Holiday Horror
Reporter: Greg Boyed
Andrew and Tania Kauri saved for years for the trip of a lifetime to the United States and Mexico with their children and friends. They wanted a holiday they'd never forget and that's just what they got, for all the wrong reasons.
Andrew had a couple of run-ins with the law when he was younger
for some minor burglaries and disorderly behaviour. But since the
eighties he'd turned his life around.
When booking their trip through Harvey World Travel (which is now
United Travel) in Levin, Tania told the travel agent about Andrew's
past and asked if he would need a visa for the trip to the U.S.A.
The agent asked whether the convictions were sex related and
whether he had done time in jail. When Tania said 'no' the agent
said she couldn't see any reason why a visa would be needed. Tania
said if she had been put in any doubt about Andrew needing a visa,
she would have immediately got one.
Things started to go wrong for the family when they got to Los Angeles International Airport. Andrew was told he ****would be sent home on the next plane, as he had no visa, and had previous convictions. But Andrew persuaded officials to give him a twenty eight day "parole" period so the holiday could carry on. Andrew and Tania said at no point did officials say the parole visa was a single entry visa - meaning they couldn't leave then come back into the U.S. They said they even mentioned in front of the customs officials that they planned to head to Mexico while on their holiday.
So after narrowly talking their way through customs the family and their friends began their U.S. holiday, and then headed for a shopping trip to Tijuana, Mexico. Then when they tried to get back into the U.S. Andrew struck more trouble. Andrew said officials told him he wasn't going back into the U.S, saying he only had a one entry Visa and as he'd already left the United States he wasn't returning.
He said he was straddled, searched and handcuffed by guards and told he was a liar and would be on the next plane back to New Zealand. Andrew said he was duckshoved from cell to cell, locked up with dozens of Mexican nationals trying to get across the border and was constantly under surveillance from closed circuit cameras. He said he had no blanket and was freezing cold. In short Andrew's holiday had turned into a living hell.
Meanwhile Andrew's family had been sent back to the United
States and were at a hotel in San Diego with no idea where he was
and if he was alive or dead. Tania was desperately trying to find
out where Andrew was.
When she eventually discovered he was being held in a detention
centre, she called customs officials in LA to plead for his
release. They agreed.
So how did it happen? John Willson, the General Manager of United Travel says the consultant gave well meaning advice (that Andrew didn't need a visa) but that was a position she shouldn't have taken because it was an area outside United Travel's area of expertise. John Willson said a reminder notice had been sent to United Travel's 95 stores around the country that in future if there was any doubt over visa requirements, customers should be referred to the consulate of the respective country.
Which was good news for the future, but what about the Kauri's
experience? United Travel agreed to refund the Kauri family fully
for their trip to the tune of eleven and a half thousand
dollars.
Lost the Plot?
Reporter: Hannah Wallis
Family graves are usually places of mourning and of memory. Vicki Lynn's family's burial plot was both those things, but also the source of great family pride and even some rather wry family humour. The grave is in Purewa Cemetery, Remuera, Auckland - Vicki's baby brother Nigel was buried here back in 1957, and then her Dad, Ivan Bellini. He was a man with a sense of humour- even when it came to his own grave. Vicki says her family always lived in State houses, never owning their own land or house and her Dad always joked that they did own this little plot of land in Remuera and he'd be able to pass it down through the generations.
But Ivan Bellini was wrong about that. Vicki found that out when she contacted Purewa Cemetery to ask if several members of the family died would there be room for their ashes to be interned and how many? The good news was that Vicki's family plot would hold two coffins - and a fair number of ash burials. The bad news - Purewa Cemetery said the family didn't actually own the grave, they'd only bought a license to bury, a lease, for 60 years. That lease started in 1957, so had just 10 years to run. If they wanted to keep the lease past that expiry date, they'd have to pay another $4500.
Vicki's family has a Certificate of purchase - dated 1957, for the sum of eighteen pounds. It says this certificate is evidence of your title to the plot, it talks about purchase of plot, and describes itself as giving the exclusive right of burial in perpetuity. Nowhere does it say it's a licence with a 60 year lease term.
Then Vicki then asked Purewa's manager what would happen if the
family decided not to extend their 60 year lease - she said would
they cross lease, sub lease it, would other people be able to use
it?
The manager said no, the family plot remains the family plot even
if the lease expires - it can't be re-cycled.
Vicki says her Dad would see the humour in all of this, though he'd still be pretty angry that the family have to keep buying the lease on something he thought he'd bought outright.
