Useful advice on package holidays

A holiday is often planned and booked weeks or months in advance. Planning ahead may, however, bring with it a number of disadvantages as various problems could crop up before the actual date.

One of these problems may be that our holiday accommodation package changes. The country we are planning to visit may, for instance, experience political instability or a natural disaster. These are problems a number of countries are facing and could not have been predicted or prevented.

But what are our consumer rights if the destination of the holiday we booked months ago is one of these countries? Are we entitled to some form of compensation if the holiday’s programme is changed or cancelled?

In situations where a package holiday is changed or when it contains false or misleading information, the Package Travel Regulations provide that the organiser or retailer should compensate for any loss which the consumer suffers as a result.

Furthermore, the regulations also stipulate that if the organiser of the package holiday is constrained, before departure, to alter significantly an essential term of the contract, the organiser should notify consumers as quickly as possible to enable them to take the appropriate decisions and to withdraw from the contract without penalty or to accept the alterations and their impact on the price.

On the other hand, it is the consumers, responsibility to inform the travel agency or tour organiser of what they have decided to do as soon as possible.

When the original holiday or part of it is significantly changed prior to departure, the consumer is entitled to one of the following solutions:

To take a substitute package of equivalent or superior quality, if such a possibility is offered;

To take a substitute package of lower quality, if this is offered, and to be refunded by the organiser the difference in price;

To be refunded as soon as possible all the money paid for the package holiday that has been cancelled.

The consumer is also entitled to financial compensation. This, however, does not apply if the package holiday is cancelled due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the organiser, the retailer or the supplier of services, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised.

Another possible scenario is that consumers are informed that their package holiday is changed after departure, or the organiser realises, after the date of departure, that he is unable to provide a significant proportion of the services promised during the sale of the package holiday.

In this situation, the law provides that the organiser should make suitable alternative arrangements at no extra cost to the consumer for the continuation of the package, and will, where appropriate, offer a compensation for the difference.

If alternative arrangements are not possible or are not acceptable to the consumer, the latter is entitled to compensation.

The organiser is also liable for any damage caused due to the changed package or cancellation.

The organiser is exempted from liability if the failure to deliver the promised package is due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond his control. Some examples of such unforeseeable circumstances are the natural disasters that hit Japan a few weeks ago, and the political instability we are seeing in North African countries. Extraordinary circumstances also include strikes, security risks and unexpected safety issues.

When consumers face problems after having purchased a package holiday, they should first of all complain with the travel agency and ask for a suitable solution and compensation.

They should, however, only demand what is fair and reasonable. If consumers do not manage to obtain an amicable solution to their problem, or the solution offered is unacceptable, they may then proceed to file a complaint with the Consumer and Competition Department for mediation.

Before complaining, consumers should remember that if the reason for the change in the package was due to unforeseeable or extraordinary circumstances, their legal rights for compensation do not apply.

customer@timesofmalta.com

odette.vella@gov.mt

Ms Vella is senior information officer, Consumer and Competition Department.