Money blog: TUI 'sorry' and offers £196 refund over baggage fee - here's what to do if it happens to you (2025)

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08:50:03

Spain proposes 100% tax on foreign-owned homes in 'unprecedented' move

Spain is planning to impose a tax of up to 100% on properties brought by non-residents from countries outside the European Union - including the UK.

The measure was one of many announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday, and differs to the planned increase in taxes on holiday rentals that the Money team covered yesterday.

Speaking at an economic forum in Madrid, Mr Sanchez said the tax would be "unprecedented" in Spanish history.

"In 2023 non-European Union residents bought around 27,000 houses and flats in Spain," Mr Sanchez said.

"And they didn't do it to live in them, they didn't do it for their families to have a place to live, they did it to speculate, to make money from them, which we – in the context of shortage that we are in – obviously cannot allow."

The prime minster stopped short of explaining how the plan would work or when it would be sent to parliament for approval.

08:36:19

Why are Britain's economic vibes so bad?

As oureconomics and data editor Ed Conwayexplains on ourDaily podcast, confidence appears to have been shaken "without a piece of news that's pushed them there".

"Which suggests it's vibes," says Conway. "The vibes have gone against the UK."

From Brexit to the budget - it's all contributing

It's not as if Britain is a massive outlier, he notes, with the cost of government borrowing also heading up in Europe and the US.

There are global factors having an impact everywhere - such as the imminent Trump presidency and what that might mean for trade.

So quite why the UK's "vibes" feel particularly troubling right now is "hard to put your finger on".

"To some extent it's things like Brexit," says Conway, and the mini-budget of 2022 also casts a long shadow.

But it's also Labour's October budget - "it did not help".

'People are nervous about the UK'

Even the run-up to the big day was "making people feel a bit depressed" about the UK's economic prospects, "with all this language about the economy being in a terrible place and this enormous black hole".

"They overdid that," Conway says of Labour.

For different reasons (in 2022 it was to fund tax cuts, in 2024 it's for public spending), the UK government wants to borrow more money and investors aren't totally convinced.

"You build up credibility over a long time, as a nation," says Conway - and for the time being it's not been rebuilt.

"People still nervous when they look at the UK."

Listen to the full episode here...

07:29:10

Pound has fallen against 51 out of 54 popular currencies

There are many consequences when sterling falls - but one that many Britons will notice is they'll get less holiday money for their pound.

Research supplied to the Money blog by travel money specialists No1 Currency shows the pound has fallen against 51 out of 54 popular currencies since the end of October.

This, of course, is when Rachel Reeves delivered her first budget - but while there is correlation, we're not suggesting complete causation.

Other factors are in play - notably Donald Trump's election victory and promise of tariffs, which along with positive jobs data has pushed back expectations for US interest rate cuts. That has had the effect of strengthening the dollar, as investors like high interest rates.

Sterling has slumped 6.8% against the US dollar, and is down sharply against the currencies of winter sun hotspots Jamaica, Barbados and Sri Lanka.

The sharpest drop has been against the Costa Rican colon - with the pound now worth 8.3% less. Meanwhile, skiers heading to Switzerland will also feel an extra chill from sterling's slump, as the pound is currently worth 1.11 Swiss francs, down 1.3% from the 1.13 it stood at on budget day.

Against the euro, the pound has slipped 1%.

Simon Phillips, managing director of No1 Currency, told Money:"Labour's post-election honeymoon, and the brief surge in sterling that accompanied it, all seems a very long time ago.

"The pound is now worth less against nearly all of the most popular holiday currencies than it was on budget day, meaning the thousands of British travellers planning a trip this winter will find their pounds won't stretch as far as they did last summer."

There are just three destinations where the pound is currently up: it has inched up 0.3% against the New Zealand dollar, 1% against South Africa's rand and 1.1% against the Hungarian forint.

06:51:30

TUI 'sorry' and refunds reader £196 over baggage fee - here's what to do if it happens to you

Every Tuesday we answer your financial problems or consumer disputes.WhatsApp us yourshere.

Today's Money Problem is...

