While I am far from being Simon Cadler, I have learnt a few things from my time in the travel industry so far. For those of you with itchy feet who are looking to book holidays or for those of you that have some booked already, there are a few things worth knowing to give you a better understanding of how your travels are financially protected. I am not a travel lawyer or qualified to properly dissect the arrangements your have made with your provide but there are organisations, governing bodies and requirements that are worth you knowing about.
Organisations, Abbreevs and Terminology
FCDO – The semi recently rebranded Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office is the UK Government’s department for “promoting and protecting British interests around the world”. The part they play in your potential holiday is advising safe travel. They provide a list of destinations deemed safe for British citizens to travel to. War, disease, terrorism and political instability are all considerations in this process. While some countries may be deemed safe, there may be regions within these countries that are advised against visiting. Check the advice and your itinerary. To have a misfortune in an area you have been advised not to visit may invalidate any claim against your insurance.
ATOL – The Air Travel Organiser’s Licence. This licence protects package holidays that include flights and some flight only sales. This cover means that if the company you have booked with ceases trading, you will be entitled a refund if you are due to travel. If you are abroad when this happens, hotel costs and flights home will be covered. Not all package travel companies will have this licence.
ABTOT - The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust. ABTOT is an approved body (approved by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) which oversees the bonding process to ensure that ABTOT Members financial protection are at an adequate level to meet their insolvency requirements in the event of their financial failure as defined by The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. In layman’s terms, members of this organisation have met certain standards of financial protection to those purchasing a product from them. This is not to say that organisations not affiliated with them don’t, but its nice to see a company who has voluntarily jumped through hoops to prove it.
ABTA – Association of British Travel Agents. Another badge to indicate member companies abide by the organisations Code of Conduct which governs areas such as accurate advertising, fair terms of trading, changes to bookings and managing customer complaints. Financial protection is provided for your package holiday in the European Economic Area (EEA) if your travel company cease operations. They will provide you with a process to allow you to continue with your holiday or get money back. Similar to the ATOL. Packages for business trips (this is a thing apparently) or trips that last less than 24 hours may not be covered. Travel outside the EEA will not be covered by this scheme by the travel companies may have others that do. If in doubt, ask your travel agent how you are financially protected.
PTR – Package Travel Regulations. By law you have the right to expect that the holiday you booked and paid for matches the description given to you when you bought it. So, pay careful attention to how the package holiday is described by your travel agent, in the brochure or a website. If the holiday doesn’t match how it was described, The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangement Regulations 2018, which implement the EU's Package Travel Directive 2015, give you the right to ask your tour operator to put it right and, if it’s unable to, claim compensation. There will be no initial changes to the regulations when the UK leaves the EU but does not mean they wont change in the future.
Linked Travel Arrangements – A Linked Travel Arrangement is when you buy one service from a tour operator and are then prompted to buy another, but your information and payment details aren’t transferred. For example, if an email with your flight information has a link to a hotel site which you then book, but you must re-enter your travel dates, location, personal information and payment details. You must also buy these services within 24 hours of each other for them to be considered a Linked Travel Arrangement. It's the responsibility of the first travel company to tell you that you’ve been sold a Linked Travel Arrangement. A package holiday is when you book more than one part of your holiday (transport, accommodation or activity) through the same travel agent or website. A Linked Travel Arrangement is when you buy one part of your holiday and then are prompted to buy another part within 24 hours but your payment details aren't transferred.
Curtailment – Some travel insurance policies may contain a cover for curtailment. This is when your trip is cut short, either in the event of government advice, injury or death. As an example, if you are on holiday and advice FCDO advice changes to suggest that you should leave the country due to war or disease, you would be able to claim back the expense of flying home early and the value of the trip or package that was not spent. The provider may still be able to provide the package so may not be required to offer any compensation if you choose to leave the trip early.
Aspects to Consider
You are more protected with a package tour than if you book each aspect of your trip independently in the event of cancellation due to a change in government advice.
If the provider or airline are still able to provide the service but you choose to cancel, there will be some degree of cancellation fee within the terms and conditions. Depending on the nature of your cancellation you may be able to make a claim on any insurance you have. If it is due to COVID it could be viewed as disinclination to travel and may not be due anything. If in doubt, check with your provider.
Government advice can change at any time, either for or against travel. Your provider or carrier may not be able to cancel your flight or trip unless they are within a certain time frame of departure. This is classed as “Imminent Travel”. You may also be able to cancel in this time without penalty but check the agreed T&Cs or ask the provider.
Suggestions
I can’t say this enough times. Check with your travel provider how you are protected and under what circumstances you will be refunded if it can’t be provided.
Wait for the organiser to cancel your trip. If they can’t provide the service you have purchased, you will be entitled a refund or compensation. If you cancel, you may not be and could risk losing any funds put towards it.
You do not need to accept a credit voucher if you are legally entitled a full refund by the provider, but they may offer you extras to keep you on board. If you do accept a voucher, check to see if and when they expire. You get more for your buck and it keeps a struggling industry ticking over.
Get Travel Insurance! You may have travel insurance that comes with your credit card.
Check what your insurance policy covers you for. If you cancel your trip and there is non-refundable amount, there is the potential to make a claim against your insurance policy. This will depend on the nature of your cancellation. If your trip is cut short for any reason, you may not be entitled a refund unless you have curtailment within your policy. Policies are not worded using the easiest terminology and subject to change based on government advice and changes in classification. If in doubt, ask them. It may be obvious but more expensive policies tend to offer more cover. There is always an exception to the rule though.
If in doubt, seek independent travel advice. May need to be worded differently otherwise you just get links to The Independent newspapers travel section.
Useful links
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office
