Changes made to your Package Holiday and your rights!

This last few weeks we have received quite a few calls from concerned holidaymakers, telling us about the changes that travel companies are making to their holidays.  The majority of Consumers who are contacting us are due to take their holidays in August or September this year, but there are some holidaymakers who are about to go on holiday and are now faced with the problem of dealing with the problems created by their travel company!

Such complaints involve:

1. A change of flight time by several hours;
2. A change of airport - some to airports hundreds of miles from where they live;
3. A change of hotel or resort.

Many of our callers are at a loss on what to do, particularly when they are faced with a travel company that wants more money or are just simply ignoring requests to resolve the problem!

Whilst there are some travel companies that claim that they are not selling Package Holidays (and therefore you have limited rights), the majority of holidays will be Package Holidays and are covered by the Package Travel Regulations.

We have a dedicated page on our website that deals with these regulations and should be your first port of call whenever you find that you are having to deal with holiday complaints!

The changes I talk about are classed as 'significant changes' because they affect the operation and nature of your contract with your travel company.

Where changes are made to your holiday before departure, Regulations 12 & 13 apply:

1. If they make a change, they have to tell you and allow you to accept the changes or have a full refund;
2. If they make a change they also have to offer you an upgrade where it is available, a downgrade where it is available with the price difference being refunded or a refund - in some cases, you will also be entitled to compensation.

So if you find yourself caught up in the 'significant change' roundabout, then visit our page or call us and we will guide you further.