
Are you planning to travel interstate over the summer holidays? There’s a good chance you might also want to get car rental, at least for a few days.
And while there are plenty of great deals to be had, there are some car rental traps you should know about before handing over your deposit. Otherwise, that deal that seemed too good to be true most certainly will be.