We booked a holiday with TUI and the night before we tried to increase our luggage allowance (we were travelling with our one-year-old and only managed to finish packing at 6pm). TUI wouldn't let us upgrade the baggage on the app (it should have cost us £8 to do so) and we spent hours on hold to customer services who weren't able to increase our baggage allowance. When we turned up at the airport the next day, they charged us £196 for overweight luggage. They won't refund us as they say it's our fault. What can we do?
Hannah

Megan Harwood-Baynes, cost of living specialist, says…

This was certainly an unusual one - having recently flown myself (albeit with another airline), I was under the impression you should be able to add additional luggage right up until you check in. However, you told me there was no option to do this either before, during or after the check in process.

You were, fortunately, able to upgrade your luggage on your return journey, which means you were saved another £196 fee for the 14 extra kilograms you had packed (which was largely stuff for your young son).

You said you had exhausted the complaints process with TUI, as they said it was an error on your end for turning up with bags that were too heavy.

I asked TUI if they had experienced an issue with their app that meant this option was unavailable.

We had a bit of back and forth as I pointed out to them that you received an email two days before the flight that suggested you could add luggage right up until check-in, but this had not been possible.

After about a week, the team at TUI concluded they had made an error with the fee they charged you because you should have been able to add on additional luggage right up until check in.

They have said they will send you a refund for £196. You told me you were delighted with this outcome.

In a statement, the team told me they wanted to apologise after you were "unfortunately overcharged" and said it arose due to "a human error".

"We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused," TUI said, adding that they hope to see you "on a TUI holiday again soon".

What the TUI website says about excess luggage

TUI warns that if your luggage is heavier than your allowance, you will get charged if you don't sort it before the airport.

Excess luggage chargesare

  • Short and mid-haul flights (less than seven hours): £55 per 15kg bag and £14 per kilogram
  • Long-haul flights (over seven hours): £75 per 15kg bag and £18 per kilogram
  • For bookings that do include a checked-in luggage allowance, if you exceed this you'll be charged per kilogram as above

However, if you add the baggage before you check in, you will be offered a cheaper price. TUI confirmed to me the only deadline to do this is before online check-in.

What you could have done next

If you complain to an airline but do not feel your complaint has been adequately resolved, the next step would be to take your issue to the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) body.

There are a few different ones depending on the airline, you can view themhere.

If the airline or airport does not have an agreement with an ADR, you canrefer your complaint to the Civil Aviation Authority.

Always keep as much proof as possible (screenshots, receipts, emails) to help make your case.

This featureis not intended as financial advice - the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about.Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute via:

  • WhatsApp ushere
  • The form above - you need to leave a phone number or email address so we can contact you for further details
  • Email news@skynews.com with the subject line "Money blog"

19:20:01

Poundland investing in security after £44m of stock lost

Poundland is investing more money than ever into new security measures after more than £44m of stock was lost last year.

The bargain retailer, which sells a large proportion of its products for £1 or less, said it had been a particular target of theft and abuse.

In a bid to tackle that issue, Poundland is kitting out staff with anti-theft technology, such as body-worn cameras. Cameras decreased violence against staff by 11% in a trial and reduced shoplifting.

It's also working more closely with police to crack down on offenders and recruiting more undercover security guards.

Official figures released in October showed that shoplifting in England and Wales had hit a new 20-year high, with Poundland's stock shrinkage - which can include theft and shoplighting - up 30% in the past two years.

Nearly 470,000 offences were logged by police forces in the year to June 2024, up 29% on the previous year.

18:34:01

Asda cuts jobs after worst Christmas in nine years

Asda has confirmed its first set of job cuts after recording its worst Christmas sales since 2015.

The supermarket's chairman, Allan Leighton, cut 13 regional manager positions in a shake-up designed to reduce staff and improve performance, according to The Telegraph.

Four of the roles are in the retail sector of the company and nine are from its Express stores.

During the 12 weeks to 29 December, sales fell by 5.8%, data from Kantar showed.

