In a Q&A session at the ITT Conference, moderated by TTG Media managing director Daniel Pearce, Burling, who is also Tui’s chief executive Northern Region urged the industry to come together to stamp out the issue. “This is a situation where claims management companies are tricking and duping customers into making claims when they haven’t […]
Category: Consumer News
Airline Ticket Scams
Raise your hand if you’ve ever received an email with the subject line, “Bill Gates Wants to Share His Fortune With You!!” The offer, dating back to the origins of email, promised massive riches if you “helped out” by testing the email system. Usually, you were only eligible for the offer if you spammed a […]
Behind Britain’s boom in holiday sickness claims
Hill Dickinson partner Maria Pittordis explains the legal background, and Ian Taylor reports on the latest Appeal Court ruling Lawyer Maria Pittordis, a partner and head of the marine and trade division at law firm Hill Dickinson, is a specialist in holiday sickness or gastric illness claims. She said: “There has been an explosion in […]
Pair quized by police amid probe into fake illness claims
Two Britons suspected of encouraging tourists to make fake food poisoning claims have been held by police in Majorca. The pair were detained yesterday by officials in northern Majorca in what are believed to be the first detentions of their kind in Spain. Officers were understood to be probing whether the suspects were acting on […]
Gastric illness claims surge
The cost of all-inclusive holidays could rise by 15% for UK holidaymakers if the surge in false holiday sickness claims continues, insurers warn. Abta says the rise in gastric illness claims are up by more than 500% across the industry while lawyers have warned that Spanish hoteliers are considering stopping selling all-inclusive packages to the […]
AirAsia warns customers of free ticket scams
Low-cost carrier AirAsia is the latest airline to warn customers of a free ticket scam. It has been alerted to posts on social media offering free tickets via an online survey. Survey participants answer several questions and then are purportedly given vouchers to redeem for free flights, the airline said in a release. It is […]
Gastric illness claims soar 520% in one year
Maria Pittordis, a partner at law firm Hill Dickinson, said: “Some companies are getting 100 claims per day. They are all for all-inclusive holidays. Most of them – 99.9% – are from people who did not report their illness in-resort. “It’s out of control and doesn’t seem to be subsiding, and it’s costing the travel […]
Rise in reports of holiday scams
Holiday scams are on the rise, with the number of reported cases up almost 20% year on year – from 4,910 to 5,826 in 2016 – according to Action Fraud figures. Those reporting scams had lost around £1,200 on average. But the losses are not just financial: for many, it also affected their health. More […]
Industry must act on sickness claims
The recent upsurge in holiday sickness claims is “clearly fraud” and is putting the reputation of UK travel firms at risk. That is the view of Deloitte global leader for travel and aviation Graham Pickett, who urged industry leaders at the annual Barclays Travel Forum in London last week to do more to stamp out […]
Thomas Cook reports rise in holiday sickness claims
Thomas Cook revealed an increase in illness related claims from UK consumers in its interim half-year results and said it believes many to be “questionable”. The operator would not give figures but said the rise was in line with the rest of the UK package travel industry. Abta has talked of a 500% increase in […]
Risk of fraud for holidaymakers
A Which? investigation has proved just how easy it is for con artists to put fake accommodation listings on popular holiday-letting websites. We set up fake profiles on Airbnb and TripAdvisor’s Holiday Lettings, and successfully placed eight scam listings on each. In each case, it took us just minutes to create the scam listings and […]
Lawyers face investigation over illicit fees
Lawyers are allegedly paying illicit referral fees to claims management companies for access to clients who say that they have contracted stomach bugs and other ailments while on package holidays. At least 15 law firms are reported to be facing investigation for their potential role in a holiday illness scam that is costing the travel […]
Holiday villa scam
Holidaymakers should be wary of booking trips on unknown websites amid fears they could be scammed. Money Mail revealed in January that fraudsters had set up fake websites to trick British holidaymakers out of tens of thousands of pounds. Now a remarkably similar new site – Canaries-holidays.com – has been launched. Scamadviser.com, which checks for […]
Abta data breach is bad publicity
Abta revealed a cyber breach and theft of data of 650 members and 43,000 customers last week, but insisted “the vast majority” was “at low risk” of identity theft or online fraud. The association acted promptly and has been contacting all those affected, with an expert saying Abta acted “extremely well”. However, travel fraud expert […]
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 […]
How travel fraud culture is on the rise
According to the latest statistics from Abta, the sector has seen a 425% rise in fraudulent bookings, costing the consumer an estimated £11.5m last year. As we have seen from yesterday’s news, organisations like Abta can also be the victims, highlighting the importance of future-proofing against these attacks. It is not just the general public […]
Marriott Hotel warn people about fake phone scam
Think you’ve won an all-expenses paid hotel stay at a premium brand? Not so fast. If you receive a phone call offering a free stay at a Marriot hotel, you might just want to hang up immediately. According to the hotel chain, that call is likely part of a continuing phone scam that utilizes the […]
Abta cyber attack
Thousands of holidaymakers are said to be at risk of fraud after having their personal details stolen in a cyber attack on Abta, Britain’s leading travel association. Here is what to do if you think you might be affected. Who’s affected? As many as 43,000 people were affected by the hack, with email addresses, passwords […]
Scam villa sites closed down
The founder of Villa Plus has helped close down two fake holiday villa sites and has warned the public to be wary. Nick Cooper, founder and co-owner of Villa Plus, contacted police after discovering properties were being advertised without owners’ knowledge or consent. He warns there has been a big rise in the number of […]
InterContinental Hotels Group at risk of fraud?
On December 28, 2016, InterContinental Hotels Group (IGH) announced it would conduct investigations after receiving a report of unauthorised charges that had occurred on some payment cards in a number of its U.S. hotel properties, Travel Agent Central has reported. Upon receiving information of the first compromised card, IHG hired leading cyber security firms to […]