Senior citizens from Duisburg fall for brazen holiday rip-offs!

Senior citizens from Duisburg fall for brazen holiday rip-offs!

Two seniors from Duisburg were looking forward to a planned trip to the Netherlands, which was announced for October 2024. The trip, which included breakfast, lunch and visits to a garden center, supermarket and pharmacy, was expected to be a lovely day. But on November 5, 2024, the story took an unexpected turn. Instead of driving to Holland, the women were picked up by a van at six in the morning and taken to a hotel in Bad Bentheim, where a sales event was taking place that they had not expected.

The seniors were confronted with a variety of offers. One of the women bought a mattress for 900 euros that was originally supposed to cost 2,000 euros. There was also another sales presentation that offered trips for 80 euros, but these were associated with additional “agency fees” of 120 euros per trip. A 76-year-old ended up investing in five short trips for a total of 1,000 euros, while her friend bought a Usedom trip for 1,100 euros in cash. Since they didn't have enough cash with them, they were taken to an ATM after visiting the garden center.

Unexpected consequences of bookings

On the evening of the event, the women could not fully understand the contents of the pink forms they had signed. In January 2025 they then received mail from the travel company, which demanded a deposit of 49.90 euros per booked trip. The 76-year-old then contacted the consumer advice center and found out that these were package tours without a travel insurance certificate. This would mean that they would not be entitled to repayment if the provider went bankrupt, which was a shocking result for the two ladies.

The incidents surrounding the senior women are part of a larger problem that affects many older people. Older people are often the target of specific scams such as Consumer60Plus reported. Typical methods include coffee rides, winning announcements by telephone or mail, and door-to-door scams. Particularly The West highlights that coffee trips are often associated with supposedly inexpensive day trips or trips, which often include sales events.

Tips to protect yourself from rip-offs

Consumer advocates advise people to be particularly skeptical when it comes to supposedly cheap trips and information events. Products offered there are often overpriced and of inferior quality. Georg Abel from the Consumer Initiative recommends being careful at such events and prize announcements. Distrust is also appropriate because serious competitions are not linked to conditions such as travel or processing fees. Representatives who appear at the door or on the telephone use various tricks to persuade their victims to make a purchase or conclude a contract. Therefore the advice is: Do not allow yourself to be pushed and, if in doubt, withdraw.