Good idea - thanks, I'll look into it. Kind of frustrating to be told it's all my fault when I wasn't given the proper info in the first place! Cheers to all for the advice.

The airport codes weren't shown when I booked online, or on the receipt. They were shown on the itinerary I was emailed a few days later. From what I can make out, even if I had questioned it once I received the itinerary it would have been too late as I'd already booked it and it was non-refundable. It honestly never occurred to me that a flight like this would be sold and I've been travelling for years - it wasn't even a bargain price! Saying it's my fault surely allows them to sell any old rubbish online and blame the customer when they realise it's not going to work - and what's the point of even using a travel agent if they aren't checking what they sell first?

Thanks very much to Scaniaman for the info btw, wasn't aware of the CAA...I'm getting on that right away!

To Dubai, with Turkish Airlines. The airports were Istanbul and SAW (can't remember the full name). I just had a message from Consumer Direct saying I had no case for redress as I should have checked the details before booking - so basically STA can sell any old flights that don't actually work without explaining the transfer situation and if you make the mistake of booking then it's your fault. So much for consumer rights. !!

Update on this - after several emails and a long (2 month) wait, finally this week I got a refund for the tax portion minus a generous 'admin charge'. This means I am still down on most of what I paid for the useless flight...and they are still selling the same flight on the their website with no mention of the overland transfer. Have put in a complaint with ABTA so we'll see what happens next. The most annoying thing about all this is that I was told is was essentially my fault for not checking out all the details properly. HELLO!? YOU'RE THE TRAVEL AGENT, IT'S YOUR JOB TO DO THIS! Would seriously advise not to book with STA Travel at least for flight only, their prices are more than booking direct with the airline and apparently you're not actually paying for the cost of a knowledgeable travel agent but just funding their office parties.

This is a bit complicated and I will be very grateful if anyone has a clue as to where I stand.... I booked a flight online with STA travel, everything seemed fine until I tried to check in online the morning of departure. The flight had a transfer and I noticed that the arrival transfer airport had a different name to the departure transfer airport. I called the airline to find out the story and was told that the two airports are on different sides of the country, so I would need to collect my baggage, get a bus/taxi to the other airport and then check in again! As I only had a 4 hour gap between flights, the airline said this wouldn't be possible so I should ring my travel agent. Then followed 3 hours of phone calls and being put on hold while travel agent and airline argued and tried in the end to tell me this is a viable flight. From what I have seen/heard, there is not a hope in hell that I would arrive at the other airport in time to catch the second flight, even if traffic on the day was perfect. At the end of my patience and not being offered a refund or alternative, I had to cancel, meaning I have lost my money. Hopefully the travel agent will give me back the taxes but that's all. This is so bizarre to me - how can you be expected to change airports and collect your luggage, then cross a country and check in again as part of a normal flight? Have never heard of anything like this and there was nothing on the itinerary or receipt to indicate I would need to do a land transfer. If I hadn't noticed this when I tried to check in, I would probably still be standing in the first airport not having a clue what was going on! Can anyone help with how I can try to get my money back? I have written a complaint to the travel agent but they haven't even acknowledged it yet. I have had to pay for another new flight (probably now also to be cancelled due to this volcanic ash nightmare!) and my schedule has been messed up, plus all the hassle of having to redo airport transfers, phone calls, etc. Please help!

Just posting this as a warning really - I've had a terrible time following a complaint I made against an NPower salesman. He came to the door and basically didn't introduce himself (until I made him show ID), he gave misleading info about my meter etc....I was a bit annoyed and made the complaint against him. I then had to give the same info regarding the visit on 4 or 5 separate occasions, received 2 letters, several phone calls...not of which seemed to be getting anything done. Surely all they needed to do was find the man and give him a telling-off? Eventually I got a letter saying that 'we have found that you signed the contract and it is legally binding so we are dropping the matter.' I NEVER SIGNED A CONTRACT and this was not the subject of my complaint! I was a bit shaken by this letter and called Npower to be told eventually that someone must have sent out the wrong letter. The salesman had a trainee with him who corroborate his version (naturally) and so the case was dropped, partly because I had not agreed to an agent coming to interview me at my house. I really feel like they have harassed me pointlessly and it was a total waste of time ever complaining as they will never uphold the complaint. Not wanting to put others off complaining altogether either....is there another body who regulates these people? One thing is for sure - I will never ever have anything to do with Npower ever again! What a complete bunch of incompetent crooks.

Thanks for the advice Steve (and to the board in general for other advice I've looked at). The situation has resolved, thankfully - not that I was able to force the issue but the other tenant agreed to co-operate. I wish I'd given more thought the implications of a joint agreement before I signed, I hope other people will take a bit more time than I did before getting caught up in something so binding.

I hope you get this sorted out - will leave it to more knowledgeable people to help you out, I know it's incredibly infuriating (the same thing happened to my mum, about 15 years ago, they completely took advantage of her naivety, and I will still exact revenge on that greedy estate agent if I ever get a chance;)). It's been occurring to me that it's the tenants who ought to have the right to a reference about the landlord! But at least the law has improved in recent years - good luck.

Hello, To cut a long story short - I recently signed a joint tenancy agreement with someone but after a month realised I had made a massive mistake and want to get out of it. The estate agent has been quite understanding and told me (only 'off the record' though) that if I find a replacement who is suitable and will pass the credit/reference checks, the other tenant cannot be obstructive. To make it clear, I gave the other tenant a month to find a replacement herself, at her request, and she did nothing. It's not like she desperately wants me to stay, I'm sure she'd be as glad to see the back of me as much as I would her so it's hard to understand her actions. She's since agreed to let me find someone, but now I've drawn up a short list and am trying to arrange viewings for them so they can meet her and see the flat, she is just refusing to talk to me. And I am actually trying to find someone that I think she will get on with, not just offering it to the first person off the street who can pay. So - am I right to think that, if I find a decent and willing person who passes the checks, my requirements will be fulfilled regardless of what the other tenant says? I assume then that she will either have to accept the new person, find her own alternative or take on the contract alone. Anyone know the answer to this for sure? I don't want it to come to this but she is being incredibly stubborn. All seems like a bit of a minefield to me - note to self, never sign a joint tenancy agreement ever again, even if you think it's with a friend!! Thanks for any help. Sorry, realised I should add, for your info - the lease is an AST for twelve months with no break clause, it's just a standard lease as far as I know. If we were to both end the lease early there would be a penalty of 10% of the remaining rent for however many months were left, so understandably neither of us want to do this.

Hello, Was wondering if anyone can help me here - I have been a lodger for the last 6 months, I pay bills as and when requested by the house owner. I'm due to move out so my landlady asked if I could get an estimate of the gas and electric bill so I could pay what I owed up to the leaving date. On calling with the meter reading, it turned out that no gas bill had been sent out by Southern Electric since August 2008! Maybe I should have noticed this but all the bills go to my landlady and it just didn't occur to me that she hadn't asked for gas money. So now - she will be getting almost a years worth of gas bills in one go. I'm guessing she will not be amused...:-|do you think it's the fault of Southern Electric and therefore we should at least get a fair amount of time to repay the bills? I am a bit afraid of having to pay all this in one go, I guess it will be quite a bit of money. Would appreciate any advice.