Thursday 15 September 2016
As part of the Citizens Advice Exeter and The Express and Echo weekly advice column we focus on problems with holiday bookings.
We went on a package holiday in the Summer. Our hotel was miles away from where we booked. We couldn’t contact anyone to change hotels, and had to pay to travel back and forwards to the destination we’d booked. Can I claim compensation?
It’s reasonable to ask for compensation when you haven’t got the holiday you paid for. Your accommodation should be as agreed. If not, it’s usually considered a breach of contract.
You can’t claim the total cost of the holiday, but you can ask to be reimbursed for the extra travel costs, plus a fair sum for the change to your holiday.
Start by writing an email or letter to the tour operator’s customer services department. Give your booking reference number, explain your grievance and specify the amount of compensation you’d like.
As evidence for your claim, include the details of when you tried to contact your tour operator while you were away, and copies of any taxi or car hire receipts.
The firm may come back with an initial offer that is lower than what you are asking for, so be prepared to negotiate.
If you’re not offered any compensation, check your tour operator’s website to see if they belong to a UK trade body, like ABTA. If they do, you can lodge a new complaint through the trade body’s website. The tour operator is obliged to respond to the complaint.
Should you still not receive a satisfactory response, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 040506 or visit citizensadvice.org.uk for guidance on your next steps.
Look out for our column next week when we focus on getting your deposit back from your landlord.
The information contained in these articles does not constitute advice. Citizens Advice Exeter and The Express and Echo accept no liability for the information published. Citizens Advice Exeter is unable to respond to individual requests for advice through these columns. Copyright Citizens Advice. For the most up-to-date version, please visit the Citizens Advice website at www.citizensadvice.org.uk