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

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.  It should be recognised that the main reason why holidaymakers fail, is that they do not prepare their case and documentation properly!  We have written an article on this very issue and should be read in conjunction with this article!  The various links in that article will help you consider what you need to do, along with the guidance and commentary in the article below! Read More

Time and time again we receive plaintiff calls from holidaymakers with genuine holiday complaints, who have decided to enter into an Arbitration or Court process.  Time and time again we discover that not enough preparation is made by holidaymakers to present their case correctly!  Is it the fault of the holidaymaker? Most definitely not!  The reason that holidaymakers get into trouble when they try to resolve their own holiday claims is that they are in some ways lured into a process which in some ways promises to be easy and non-legalistic.  The reality is that if you are trying to make a claim for holiday compensation, the travel company will usually employ a solicitor or barrister to protect their interests.  The holidaymaker is then often faced with a process that becomes very legalistic and at times incomprehensible!  Preparation is the key and unless you have a pressing limitation date less haste and more research is the order of the day!  In the May 2007 edition of Get’Away we asked, “Are You Ready for Court?” - It was the first of a series of articles which explores the evidential trail and experience of holidaymakers who decide to go it alone, and take their case into the Small Claims Court.  The moral of the tale is to learn from other holidaymakers experiences! Read More

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