Package Travel Regulations
You have the right to expect the package holiday you booked and paid for. So the holiday description must be accurate. If not, you can make a claim under the Package Travel Regulations.
By law (England, Wales and Scotland) you have the right to expect the holiday that you booked and paid for. So, look carefully at how the package holiday is described in the brochure or website.
If the holiday doesn’t match the description, under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (the “Regulations”) you may have a claim against the tour operator for compensation.
Regulation 4, states that no travel organisers can supply consumers with misleading information.
This is wider than just brochure information — none of the descriptive material should be misleading, including any verbal description.
This could be the case where the swimming pool referred to in the brochure or website doesn’t exist or the beach is considerably further away from the hotel than the five minutes’ walk suggested.
If information is misleading the organiser or retailer is in breach of the Regulations and may be liable to you for any loss.
Regulation 5 sets out the requirements as to brochures.
In particular, the brochure must be ‘legible, comprehensible and accurate’.
If you wish to make a claim for a misleading brochure description, Which? have made available a template letter you may wish to use or to guide your claim.
Hotel Be Live Tenerife
Thomson website gives a description of Hotel Be Live Tenerife. Only one problem, it fails to match reality.
The Be Live Tenerife Hotel is reserved for adults, so a peaceful environment’s guaranteed.
Building work inside and out, noise horrendous, plus noise from entertainer shouting on microphone, loud music blasting out around the pool, deafening at midday. Ceiling collapsed in ballroom, rubble on the floor, concrete beams held up by scaffolding poles. As a consequence, loud music in lounge, entertainer shouting on microphone, guests unable to relax in the lounge.
Loss of sun terrace due to building work, meant guests packed like sardines around swimming pool, again impossible to relax. A charge of 15 euros per person per day to use a grassy area adjacent to the pool. If used without paying, threatened by an aggressive lifeguard and ordered to leave.
Several more discrepancies between what the website says and what is provided by Be Live.
When your trip is ruined by building work
If the tour operator is a member of ABTA (the Association of British Travel Agents), they will be bound by the ABTA Code of Conduct.
All ABTA Members must abide by the Code of Conduct, which means that, among many other things, you can expect to receive:
- Accurate information so you can make an informed choice
- An offer of a suitable alternative if there are building works that will seriously impair your holiday
- A refund of your holiday cost if there’s a significant flight delay and you don’t want to travel
- A response to any complaint you might have within 28 days
- Resolution of your complaint as quickly as possible and, if it can’t be resolved amicably, the guaranteed option of arbitration to find a settlement.
If an ABTA Member breaches the Code of Conduct, complain to ABTA who will investigate the problem.
If there are persistent breaches of the Code of Conduct, ABTA can fine a member, in worst case terminate their membership of ABTA.
Rules 2l and 3l of the Code of Conduct specifically refer to the location of building works.
If the tour operator becomes aware of building works, which may reasonably be considered to seriously impair the enjoyment of travel arrangements, it must notify clients of the situation without undue delay.
The operator must provide the clients with accurate information about the extent of the building works and offer them the opportunity to transfer to alternative travel arrangements.
These days most tour operators will notify you of the existence of building works in the vicinity of the hotel/resort and most problems relate to the accuracy of the information provided relating to the extent of the building works.
Hotel Be Live Tenerife building site
Hotel was closed for two months, September to October 2016, then re-opened as a building site.
Thomson was aware of the situation, failed to advise clients or offer any alternative.
Their own internal website showed they were aware, the local tour rep was aware.
When asked why was the hotel closed, asked via travel agent, asked in two different Thomson travel shops, Thomson claimed they did not know.
Clients arrived to find Thomson had dumped them on a building site. On sun terrace, digger, bulldozer, piles of rubble, wheelbarrows, half a dozen workers, pneumatic drills, rubble dumped over the wall into the street below. Ballroom, ceiling collapsed, rubble on the floor, concrete beams propped up with scaffolding poles. Conference room, ceiling collapsed, rubble on the floor, concrete beams propped up with scaffolding poles. One lift out of action for over a week, other two lifts kept failing. One morning power failed, clients trapped in the dark in the lifts, bathroom in darkness, no hot water, then no water.