But, turns out, despite what the document seems to say, the family don't actually own this burial plot - and this is normal practice. The people who run the cemeteries keep ownership of the actual graves. You simply buy the rights to be buried in them. Which allows cemeteries to keep control of the type of gravestone you can have, maintenance, health and safety rules, that sort of thing.
And while their certificate gave them lease in perpetuity, use of the land forever, Purewa Cemetery says there was a law change in 1964 - the Burial and Cremation Act - which replaced leases in perpetuity with 60 year leases.
We've looked at the relevant part of the law and we're convinced it only applies to graves that have never been used - as a way of freeing up plots that had been bought decades ago but hadn't been used and were never now likely to be used. In this way they could revert back to the cemeteries for use by another family.
Fair Go doesn't believe the law change means that families or
plot owners should have to pay another lease fee IF they've already
used the grave and wanted to use it again
Purewa's manager disagrees with our interpretation but after
discussing it with his Trust Board, it's been decided that in
Vicki's case, her family will not be charged the $4500 to renew
that 60 year lease.
Purewa tell us they don't think there are many families in the
same boat as Vicki's family,
but if so, they will deal with them on a case by case basis. And if
you are one of those people - we'd certainly like to hear how you
got on.
Internet Tickets
Reporter: Erica Wood
Theatre-lover Stuart Bradbury wrote to Fair Go because he was
sick of paying such high 'service', 'booking' or 'processing' fees
each time he buys a ticket, especially when he's doing most of the
work himself by booking online. It was a Goldenhorse concert
which raised questions for Stuart. He loved the band, but his $20
ticket had an extra $8 service fee added - equating to 40% of the
original ticket price.
Fair Go reporter Erica Wood also had a similar experience, where a
concert she attended was selling for $10 at the door, but she'd
already paid $18 to book in advance online - an 80%
markup.
Stuart argued that with fewer consumers dealing with actual ticket
sales staff, and with more consumers doing most of the work
themselves by buying off the internet, the fees should come down.
Stuart also wondered how many people were actually aware of how
much extra they were paying. When Fair Go asked punters
outside a recent Pink concert how much they'd paid for their
service fees, most were either confused or had no idea how much
they'd paid.
Fair Go found that each of the three major companies, Ticketek,
Ticketdirect and Ticketmaster, all have very different fee
structures. However, none of them charge as a percentage -
they all have a set rate system.
Click here to watch the video
on how
much each company charges
We asked the companies why they charged the fees they did:
Ticketdirect says its fees were set by the event venues
themselves. They defended their charges, saying internet
bookings are almost always cheaper and sometimes, were free.
Indeed, Ticketdirect fees are a lot lower than Ticketek and
Ticketmaster. Ticketek refused to comment about its fees, but
Ticketmaster said its fees were often set by the contracts it has
with separate promoters.
It's interesting to note that all three companies get what's
called an 'inside charge' - a cut from they get from the
promoter. Which means they get paid by you, as well as by the
promoter they're selling on behalf of. While this is normal
for ticket agencies around the world, it's different from other
online websites which sell on behalf of. Trademe and Ferrit.co.nz
for example, only charge the seller, not the buyer. So they only
get paid once.
Unfortunately punters have no control over which ticket company
they buy from - it depends on the event, however, there are a few
money-saving tips:
Money Saving Tips:
Ticketek and Tickemaster charge 'per transaction', not per
ticket.
So it's cheaper to get your friends together and buy in bulk. That
way you only pay the one service fee and the one postage
charge.
Ticketdirect charges 'per ticket'.
Which means it's cheaper to buy just one or two tickets, but dearer
if you buy more.
All three companies can charge more again for courier and delivery
or pick-up. So make sure you take a good, hard look at the fees
before you commit to buy.
Fair Go noticed that Ticketek and Ticketmaster in particular
aren't being very clear with their fees online.
Often they won't declare the true cost of the ticket until the very
last moment, when you've provided your personal and credit card
details and about to buy. By that time, you're probably
frustrated, give in and just purchase anyway, rather than going for
a cheaper option.
Fair Go thinks ticket companies should think about these three
things:
One: If you're going to charge fees, make sure you're clear and
honest about them from the start.
Two: Make sure those fees are affordable - maybe even consider a
percentage of the ticket price - paying a 10% fee on top of a $200
ticket is one thing, but 80% on a $10 ticket is unacceptable.
Three: Internet purchases should be cheaper, after all it
benefits both parties and customers are doing a lot of the work for
you.
