Fergus Muirhead on holiday issues

Fergus answers money questions on Reporting Scotland and online

I'm Fergus Muirhead and I'm trying to answer any money or consumer problems you may be facing at the moment.

You can contact me by e-mail at [e-mail]

I will deal with a selection of your e-mails every second Monday on lunchtime Reporting Scotland, Scotland Live and on the BBC Scotland news website.

Fergus also has a consumer page on Twitter: http://twitter.com/consumerstuff

Question 1. I believe you are doing a spot about Holidays and people's experiences. I recently had an unhappy experience with Ryanair and cannot even get them to respond to my e-mail. My initial posted complaint to their Customer Services in Ireland:

"Reference: Reservation UE3MPK

Dear Sir/Madam,

As you can see from my reservation (copy also enclosed) I selected Web Login with one bag for the hold, however when I came to check-in online I could not hit Continue as I did not just have carry-on luggage. I therefore could not print out my boarding passes.

When I went to check-in at Bremen and explained the situation, although sympathetic the lady informed me that I would have to pay 40 Euros to print out the boarding cards. She said it happened a lot but there was a 'trick' to get past it although she didn't elaborate and when I went to the tickets desk to pay the excess the lady there said she could see no reason I couldn't check in online.

Either way I paid up front for something I could not access, now find myself 40 Euros out of pocket and would ask that this be refunded.

I also enclose the payment receipt.

Thanking you in advance. "

What I got back was a bland e-mail describing their check-in policy, which although a true statement of fact, did not address my complaint. I have tried emailing back and got back an almost identical response, which leads me to believe their e-mail complaints are fed through some sort of 'fuzzy-match' computer system that uses keywords in the e-mail to decide what to send back. Just something that might be worth warning viewers about. I wouldn't use them again anyway, even if I got my money back.

Brian K Mackenzie

Answer. I have to say that you are not the only viewer to have been caught out by Ryanair's rules. And I had a problem on a flight to Dublin last year and had to cough up extra money at the airport because I had not been able to check-in a bag online.

I would urge anyone travelling with Ryanair this summer, or any other budget airline for that matter, to make sure that you read all of the Terms and Conditions thoroughly while making your booking, and to do as much as possible before you get to the airport. Booking extra baggage, priority boarding and sports equipment will all cost you more to arrange if you leave it until you get to the airport - so be organised.

Oh and as you have read from Brian's email don't expect a quick or satisfactory response if you decided to engage Ryanair on your return.

Question 2. When withdrawing cash from an ATM abroad, should one use a credit or a debit card, or in general should one use a card to pay for as much as possible?

Jimmy Wito

Answer. Cash is still the easiest way to pay abroad but you should remember not to carry any more than is covered by your holiday insurance.

If you use credit or debit cards remember to check any extra fees that are added for overseas transactions, and whether any hole in the wall that you use imposes an extra fee as well.

And if you use a Credit Card to withdraw cash you may be faced with a fee as well as a higher rate of interest.

And remember that when you get back home some transactions may take time to appear on your statement so keep a note of what you spend.

Travellers cheques are safer than cash. You can buy them before you leave the UK and as long as you keep a note of the numbers you can have them replaced if they are lost or stolen.

As with any cash you are exchanging remember that commission free doesn't always make sense. You need to check the exchange rate as well as the commission you are paying.

Question 3. I had a bad accident at work on the 14 April and broke my two heels, cracked a bone on my spine was advised by a consultant to cancel my holiday.

I was supposed to fly out to Ibiza on 30 May.

I booked it through Thomsons and my insurance with Mondial.

I paid £1,460 in full, so when I cancelled Thomsons gave me £377 and my insurance gave me £505 so I lost a total of £578.

My insurance company said they took a cancellation fee of £225 for me, my partner and my child of two years and the rest for a late cancellation?

Gary McLean

Answer. We have had loads of questions about travel insurance and this one relates to the excess that your insurers insisted you paid before they settled your claim.

Quite often you will find that the excess will be applied to each person travelling as well as to each leg of the journey and so you have to check the policy you are buying carefully before signing on the dotted line.

Travel insurance is a vital part of any holiday but it is essential to buy a policy that suits, so don't just buy the first one offered by the travel agent - look around first.

Also make sure that you disclose any pre-existing medical conditions since if you don't you are liable to find that any claim you make could be turned down because you didn't disclose all of the relevant facts.

Remember as well that although you may have a European Union Medical card it may not cover all eventualities and it certainly won't cover anything other than medical expenses.

Lastly make sure that you don't end up paying twice for travel insurance so check what cover you have available from your house insurance or current account.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not held by the BBC unless specifically stated. The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.