Come One Come All – This is the Dawning of the Age of Holiday Complaints Resolution! | The Crows Nest Blog | HolidayTravelWatch
I have recently read a very interesting article on how a major Travel Industry brand is changing the face of holiday complaints resolution! We are told that no longer will the customer “have to go through the process of putting all their complaints in writing as they can return to the agent through which they booked the holiday to resolve any issues that may have occurred”! We are told that managers will be ‘”empowered” to resolve any complaints made to them! In addition, they will be able to make “on the spot decisions on compensation! This has got to be good, hasn’t it? Well let’s not get too dizzy about this new automony because the travel agency managers are going to be backed up by a team back at HQ (I presume that these will be solicitors or paralegals), so will it be they or the travel agency that will be making the decisions?
Within the article, the comments range from sheer ecstasy to scepticism, with the genuine concern expressed that if you did not book through a ‘branded’ agency then you would not get the same dispute resolution service. Reasonable point! However, my concern arises with how these complaints are going to be dealt with. Imagine the following scenarios: Salmonella, Cryptosporidium, E-Coli O157, Campylobacter, so-called Norovirus, Large outbreaks of sickness in hotels and resorts, Significant Changes to Holidays such as, being told that you are having your hotel/destination changed several days before departure – at the departing airport – on arrival at your destination, Sick Aircraft Syndrome, Poor Hygiene Standards, Poor Safety Standards, Holiday Accidents and Injury – you get my drift? Presumably, when an offer is made, or where a holiday claim involves a child, the travel agent will be advising that the consumer should seek legal advices before accepting any such offer (See this press release on this very point)? The sceptics out there may cry ‘Citivolus Bestia’! Apologies to you Latin Students out there, very roughly interpreted as a ‘Flock of flying pigs has just flown past my window’!
Seriously, for some reason I have some doubt that this scheme will work – if anything, it raises the risk of direct confrontation and risk to travel agency staff – after all this time, the Travel Industry have still not worked out that their failures breeds some very angry holidaymakers. In no way do I, or would I condone such anger, but the risk of confrontation must not be underestimated.
Equally, what must not also be underestimated is the value of compensation that should be given. Fair and just compensation is what is required, not 10% or a voucher off their next holiday, or as we have seen this last year – £500 for serious long lasting illness! Holidaymakers should not be sucked into this process – put everything in writing, whether you are in the resort or when you return home – if you do not, they will then subsequently claim that you did not tell them about it and that they should not be held liable. If you decide to make your complaint this way, record everything said and if you are made an offer, do not accept anything unless you have received advice!
Tags: Holiday Compensation
HTW has noted that amongst the submissions to the Committee on Toxicity (COT) it has been suggested that the symptoms highlighted by crew and passengers were akin to the condition of hyperventilation.
HTW has for many years received reports from concerned holiday makers or independent travellers as to the safety of their aircraft, ship or boat, train or road transport.
