This is a critical moment for the future of EU holidaymakers and in particular, British holidaymakers! In 1990, the EU created the Package Travel Directive which was then adopted into various National Laws; the UK adopted this Directive as The Package Travel Regulations in 1992. Many millions of EU holidaymakers have enjoyed the benefit of Protection under this Directive – those Protections are now seriously threatened. Since 2003, there has been an attempt by the Travel Industry to reinterpret these Regulations, by reinventing themselves as ‘travel agents’, through internet sales. Whilst we are to be rightly concerned with the Financial Protection of holidaymakers, we must also be aware of the many other detriments or problems suffered by holidaymakers, which, according to online terms and conditions, are not the responsibility of these new ‘travel agents’! It is now imperative that the Consumer position is presented to the EU Commission following the announcement of their latest Consultation on Holiday Rights. It is simple; if the Commission is persuaded to keep the ‘internet’ players outside the remit of any new Directive, Consumers will be returned to the so-called pre-1992 ‘Golden Age’ of Travel when there was little or no Consumer Protection. The answers to this survey will be used to back up previous HolidayTravelWatch surveys and its findings will be presented to the EU Commission in February 2010. Your contribution is both valuable and timely – we would like to thank you for your kind assistance on this survey! Read More

The last thing you expect to have to deal with when you return from holiday is to commence some kind of legal action. Read More

Under the current Law of England & Wales you must become aware of the time period within which you must bring your case before the court. Read More

If you suffer from a holiday illness, sickness or accident, occurring outside the Package Holiday contract (eg in a restaurant outside your hotel complex, or an accident outside your hotel), then the tour operator may not be liable for these events (remember this may not be the case if it was a trip organised by the tour operator). Read More

Many people cannot afford the services of a lawyer.  Sometimes the facts dictate that their case benefits would be outweighed by the cost of legal representation. In those cases it may be appropriate to use the small claims process – before doing so, you should always obtain independent legal advices. The process of the small claims court is fully described on the Court Service website. Read More

Should you require free legal advice, then we can access specialist legal experts in the field of International Travel Litigation.  All of them are experts in dealing with holiday complaints involving contractual and personal injury holiday claims.  There are very few law firms who are experienced in the field of Holiday and Travel Law and therefore it is very important when seeking the advice of a solicitor that you make sure that whoever is handling your claim is an expert in this field of law.  You should ask them to demonstrate what  experience they have, ask them to provide examples of their successes and failures, if you are not sure, seek guidance elsewhere! Read More

Are You Ready For Court? considers the impact of the argument that we have become a ‘compensation culture’ and examines the Arbitration process and the experience of one holidaymaker and their holiday complaints. Read More