✉ We’ve been left thousands of pounds out of pocket due to British Airways cancelling our flights to San Francisco at the last minute. BA emailed us just a few hours before we were due to take off; it said there were no available options for rescheduling. We needed to travel that day and eventually, via the BA call centre, we ended up paying another £2,567 to get a flight to San Diego and then one on United to San Francisco. We had to pay because San Diego is more than 300 miles away from our original destination but the agent intimated we’d be able to make a claim back later. We were subsequently told by various BA staff members and crew that we should have been rebooked free of charge and we met another family at San Diego airport who’d also been rebooked on this route at no cost. So we assumed this flight would be reimbursed, or at the very least that our original (cancelled) flights would be refunded; we also hoped for compensation for the hassle and the delayed arrival. Yet more than three months on we haven’t had a penny. We’ve even had to borrow money to pay our credit card bill. Can you help?
Helena Jones
As you discovered, BA policy is that when a customer changes their flight to somewhere more than 300 miles away from the original destination, they’re liable to pay for the new booking. But this was completely unfair in your circumstances, given the last-minute nature of the cancellation and the fact that the airline couldn’t get you to San Francisco the same day. After I got involved, BA decided to issue a refund as a gesture of goodwill. “We apologise for our customer’s experience and have been in contact to help resolve the issue,” said a spokesperson.
✉ I booked a holiday cottage for four nights for £1,362 through Sykes Cottages so that four generations of the family could spend time together over part of the Easter school holidays. When we arrived we drove the length of the long residential road to find it cordoned off from one end to the other with heavy duty plastic fencing and traffic bollards to enable a road resurface scheme. The road was quiet with few workmen when we arrived but we soon found that, come the evening, work would continue into the early hours of the morning, on one occasion stopping at 4am. It was impossible to sleep. Huge lorries arrived to strip the remains of the old surface, re-lay and flatten and then roll the new one all with vehicles with loud reversing alarms. The thumping and banging noises directly outside the house were tremendous, and flattening and roller work literally caused the house to shake. On complaining to the owner we were offered a free visit in the future, which is of no use to us. I tried to complain to Sykes but have yet to be able to talk to an actual person and have had no written reply. I think the rental fee was taken under false pretences. Can you help?
Jill Shackleton
This was hardly the peaceful Easter break you and your family were looking for but getting a refund in this sort of situation can be tricky. Your contract was with the owner, rather than Sykes and, despite a prod from the agency, they won’t budge — the best they’ll offer is another stay. Sykes, while sorry to hear about your experience, maintains it was only told about the problem after your holiday. Had you made contact at the time, it could have helped with finding somewhere quieter to stay.
✉ My wife and I want to take our son away for his 30th birthday for three or four nights in late August. He doesn’t like sunny holidays and has spoken about going to a loch in Scotland. We don’t mind cooking some meals but I’d also like to treat him to a nice restaurant on his birthday. There will be five of us and we’ll require three bedrooms. We have cars, so getting there won’t be a problem. Any ideas?
Bill McMeekin
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Clarinnes Cottage, on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond at Rowardennan, ticks your son’s boxes (although lack of sun can’t be guaranteed) and as it’s in the middle of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park there are tracks and trails from the door. Rowardennan is also the start point for the most popular route up Ben Lomond, Scotland’s most southerly munro. The cottage has three bedrooms plus a hot tub and three nights in late August would cost £1,109 (cottages.com). Book a celebration dinner at the nearby Oak Tree Inn, also lochside, in Balmaha (theoaktreeinn.co.uk) or the Clachan, a cosy 18th-century pub in Drymen (clachaninndrymen.co.uk). Or fire up the wood-burner at remote three-bedroom Upper Sonachan Farmhouse, with shore access to fabulous Loch Awe, near Dalmally, in Argyll. Three nights in August costs £1,495 (unique-cottages.co.uk). Dine nearby at the award-winning Ben Cruachan Inn (bencruachaninn.com). Sun or no sun, in August you’ll need protection against midges.
✉ My 90-year-old Dad worked in Bavaria in the 1970s and would love to go back. Are there any (not too long) trips that would visit the main sights and in particular the fairytale castle with the gold swan that he and Mum took me when I was a little girl?
Debby Clark
The fairytale castle with the gold swan you remember is King Ludwig II’s outlandish Neuschwanstein, inspiration for the castle in Disney’s Cinderella and so popular you’ll want to avoid visiting in July or August. It’s on the itinerary for Rail Discoveries’ seven-night, all-inclusive Bavaria’s Romantic Road tour from London St Pancras, which also includes medieval towns like Rothenburg, as well as Lake Constance, and costs £999pp in September (£1,049pp in a single room, raildiscoveries.com). Or stay in Munich and take day trips. The Hotel Admiral is a comfortable bolt hole within easy walking distance of the main sights; it’s just across the river from the Deutsches Museum and near the Konigsquelle restaurant, which serves superlative schnitzel (B&B doubles from £175; hotel-admiral.de). A small-group coach trip to Neuschwanstein, Linderhof Palace and the idyllic village of Oberammergau costs £154pp (munichdaytrips.com).
✉ We’re looking for a house with a pool in the south of France for two weeks next July for our family of five. Ideally, it would be within walking distance of Montpellier, Pézenas or Aigues-Mortes and we can pay about £5,000. What can you suggest?
Katherine Aiken
Villa Picasso is an easy 15-minute stroll from Pézenas, one of the medieval glories of Occitania, with its winding alleys, brocante shops and cafés, plus a fabulous Saturday market. In a quiet residential area, the traditionally decorated house has three smart bedrooms and a great pool and costs £5,400 for two weeks next July (vintagetravel.co.uk).
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