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While the idea of a DIY holiday may appeal to you, it may be more prudent to go through a travel agent/tour operator.
Ensuring that the company that you book with has an Air
Travel Organisers Licence protects you from being left high and dry in another
country. Travel companies that sell you holiday packages with air travel must
have an ATOL licence and have to issue you with a certificate as proof that
protection is in place as soon as you hand over any money for your trip.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will have conducted its
checks on the company before it issues the licence. So, if your tour operator
closes down, the CAA will refund you or fly you home. It may even allow
you to complete your holiday. In the case of an airline, an ATOL-protected tour operator has to
find you an alternative flight whether you are waiting to go on holiday or you are abroad.
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“Any UK travel company, selling air packages, whether online or on the high street, must have ATOL protection.
“ATOL is the UK’s financial protection scheme, which gives
air travellers the peace of mind they won't lose their money and will get home
- even if the travel business they book with collapses,” says a CAA
spokesperson.
If you book direct with an airline or just book hotel
accommodation, you are not covered by ATOL. For more information check the
CAA’s packpeaceofmind.co.uk website, part of the
on-going public information “Pack Peace of Mind” campaign.
While it may cost more to use a credit card, according to
the Money Advice Service website (moneyadviceservice.org.uk)
if you pay with one you can get valuable legal protection if the company you
are buying from goes bust or doesn’t deliver what it’s promised.
“When booking a holiday, customers should consider using a
credit or debit card, which may provide further protection in the event of
travel operator failure,” points out a CAA spokesperson.
Using a credit card when flights cost more than £100 each does give you some important protection under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 according to the CAA’s website. It goes on to say that if things go wrong and if the airline is at fault, the credit card company shares legal responsibility with the airline. This means the consumer also has a claim against the credit card company for any losses. It should also mean you can claim for airline failure against the credit card company. You can refer disputes to the Financial Ombudsman if the credit card company challenges your claim.
Another point to note is that paying the deposit is enough
to give you legal protection. If you are using a debit card you can find out
information of the Money Advice Service website about making a claim, known as
a chargeback, to get a refund of the cost of your flights.
“However credit and debit card protection is not guaranteed
to bring you home if your travel company collapses while you are abroad. ATOL
protection will bring you home,” the CAA spokesperson highlights.
For service issues that you have with your travel agent you
need to contact ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents, abta.com).
While it may be cheaper to go for a DIY holiday, booking
through a good travel agent means that somebody is there should anything go
wrong before or during your trip and they should be able to advise you on the
best holiday for you.
The Civil Aviation Authority advocates shopping around for
the best deals when looking for flights. It says you should take into
consideration the extra charges such as for baggage and meals. You can check
price comparison sites but you need to bear in mind that not all airlines
appear on them so you may need to visit individual airline sites to view their
flights.
The Consumer Credit Act 1974 may not cover you for all
situations if you book through a travel agent. The CAA points out that Section
75 protection may not apply to situations where you have paid a travel agent
for services provided by another company. For example, if you pay the travel
agent for rooms provided by a hotel. For a scenario such as this you may
want to speak to your credit card company to see what sort of protection that it offers you.
Not all travel agents are equal. You need to compare quotes
to ensure that you are getting the best deal. Some are hundreds of pounds more
expensive for the same holiday. The other week I got a quote from a company
that is regarded as highly reputable and found it to be £1,000 more
expensive on a four-day break to Iceland than booking direct with a major
airline as a package deal.
By Daralyn Danns
