Injury compensation claims & the package holiday regulations

If you suffer an illness or accident on holiday or you don't receive the package holiday you booked and paid for, you may be entitled to a refund and compensation under the Package Travel Regulations.

By law, you have the right to receive the holiday you booked and paid for. If the holiday does not match the description contained in the travel agent's brochure or website, you may be able to claim compensation under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992.

What is a package holiday?

The Package Travel Regulations covers "package" holidays, which means that you must have pre-arranged at least two of the following services with the same tour operator as part of an all-inclusive price:

accommodation
transport
other tourist services that account for a significant proportion of the package, for example car hire.

A holiday may not be a package if you enter into separate contracts for each component of your holiday, for example, one with the airline and one with the hotel. Always check with your provider if you are not sure.

What events might trigger a claim?

Under the Regulations, you have the right to:

Receive the holiday described in the brochure
Receive the holiday at the price you agreed to pay for it
Receive factually accurate information about the package
Receive accommodation that is reasonably safe and sanitary.

These rights are broad-ranging, and they allow you to make a claim in all kinds of situations. Perhaps the brochure described the hotel as being just a five-minute walk from the beach when in fact it was a bus ride away. Or perhaps the hotel's swimming pool was a poorly constructed death trap and you suffered personal injury when using it.

In these and other scenarios, you may be able to claim compensation for the loss you have suffered. In most cases, the compensation you receive is an aggregate amount representing the difference between the value of the holiday you paid for and the one you actually received, and compensation for the distress caused by things going wrong.

You can also claim for personal injury and any out-of-pocket expenses.

Who is responsible for the loss?

The basic effect of the Regulations is that the travel agent or tour operator who organised your holiday is directly responsible for any problems you suffer. This is very significant as you do not have to bring a claim against people based outside the UK under foreign law.

The travel agent is also responsible any pre-departure changes made to your holiday, such as changing the destination airport or the nature of your accommodation.

In the case of a pre-departure cancellation or alteration, you can either accept the alterations specified by the tour operator and receive the difference in value for the taking an inferior package, or cancel the contract and get your money back.

How can we help?

Every Package Travel Regulations case has its own circumstances. If you did not receive the holiday you booked and paid for and would like to talk to someone about making a claim, please call Quittance for a free no obligation consultation.

Alternatively, fill out our online form and we will call you back at a time convenient to you.