Holidays and travel
If you have a problem after you have paid for your holiday, it's important to know who to talk to, to get compensation or insurance. Make sure you complain straight away if your holiday did not live up to its description.
See also If you're thinking about Holidays for information on choosing your holiday.
If you have a problem while you are on a package holiday, you should bring it immediately to the attention of the tour operator's representative at the resort. The tour operator is liable for a failure to properly perform the contract even if that part of the contract was carried out by another person (e.g. an airline). You may have to ask for a complaint form, or put your complaint in writing in a separate letter.
If things are not put right straight away, collect evidence about the problem such as photographs and statements from other holidaymakers. Once you get home, check what your holiday brochure said. It can be an offence for tour operators to mislead you about the holiday they offer you.
Then contact the tour operator and send them copies of your evidence (always keep the originals). Explain what went wrong and tell them how much compensation you want. Do not give in if you are offered much less than you have asked for: keep pressing for what you think is fair and reasonable.
If your complaint still hasn't been resolved, you can contact ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) or AITO (Association of Independent Tour operators) if the tour operator is a member. ABTA provides an independent arbitration service and AITO an independent dispute settlement service. The Air Transport Users Council may also be able to help.
Alternatively (or if the tour operator is not a member of ABTA or AITO), consider taking your case to the small claims court (sheriff court in Scotland).
It is becoming increasingly popular for holiday makers to put together their own arrangements, perhaps by combining flights and accommodation that they have found on the web. This can be a good value way to organise a holiday suited exactly to your needs, but independent travellers should be aware that you do not benefit from the same protection as people booking packages. If the airline or hotel goes out of business alternative arrangements will not be made for you and you are unlikely to receive compensation. Any problems with part of the holiday have to be sorted out directly with the supplier of the service.
Independent travellers should check their own insurance cover for details of comeback you would have in case things go wrong.
There are advantages to paying for your holiday by credit card. If it is disappointing because it was wrongly described or you did not get what you paid for, you may be able to claim against the credit company as well as the tour operator where the contract is made in England, Wales or Scotland - see Bought on credit? for more information.
However, a court decision in March 2006 means most payments made by credit card directly to overseas suppliers may be covered by section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which makes the credit card company equally liable for poor goods or services. This means that in some instances you will not be able to claim against your credit card issuer if things go wrong. Some credit card companies may be prepared to continue to honour section 75 on a limited basis and it is advisable to check whether your card company will be responsible for payments made to overseas suppliers before paying by credit card.
The court decision is awaiting appeal.
