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Holidays

Introduction

We all look forward to our holidays. But sometimes we come back more stressed than when we went away. Often, the problem with choosing a holiday is that we have to rely on photographs or opinions of others when picking a resort or accommodation. Unfortunately, photographs can flatter, and one man's 'spacious balcony' can turn out to be another's 'ledge'.

What the law says

Airlines, hotel owners and tour operators are all providing you with a service and they must do so with reasonable skill and care. The accommodation must be as described. The standard of facilities, comfort, service, and any meals, must be reasonable having regard to the price you paid. The consumer also has legal rights under the 'Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992'. These cover all package holidays sold or offered for sale in the United Kingdom.

Useful information

If a significant change is made after departure, you are entitled to suitable alternative arrangements and, failing that, to be returned to your place of departure with compensation where appropriate. But you can only reject the organiser's alternative arrangements "for good reasons". You can accept the move "under protest". If your tour operator moves you to another hotel because yours was overbooked you will still be entitled to compensation whether the booking is the organiser's fault or the fault of the hotel. If your replacement hotel turns out to be not so nice and less convenient than the one you had chosen, make sure you complain to your tour representative. You can then claim compensation from the tour operator, as soon as you get home. Think about claiming for:

LOSS OF VALUE

Any difference between the cost of the hotel you paid for and the cost of the one you got.

EXPENSES

Any extra money which you had to spend as a direct result of the change of hotel. Taxi fares, because you were moved more than reasonable walking distance from the resort's main attractions, is one example.

LOSS OF ENJOYMENT

This is to compensate you for your stress, disappointment, bother and a less enjoyable holiday.

Noisy neighbours can ruin a holiday, but the tour operator is not responsible for the behaviour of other holidaymakers - even if they are with his own company. However, most tour representatives will ask noisy guests to keep quiet from midnight. Ask to be moved if the noise continues.

If you book a room in a hotel, either personally or by phone or by letter, you have entered into a legal contract. If for some reason you have to cancel, the hotel can keep any deposit you may have paid. It should try to re-let your room but if it can't, it may claim loss of profit from you as well.

What to do if you have a complaint

Try to get any complaint sorted out on the spot. If you can't, make sure you fill in any complaint form while you are there (request a copy of this). Only accept an unreasonable service 'under protest'. Then as soon as you get home, write to the company's Customer Services Manager. If you're complaining about poor or wrongly described accommodation, it will help if you can send some photographs to back your case.

If your holiday problem is so bad that it is totally ruining your holiday, get together with others who are also unhappy and complain as a group. You may need to keep in touch later; so exchanging names and addresses is a good idea.

Most tour operators belong to an association and if, after you've got the manager's response, you still think you've been treated unfairly, write to the association. Two addresses and phone numbers are shown below.

The association may offer an arbitration service. Arbitration is where an outsider is asked to look into a dispute and to decide who is right. If you decide to go for arbitration, remember that the tour operator has to agree to this as well, and that you will not get your fee back if you lose. Also, the arbitrator's decision will be binding on both of you. This means that you won't be able to go to court later on if you don't agree with the arbitrator's decision.

If you haven't been able to sort out your complaint contact Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 for advice. Alternatively you may decide on court action. If the amount involved is not more than £2,000, you can take your case yourself to the Small Claims Court. Talk to Consumerline, your local Advice Centre or Citizens Advice about this before you ask your local court for an application form. For claims for amounts over £2,000 you should talk to a solicitor.

If you paid for all or part of your holiday by credit card and the holiday costs more than £100 per person, you can claim against the credit card company as well as the tour operator. But you can't get compensation from both.

Click here for an advice leaflet on package holidays. Click here for an advice leaflet on how to solve consumer problems with package holidays.

From category: Travel & Transport