Log complaint with tour rep
If at all possible, make tour rep aware of problems. This can either be verbally or formally logged.
If logged, need only be a summary, with a note details will follow.
Request a copy of what has been logged.
By logging whilst still in resort, tour company cannot claim they did not know.
Hoja de Reclamación
If in Spain or one of the islands, eg Tenerife, then request from hotel Hoja de Reclamación.
Hoja de Reclamación or official government complaint form, four sheets, one for client, one for hotel and two go to government.
If denied a copy, told claim form does not exist or fobbed off with a hotel complaint form, an offence has been committed. This should be noted on the official form, and let the local Tourist Information Office know.
If your complaint is more than will fit on a single sheet, then write a summary on the official form with a note to see attached pages. Number these pages and initial, and sign last page. If fill out these attached pages in a Tourist Information Office, ask them to stamp each page with their official stamp and take copies.
TripAdvisor
Write a review on TripAdvisor. Ensure fellow travellers are aware of the problem. Include pictures.
Be wary of false reviews on TripAdvisor. Usually their only review, and contrary to what people are experiencing on the ground.
Unfortunately many bad hotels are posting fake reviews.
If you see what you know to be a fake review based upon your own experience, let TripAdvisor know.
Collect evidence
It is vital you collect evidence as bad tour companies and hotels have habit of lying, doing anything to deny or delay a claim.
Evidence will generally be in the form of photos and videos. Written statements are also useful.
Share contact details with fellow travellers.
Timescale
A common complaint against Thomson apart from their failure to pay up, is the long delays in responding. ABTA Code of Conduct is quite specific on the period within which complaints must be dealt with. 14 days to respond, 28 days to resolve.
When you file your complaint and claim, ensure that they are fully aware of time scales as laid down in ABTA Code of Conduct with which they have to comply, incorporate as part of your letter to ensure there is no misunderstanding.
Remind them after a week, remind then again in 14 days.
Make it very clear, as with this example from Thomson, their aim to respond within 28 days is completely unacceptable.
If your correspondence is regarding your holiday experience with us, we will aim to respond to you within 28 days of this email.
They have to respond within 14 days, they have to have dealt with within 28 days.
This is not an aspiration, something they aim at, it is what they have to comply with. If not, they are in clear breach of ABTA Code of Conduct, with which they have to comply, and can be fined by ABTA for non-compliance.
The Code is very clear, there is no room for ambiguity.
- Rule 5A & 5B — imposes an obligation upon the tour operator to provide an acknowledgement to a letter of complaint with 14 days of receipt of the correspondence. A detailed reply, or a letter explaining the reason for the delay in responding, shall be sent not later than 28 days from the date of receipt of the correspondence.
- Rule6A -requires that its members will maintain a high standard of service.
If they fail to comply, file a complaint with ABTA, that a member has failed to comply with their Code of Conduct.
Holiday Travel Watch have provided a standard letter, you may wish to download and adapt.
You should not tolerate failure(s) in the service in your holiday contract; your complaints are important and should be treated seriously! You should consider taking a direct route and use our free template letter of complaint to the ABTA Code of Conduct Committee — click on the link to access our free letter! — Letter to ABTA Code of Conduct Committee.
When all else fails
You have tried everything, you are banging your head against a brick wall.
Irrespective of how your complaint was handled, if a breach of Package Travel Regulations, then file a complaint with your local Trading Standards.
Ask they investigate and prosecute. If enough people file complaints, the more likely Trading Standards are to take action.
ABTA Arbitration or Small Claims Court?
ABTA is a trade body, Small Claims Court is independent and impartial.
There are now a number of legal firms offering no win no fee for flight delays, fairly straightforward, they get the compensation, but also claim a cut.
Question why use a tour company in the future. It is now so easy, book a hotel, book flights, arrange transfer. It is not the 1960s, when no choice other than to use a tour operator. Now we have the internet, everyone is interconnected via a smartphone.
It is difficult to see a company like Thomson has a future, the way they treat their clients.
