Holiday sickness claims in the UK have seen a recent change in regulations, which have been developed to include more holidays within legal protection. These claims can be made even without having purchased travel insurance should you believe you have suffered from a holiday sickness due to negligence.
Travel Package Regulations 2018
Package holidays sold in the UK on or after July 1st will fall under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. These new measures widen the spectrum for holiday travel arrangements being classified as packages, which are the type of travel arrangements that offer the most protection for holidaymakers.
For holidays booked before July 1st, travel arrangements are only considered to be packaged when a company provides a minimum of two components: accommodation, transport, or other services such as a guided tour.
Through the new regulations, a holiday may be a package holiday if:
- It was bought for either an inclusive or a total price
- It was advertised as a holiday package or as an all-inclusive deal.
- You purchased more than one part of the holiday in one payment from one company, like flights and accommodation.
- You weren’t required to enter your payment details again within 24 hours of booking a part of the holiday and you were prompted to purchase another part.
What are Linked Travel Arrangements?
Even if holidays don’t fall under the previous conditions, they may be considered as Linked Travel Arrangements. Unlike package holidays, a Linked Travel Arrangement means that your payment details weren’t transferred after you bought a travel service and were prompted to buy another within 24 hours.
You won’t benefit from the same level of protection with a Linked Travel Arrangement as you would with a package holiday, however, you have insolvency protection. You will get your money back should the company go bankrupt. Make sure to confirm which definition your holiday falls under when booking.
What You Should Do
Should you happen to suffer from a holiday illness, there are a few steps you should take if you wish to make a compensation claim:
- Seek medical care and ask for a copy of your doctor’s records, making sure to keep receipts of any expenses incurred due to medical treatment.
- Make sure to report your illness to your holiday representative.
- Have a written record of your complaint and make sure to have a copy.
- If still on holiday, make a list of all food and drink you’ve consumed within the last 72 hours and take photographs of how the food is kept at the hotel.
- Get both names and addresses of other holidaymakers at your hotel after speaking with them to establish if you were the only one to suffer from the sickness.
Making Holiday Sickness Claims
Restaurants, hotels, and other customer service providers have a duty of care towards every customer. There are many illnesses that can affect you due to negligence by these companies when they don’t take all of the necessary steps to make sure you are completely safe. For example, you may receive compensation due to the following:
- Food poisoning
- E-coli
- Gastroenteritis
- Salmonella
- Bacterial infections
- Norovirus
- Legionnaires’ disease
At The Claims Partnership, we want to provide the best possible service to all customers. This is why we are here to support you through making a holiday sickness claim; should you believe that you suffered from a holiday sickness and you need someone to fight for your corner, we’re here to help. Contact us today on 01772 562084 to enquire about our No Win, No Fee policy, ensuring that your best interests are protected.