Sickness claims: Claims firms becoming more creative
Fake holiday sickness claims appear to be big business in the UK, with claims management companies continuing to target tourists in what has been described as ‘the new whiplash’.
As many as 9.5 million adults in the UK – almost one in five – have been approached about making a compensation claim for holiday illness, according to recent figures from Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).
The sharp rise in the number of suspected fraudulent food poisoning claims made against all-inclusive European hotels has prompted ABTA to warn would-be claimant holidaymakers of the potential for prosecution. In October, a couple from Wallasey, Merseyside, were jailed for lying about suffering food poisoning on two successive trips to Spain – for which they managed to claim almost £20,000 from Thomas Cook.