Travel agent, 41, who used £26,000 from a client’s credit card to pay for other customers’ holidays wept as she was jailed for two years – after escaping prison for the same offence seven years ago A travel agent who used £26,000 that a customer was saving for his daughter’s medical treatment to reimburse other […]
Category: Latest Fraud News
Easyjet Facebook Scam
EasyJet is warning Facebook users not to be taken in by a “free flights” scam that has gone viral on the social media platform. The scam claims to offer two free tickets to everyone that participates in an online survey, in celebration of the airline’s 22nd anniversary. When users click on the link, they are […]
Muslims defrauded by dodgy Hajj tour operators
Nasir Rana, 61, was looking forward to performing his first pilgrimage to Mecca this year. The former government employee put $4,500 from his pension – a sum around three times the average annual salary in Pakistan – into a trip organised by Al-Hashmi travels. But today, as the Hajj draws to its close in the […]
Fake online ticket epidemic
Scores of people have reported being ripped off by a ticket exchange website leaving them hundreds – and in some cases thousands – of pounds out of pocket. The issue of ticket fraud is widespread and growing. Almost 22,000 people reported losses of over £21m to criminals between 2013 and 2016, according to data from Get Safe Online, […]
Sickness claim against Thomas Cook ruled not credible
A Thomas Cook customer who claimed she fell ill while on holiday has had her case thrown out for being “neither plausible nor credible”. A judge at Worcester country court told ruled the claim from 27-year-old Marissa McLean of Redditch was “fundamentally dishonest”. The healthcare assistant alleged she had fallen ill after eating undercooked chicken […]
Flexible Autos reassures agents after car hire probe
Flexible Autos has rushed to reassure agents after a Daily Mail probe into car hire transparency in Spain found companies quoting inflated prices or adding charges. The report, which was published yesterday, centered on an undercover investigation by the newspaper into how a number of car hire firms reportedly put extra charges on to holidaymakers’ […]
Lowcost administrators given another year to investigate
Lowcosttravelgroup’s administrators have been given another year to carry out enquiries, as they continue to investigate whether legal action should be taken against any parties involved with the travel group. Smith & Williamson’s creditors report confirmed in March that “sufficient cause” had been found for a detailed investigation into Lowcosttravelgroup’s eventual collapse on July 15 […]
Customer fined over false sickness claim
A holidaymaker who claimed she’d suffered food poisoning on a holiday with Thomas Cook has had her claim thrown out by a judge after her Facebook pictures showed her on boat trips and drinking alcohol by the hotel pool. Marissa McLean, from Redditch, Worcestershire, said she’d been taken ill after eating ‘under-cooked chicken’ at the […]
Tui client ordered to pay £25,000
The claim, made two years after Amy Hughes from Holyhead returned home from her 2011 holiday, was due to be heard by a court last October, but was dropped just before the hearing without explanation, the Daily Mail reports. Hughes spent 11 days at the Iberotel Palace in Sharm. A Thomson investigation found she had […]
Win for Thomas Cook against implausible sickness claim
Thomas Cook has successfully defended a holiday sickness claim which a judge branded “fundamentally dishonest”. A spokesman for the operator said the win was a “significant case which sends a clear message to claimants”. He added: “We will not pay claims which we believe to be dishonest, and we will take further action where necessary.” […]
What to do in case of terrorist attack
Counterterrorism authorities are uploading a film on Youtube today to tell holidaymakers what to do if they are caught up in an attack. Travel industry staff are also being briefed on the initiative. Police and government ministers are supporting the effort and encouraging travellers to take note of the “run, hide, tell” safety procedure. The […]
Sickness claims ‘a serious threat’ to UK business
European hoteliers are raising prices and threatening to withdraw from the UK market in response to the explosion in overseas holiday sickness claims by British holidaymakers. Andy Cooper, head of regulation, compliance and resilience at the UK’s number-three tour operator Jet2Holidays, said: “This is a serious threat.” Cooper told the Abta Travel Matters conference in […]
Breakthrough in crackdown on false sickness claims
Joint action by the UK travel trade and police, courts and hoteliers in Spain has led to a major a breakthrough in the fight against false sickness claims. According to TUI UK and Ireland, a major crackdown has led to one law firm dropping more than 1,800 cases against the travel giant. Managing director Nick […]
Tui sees 1,800 holiday sickness cases against it dropped
Tui UK & Ireland claims one law firm has dropped 1,800 holiday sickness cases against it and has revealed customers who submitted false or exaggerated against hoteliers in Majorca in the past year can now “expect criminal action to be taken. The company also had a “very positive” meeting with the Spanish police “to discuss […]
Tui & Spanish police crack down on bogus sickness claims
Tui is working with Spanish police to help with efforts to crack down on bogus illness claims by holidaymakers prompted by claims management companies in resorts. The Thomson and First Choice parent company met with the financial crimes division of the Spanish National Police last week to discuss the issues and the actions that are […]
Brits’ weak stomachs – sickness claims
Thomas Cook Group chief executive Peter Fankhauser claimed today that British tourists have become the laughing stock of Europe due to a 500% rise in holiday sickness claims. Fankhauser, a Swiss national, told the ABTA Travel Matters conference that there was a joke that the British have weak stomachs and the Germans have stronger constitutions. […]
Cybercrime is rife and travel is full of bad practices
The Travel weekly and Travolution Cyber Security Summit was hosted by Natwest and sponsored by Worldpay, Syntec/Cardeasy and law firm Hill Dickinson Cybercrime is rife in travel and the sector is subject to “a lot of bad practices”, according to the head of the travel industry’s fraud-prevention body. Barry Gooch, chairman of Prevention of Fraud […]
Brits frozen out of AI deals by Spanish hoteliers
British holidaymakers face missing out on cheaper, all-inclusive deals because Spanish hoteliers have had enough of bogus sickness compensation claims by UK tourists. Hotels in popular resorts in Spain have reportedly stopped selling the packages through the UK websites of Thomson and Thomas Cook after a surge in claims – but the value deals are […]
ABTA launches assault against bogus sickness claims
ABTA has launched a new two-pronged political and consumer campaign to persuade the Government to crack down on bogus holiday sickness claims. Its ‘Stop Sickness Scams’ campaign also warns holidaymakers of the consequences of making a false claim, which could include a fine. Also, it warns them of the risk of overseas hoteliers suing them […]
Fake food poisoning claims
Package holidays could soar in price because of a surge in fraudulent food poisoning claims against all inclusive resorts, a trade body has claimed. Experts are warning a growing epidemic of travel sickness fraud has become the new bogus whiplash claim industry which poses the biggest threat the travel industry has seen in years. The […]