Workers were sent a memo explaining the restructuring would mean its stores would be managed across 22 "sub-regions," down from 30.

"Change is never easy and unfortunately we have had to say goodbye to a number of colleagues," the memo read.

An Asda spokesperson told Money: "We made changes to our field-based retail team regions to reflect the scale of our business across large stores and convenience.

"These changes set us up to serve our customers in the best way for 2025 as we deliver Asda price and other exciting propositions."

17:24:01

Rick Stein rolls back menu prices to 1975

Rick Stein will be rolling back prices at his restaurants to 1975 levels to celebrate 50 years since the opening of his first restaurant.

The celebrity chef will mark the golden anniversary of the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow by offering classic seafood dishes at 1975 prices from 6-9 February.

The menu will include shellfish soup for 50p, grilled lobster for £2.80, seafood thermidor for £2.20 and Cornish bouillabaisse for £2.60.

And on the dessert menu will be treacle tart for 35p and apple pancakes with Calvados sauce for 40p.

The offer will be available at the chef's restaurant in Padstow as well as Stein's restaurants in Winchester, Marlborough, Sandbanks and London's Barnes.

16:28:06

How low could pound fall? One expert is going as long as $1.15

We brought you reports from Bloomberg earlier that the pound could slump as much as 8% - and now we have some commentary from the trading floor about what is anticipated.

As markets opened this morning, the pound headed towards the $1.21 mark, the lowest level since November 2023.

But Tony Redondo, founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange, said this could go all the way down to $1.15.

"The pound has already fallen by over 2.5% against the euro and by nearly 5% against the dollar since Christmas," he said in comments provided to Money by Newspage.

"Further falls are expected across the board. They are expected to be more muted against the euro given the stagflation fears that hover over the eurozone economy and the political paralysis in its two leading economies, Germany and France.

"Against the dollar, the pound could continue to freefall. Last Friday's stellar employment data only adds to the idea gripping the markets that the Federal Reserve will move slowly in cutting interest rates in the US in 2025 in an economy that continues to outperform.

"Add in the fact that Trump's inauguration is now just over one week away and the negative economic effect his tariff plans could have on both the UK and eurozone economies could see the pound trade at 1.15 or lower against the greenback."

16:10:01

Bumper run of economic updates this week to paint clearer picture of UK economy

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

Part of what made last week's market turmoil worrying was there was nothing in particular they were responding to.

There was no official economy announcement to explain the reaction. That's to change this week.

A bumper run of economic releases will paint a clearer picture of the UK's financial system. Inflation data will tell us on Wednesday how much prices have risen.

Costly energy bills and rising wages mean economists expect the inflation rate will remain at 2.6%, above the Bank of England's 2% target and at a level that could entrench the market expectation of only two interest rate cuts this year, far less than had been forecast.

Economic growth figures in the form of Thursday's GDP announcement are unlikely to show the government has met its target of having the highest growth in the G7 club of rich nations.

Instead, anaemic growth of 0.2% in November after a 0.1% contraction a month earlier is the current expectation.

It won't be good news for the Labour government, which has staked many of its investment plans on a growing economy.

Capping off the week on Friday is data on retail sales, measuring the largest expenditure in the economy during the most important time of the year for retailers, the run-up to Christmas.

This could be the bright spot of the week as analysts see growth of about 3.3% coming, far above the 0.5% level in October.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Labour MPs and market observers will be anxiously watching on.

16:09:17

Are holidays to Spain about to get more expensive amid holiday let clampdown?

Spain plans to raise taxes on holiday rentals so that they pay "like a business".

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the plan today as residents of the country's main cities grapple with soaring rents.

"It isn't fair that those who have three, four or five
apartments as short-term rentals pay less tax than hotels or
workers," said Mr Sanchez.

Holiday rentals are likely to have to pay VAT - Spanish hotels currently pay a reduced 10% VAT rate.

Last month, authorities opened an investigation into Airbnb for failing to delete thousands of misleading rental offers from its platform.

Money blog: TUI 'sorry' and offers £196 refund over baggage fee - here's what to do if it happens to you (2025)
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