Tonight, in a far off holiday destination, there is one very frightened family!  Why?  Well, they have had the temerity to complain about the failures within their holiday contract, oh, and they and their fellow holidaymakers, are also suffering with holiday illness or sickness.  Their reward?  They have been provided with their own shadows; they are being observed and followed by the hotel security, following the report of their complaints by the tour operators representative, to the hotel management!

Is this a new phenomena?  Regretably not!  In 2007 we reported similar such incidents, occurring from the Caribbean to the Eastern Mediterranean.  Holidaymakers were confronted by security if they made complaints as to illness, injury or the conditions within their hotel.  In some cases holidaymakers reported that the security were wielding batons, and in one case, we are aware of a Dutch holidaymaker who was arrested for trying to warn new holidaymakers that they may suffer acid burns if they went into the pool.

We have also been made aware that this heavy behaviour extends as far as searching rooms for so called ‘incriminating’ evidence (that is evidence to support a claim upon their return to the UK)!

The family I have referred to, contacted HolidayTravelWatch from their hotel, because of the serious nature of their complaints.  They needed help, and were clearly getting little assistance from the tour representative.  In addition they were, and contine to suffer with sickness, along with many of their fellow holidaymakers.

We have provided very clear advices to this family on how to deal with their holiday problems, for example, setting out issues in writing, thus giving the representative and the tour operator to put right what is clearly wrong. The family handed the letter to the representative, invited them to sign the letter, at which stage I am told the representative became angry and unhelpful.  To date, this tour operator appears to have simply ignored their requests for help with their problems.

It will therefore be of no surprise and certainly no secret, that we have also advised this family to follow the 12 Golden Rules of Travel.  Would anyone dare to deny that this is the correct course of action where their complaints have been ignored?

Some might argue that we should contact the tour operator directly.  Well to that I say we are not an extension of a tour operators office, and where would we draw the line?  A typical tour operator has we are told, sophisticated systems to recognise difficulties or trends and thus react accordingly.  In any event the Regulations require the local representative to put right what is wrong, that is not something we can do from here!  I have already discussed this issue (the 2007 trends!) with major tour operators, and I would now hope that they will take decisive action to stop this distastful practice, and protect their clients whether they are in dispute with them or not!  The time has come for a greater and higher morality by corporations toward a consumer, wherever they are based!

So the rules we offer are simple straight-forward steps to be taken by any holidaymaker, where they encounter difficulties within a hotel and resort.  There is nothing illegal in these actions; they follow a consumers obligations under The Package Travel Regulations, and prepare the ground to assist the holidaymaker to pursue the complaint upon their return to the UK.  These rules also ensure that the tour company has the opportunity to put things right in resort before matters get out of hand.

We always advise any holidaymaker, and this was the case with this family, that above anything else, they must ensure that they follow local laws and not do anything that is illegal.

So, it was of great concern to me when I heard of this development, and as a result I am in constant touch with the family; they can call me day or night, whatever the hour!

I have also advised them on how to deal with their own personal security, and to ensure that they protect their valuables, and any evidence they have obtained, from any possible ‘invasion’ of their rooms.

I shall remain in constant touch with this family until they are safely back in the UK;  if necessary, and if things get worse, I shall arrange to fly to this resort, with suitable coverage, to assist this and any other family from the obsence excesses that appear to be taking place.  If it means that my own personal security is at risk, then so be it, better that and the undoubted exposure of these shabby practices that would surely follow than for this situation to continue!

I will be watching this case very closely, and if necessary, I shall also call upon the Foreign Office to provide urgent assistance to this family.

Whilst this will be of the least concern to this family tonight, it is a fundemental right of any British person, to call a defendant to account for failures in their contract before a court or tribunal.  It is also a fundemental right that such a consumer should be free to access and collate evidence legally and appropriately.  The fact that a British Consumer may actually temporarily reside in a foreign jurisdiction does not dilute that right and I would hope that the jurisdiction in question would actively protect a holidaymaker to exercise their rights against a travel provider, from the pathetic actions of these hapless saps masquerading as security!  I would sincerely hope that the British Courts would take a very firm view against any company, where it is proven that they support such practices by any foreign hotelier!

I would be very interested to hear from any holidaymaker who has had a similar experience.  With regard to any intending holidaymaker I would say, take heart, do not be put off by such practices.  It is still entirely possible to collate such evidence, quietly and without fuss, and always remember, we shall work to provide you with appropriate assistance in such difficult circumstances.

So tonight, spare a thought for this family, whose only crime was to work for 50 weeks of the last year, for that precious 2 weeks, only to have their holiday dream shattered by lack of consideration for their needs and illness.

Try to imagine how you would feel if you were in their position.

If you have been affected by any Holiday Illness complaints, please contact us at HolidayTravelWatch

Please see our Legal Notice for further information on our services.

Tags: Bullying of Holidaymakers

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 11:57 pm and is filed under The Crows Nest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.