If you are planning on going on your holidays this year make sure you do the following before setting off for the travel agent! When booking a holiday package it is important that we consider what will happen should we need to cancel or if your holiday goes completely wrong for one reason or another. Where do we stand?
According to the article “Good things come in holiday packages – if they’re bonded” we the consumer need to be aware of our rights as a holiday consumer and help is at hand!
The Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act 1995 states that a ‘package holiday’ should combine at least two of the following – accommodation, guided tour services and flights. Lastly, to be a package holiday you don’t have to go abroad as your trip can be inside the UK as well as outside of it.
It is absolutely essential that you book your holiday with a bonded or licensed travel agent in case anything should go wrong. With a licensed agent if they were to go bust all would not be lost and you would receive assistance.
When reading the brochure, ensure that the information you are seeing is not misleading you in some way. According to travel agent legislation all the information set out before you should be accurate and in no way misleading. It should be a case of what you see is what you will get as transportation, living accommodation and date information should be accurate.
A fundamental priority (when reading the brochure) is to make sure you are familiar with all information to do with holiday cancellation. Additionally, you should familiarise yourself with details relating to price, payment terms, itinerary, mandatory charges, health recommendations and amongst other things visa and passport requirements. Next check that you agree with all the terms and conditions (normally situated at the back of your brochure) and should be read with care as it includes all the facts about cancellation.
In a majority of cases the deposit will be forfeited when a holiday is cancelled after that, how much money is lost depends upon how much time there is between the dates of the holiday and when you cancel. If you read all the small print this will come as no surprise.
In the event of having to cancel a holiday, check your travel insurance in order to see if you can recoup any of your losses. Remember to buy your travel insurance at the time of booking your holiday but remember you can purchase this from another source if you require.