Find Out More

  • Accreditations
  • Join our Team
  • Terms of Business
  • Pricing Information
  • Client Feedback
    • Leave a Review
  • Complaints
  • Regulatory Information
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation

Harold Stock & Co. Solicitors

Rooted in the community

  • Mossley:
    01457 835597
  • Failsworth:
    0161 682 2400
  • Stockport:
    0161 456 5012
  • Get In Touch
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Team
    • CSR
  • Legal Services
    • Personal Injury
    • Medical Negligence
    • Serious Injury
    • Commercial and Company
    • Family Law
    • Property
    • Wills, Probate And The Elderly
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • More

Travel agents lobby Parliament in a bid to cut down on bogus holiday illness compensation claims

28th October 2016 by Harold Stock & Co

Holiday operators have sought to table an urgent meeting with the government in an attempt to control the growing numbers of claims made after people have fallen ill while away. So what’s the problem and why are holiday operators so concerned?

Well, the problem seems to stem in large part from a rapid growth in all-inclusive holiday packages.  In order to maintain profit margins in what is now a highly competitive sector, hotels appear to have been saving costs by reheating food and cutting back on safe hygiene practices. The upshot of such practices has meant a ‘significant increase’ in the number of gastric illness claims being made by holidaymakers on their return.

Some of the biggest consumer law firms in the country have created specialist departments which deal with these types of claims. However, holiday operators claim the major source of the problems in this area can be laid at the feet of claims management companies. ABTA claims these companies are targeting tourists while they are still on holiday to make claims and promising damages of up to £5,000. ABTA is now calling for greater regulation of the sector and is collating evidence to present to the Ministry of Justice in a lobbying mission.

A spokeswoman for ABTA said:

‘An increasing number of these claims are unsubstantiated, and we believe this is being driven by the aggressive sales practices of some claims management companies touting their services to holidaymakers either in destinations or in the UK.’

‘ABTA will be meeting with the MoJ, which regulates claims management activities, to highlight our concerns and to ensure it takes the necessary action to safeguard the system from fraudulent claims.’

‘[However] it is important that holidaymakers who have a genuine claim are protected, and people should be aware that it is illegal to pursue a fraudulent case,’ she added.

Conservative MP Craig Tracey, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Insurance and Financial Services, has said he believes there is a problem and that he intends to raise the ‘extremely worrying’ issue in Parliament. Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, he said:

‘We’ve got to protect those people who have genuine claims and perhaps we need to introduce a cap on solicitors’ fees similar to what happened with whiplash claims.’

So what is ABTA’s advice for holidaymakers who fall ill either on their holidays or shortly after their return? Well, ABTA is advising holidaymakers who return to the UK and want to pursue a claim to initially use its own dispute resolution service. If customers fail to gain satisfaction from this service, ABTA is advising holidaymakers to make a claim for up to £1,000 for health and safety-related problems through the Small-Claims Court:

‘We would advise customers to pursue their case through these routes, rather than via a claims management company, who will typically take a significant cut of any successful claim.

Filed Under: Blog

Harold Stock & Co

Related

Why disclosing your assets before the divorce is the wise approach
19th May 2021
Categories: Blog, Family
How do I protect my home in my Will? What can I do about care home fees?
13th April 2021
Tags: Care Fees, how to own a property, Protect my home
Categories: Blog, Clients, Wills and probate
Couples feeling the strain?
18th January 2021
Categories: Blog, Family, News

Footer

  • Accreditations
  • Join our Team
  • Terms of Business
  • Pricing Information
  • Client Feedback
    • Leave a Review
  • Complaints
  • Regulatory Information
  • Acceptable Use
  • Complaints
  • Email Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy/Cookies
  • Regulatory Information
  • Terms of Website Use
harold stock solicitors

Mossley (Head Office)

55-57 Stamford Street
Mossley
Tameside OL5 0LN

Tel: 01457 835597
Fax: 0330 024 9210

harold stock solicitors

Failsworth

Ivy Business Centre
Crown Street
Failsworth M35 9PB

Tel: 0161 682 2400
Fax: 0330 024 9210

harold stock solicitors

Stockport

Pepper House
1 Pepper Road
Stockport SK7 5DP

Tel: 0161 456 5012
Fax: 0330 024 9210

Email: info@haroldstock.com

Harold Stock & Co Solicitors is a trading name of Harold Stock & Co Limited, a Limited Company registered in England and Wales. Company No: 07201476. Registered Office: 55-57 Stamford Street, Mossley, Tameside, OL5 0LN. Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (535629). VAT No: 991 015 916 A full list of Directors is available at the Company’s Registered Office.

  • Acceptable Use
  • Complaints
  • Email Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy/Cookies
  • Regulatory Information
  • Terms of Website Use

Company Registered in England and Wales. No. 07201476
Copyright © 2023
Log in
Instilled Ltd

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT