The industry powers for consumer law in the travel industry are changing and the proposed bill will be giving consumers a far greater experience when dealing with issues. But with these new powers to come, it is still important to understand when they are and aren’t necessary for any issue that you may encounter with your travel booking. So, what should you do when you have an issue?
Get in Touch with Your PTS Travel Agent
The first place you should always go when you have an issue is to the travel agent or tour operator you have booked with. Most issues with a booking can and should be resolved by the agent themself, this includes refunds, reimbursements, rescheduling, cancellations, missing information, and more. In most cases, your travel business should be able to resolve the issue in a timely manner without having to involve the consumer law powers unnecessarily.
We highly recommend you book with a member of Protected Trust Services (PTS) for exactly this reason. All members of PTS are checked, compliant, and trusted businesses that we support, so you can book with a business that you know you can have confidence in.
Plus, all PTS members use our travel trust account system, meaning your monies are separated by booking and held in the trust account until you have returned from your fabulous holiday or need a refund. So if you need your money back at any point, your PTS member can return it straight to you from the trust account without any fuss.
What If My Issue Is Still Unresolved?
99% of the time, an issue with a booking can be resolved by the travel business in question, but we understand that this is not always the case. If you have booked with a PTS member and they are unable to resolve your issue for some reason, this is the time to contact PTS directly so our friendly team can help.
In the case that you need to contact PTS, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- We cannot help if you have not done everything you can to resolve the issue directly with the member.
- We cannot help if the business is not a member of PTS.
If you are unsure whether your business is a PTS member, that is simple! You can either check their website and look for the PTS logo with their business number included, or you can visit https://www.protectedtrustservices.com/consumer/ and simply search for the business’s name or PTS number to check that they are one of our trusted members.
In the case that you are not booking with a PTS member, there are a few options to consider. This can include contacting the payment provider for a refund where the businesses cannot provide one. It could also involve contacting Action Fraud to report and investigate a case of fraud that has affected you.
When Will Industry Powers Get Involved?
The regulators that hold powers concerning consumer law are predominantly called upon to deal with acts of breach. This means that if a travel business has breached consumer laws for their business, the CMA, CAA, or Trading Standards could get involved to impose action or fines.
If a business is found selling flights without a valid ATOL, the CAA is most likely the power that will get involved. Due to the newly proposed powers for travel consumer law, the CAA may soon be able to request a court case to do with a travel business that has been found potentially in breach.
The CMA may soon be able to impose significant fines and punishments to travel businesses found in breach and judged by them to be in breach. This move was made in an attempt to reduce the number of consumers affected by travel businesses that are non-compliant. It will also be used to incentivise other travel businesses to ensure they are compliant with the law and are fully educated on what that means.
Our PTS members are part of a community that is already providing a safe travel industry that ensures travellers can have complete peace of mind when they book their next fantastic holiday. For travellers with PTS members, we ensure that almost all of your issues can be resolved efficiently with a great business you can trust.
So, if you’re looking forward to your next holiday, don’t wait, book now with a travel business registered with PTS for 100% financial protection through trust. Or, if you’d like assistance choosing one of the lovely PTS members to book with, you can contact PTS directly at 0207 190 9988 or check us out on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
And if you’d like to learn more about your financial protection with PTS or how the Package Travel Regulations protect your holiday booking, check out our pages and Travel Advice.
