Holiday Complaints - Advice Guide
- Was your holiday misrepresented?
- Was your holiday a holiday from hell? Was your flight cancelled or inexplicably delayed?
Read on to find out what you can do if your tour operator or airline ignores your complaint or if you want to know details of how to make holiday complaints.
Realistic Holiday Complaints
Firstly, be realistic. Is your complaint a genuine holiday complaint or were your expectations simply too high?
Some holiday complaints that are made are plain stupid:
"It took us 9 hours to fly home from Jamaica to England but it took the Americans just 3 hours to get home"
"There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners"
If you have a genuine holiday complaint you should initially try to resolve your complaint yourself with your tour operator or airline. You should try a reasonable approach. If this approach fails then there is help and advice available.
Tour Operator Holiday Complaints
If you holiday was ruined, you may be looking to make a complaint against your Tour Operator for compensation:
Holiday Complaints – Complaints about Hotels and Services
Companies that are members of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) or the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) must adhere to a Code of Conduct. They also offer an arbitration service to resolve disputes.
All tour operators are required by law to provide details of their holiday complaints procedure. Often this can be found in the holiday brochure under the tour operators booking terms and conditions. You should follow the procedure.
Listed below are some of the most well-known tour operators:
If your tour operator is a member of ABTA they must acknowledge your complaint within 14 days and must provide a reply to your complaint within 28 days. If they fail to do this they will be in breach of ABTA’s Code of Conduct and liable to pay a substantial fine.
If your tour operator is a member of ABTA you should contact ABTA in the first instance if you are unhappy with the response you have received or if you have not received a response to your holiday complaint.
ABTA operate an arbitration scheme and will provide details upon request. The scheme is designed for lay people to pursue claims against their tour operators without the formality and worry of having to attend a court hearing.
For full details of how to make a complaint about the quality of your holiday if your tour operator is a member of ABTA visit ABTA’s website here.
AITO operates a similar scheme and details of their scheme can be found on the AITO website.
Booking through a member of ABTA or AITO will give you peace of mind if your tour operator or airline fails. Your money will be protected and you will be repatriated if your tour operator or airline fails whilst you are abroad. Again full details of ABTA and AITO’s financial protection schemes can be found by visiting their websites.
Alternatively – if you decide to pursue your holiday complaint through the Courts then if your claim is worth less than £5000 the small claims court is your option. Information about making a small claim can be found by visiting their website HMCS Court Service
You should also consider reporting your holiday complaint to your local trading Standards office. If your holiday complaint has merits your Trading Standards officer will take up your complaint on your behalf. More about Trading Standards can be found on their website.
Airline Complaints – Holiday Complaints about Airlines
For all holiday complaints concerning:
- Flight delays
- Flight cancellations
- Lost and damaged luggage
- Insolvent air carriers
Please visit the Civil Aviation Authority’s website where a full explanation of your rights can be found along with advice about how to make a complaint to the Air Transport Users Council (AUC).
The Air Transport Users Council acts as a watchdog for UK air travellers and will assist you to make a complaint. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint the AUC may take up the matter on your behalf.
If your flight was part of a package holiday you should also follow the procedure for complaining to your tour operator as they accept responsibility for the services, including the flights, they provide.
We hope that this information will be assistance to you but should you require any further advice then drop us a line using the enquiry form at the top of this page.
Simpson Millar Solicitors LLP have been helping consumers for 150 years nationwide with offices in Manchester – Leeds – Birmingham – London – Bristol – Gateshead and Cardiff.
Simpson Millar’s Holiday Claims Solicitors assist holidaymakers who suffer illness or accidents on holiday abroad.
