ABTA steps in to resolve holiday sickness claims
ABTA has launched a new, independent alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme for personal injury, including holiday sickness claims.
It claimed the conciliation service is a ‘simple and cost effective means for members and consumers to resolve claims up to £10,000.
ABTA said the independent ADR scheme offered travel companies and holidaymakers a means of resolving complaints without the need for costly and time-consuming court cases.
Administered by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, the ADR will make decisions within eight weeks, it said, and the process cuts out claims management companies, so holidaymakers will receive any payment in full.
ABTA said there had been a ‘dramatic rise’ in holiday sickness claims since a change to the law in 2013, which now account for nine in 10 personal injury complaints received by members, and it claimed they had become a ‘lucrative area’ for claims management firms.