Judge Slams ABTA Procedures; ABTA Applicant Finds ABTA Consumer Protection "Meaningless"

Villaspain v ABTA, August 2006

September 12, 2006 - Press Dispensary - During action brought by Sussex based Spanish villa rental agent Villaspain (http://www.villaspain.co.uk) against the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), District Judge Robinson stated that he found ABTA’s documentation for membership both contradictory and confusing, and it emerged that not only does membership of ABTA entail an excess of bureaucracy but choosing an ABTA member no longer guarantees financial protection to holidaymakers.

Despite last year’s fraud conviction of ABTA's former legal chief Riccardo Nardi, the ABTA logo has long enjoyed public recognition in the UK as a solid consumer guarantee: if the agent or tour operator went bust, ABTA would ensure the holidaymaker was refunded. But in making its case against the association, Villaspain has realised that those days are over: ABTA withdrew from consumers' bonded accommodation protection in February 2006, and in early September 2006 it lost its long-standing right to display the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) Approved Code logo, which had originally been awarded under a scheme to "promote and safeguard consumers' interests"*(1).

Bruce Gibson, owner of Villaspain, says: "The lack of consumer protection will come as a shock to many holidaymakers. For us, it means we're no longer interested in ABTA membership and we'd like to warn consumers and potential members to beware of ABTA."

Since ABTA's move away from bonding for accommodation protection, Villaspain believes consumers are far better protected by the Consumer Credit Act: paying for goods worth over £100 using a credit card*(2) means the lender will refund the money in full in the event of non delivery of the goods or service paid for. Villaspain recommends that holidaymakers pay by credit card and does not charge a fee for this type of transaction.

Villaspain brought its action against ABTA for breach of contract following troubles with Villaspain's own membership application, which caused the application to lapse unnecessarily. At the initial hearing in November 2005, Judge Robinson was critical of ABTA's application procedure, and at the same hearing even ABTA's own in house lawyer agreed. Whilst it was anticipated that the full action in August 2006 could well fail on breach of contract - as it did - Villaspain felt compelled nevertheless to bring the action so as to highlight its treatment and ABTA's procedures.

ABTA gave Villaspain a written apology and invited the company to resume its application but by then - following its experiences and the further revelations - Villaspain had lost confidence. Bruce Gibson continues: "We were grossly misled and shabbily treated by certain staff at ABTA. If they treated an applicant in this way, then how would they treat members and consumers? And if ABTA no longer offers consumers the old protection then, frankly, what’s the point? To us, membership's meaningless.

"And nothing’s improving. A year on from the judge’s criticism, the ABTA documentation that was confusing and contradictory in 2005 remains exactly the same. ABTA hasn’t removed the confusion."

Villaspain is also increasingly concerned about the way ABTA handles claims and just how well it represents the holidaymaker's best interests. If eligible consumers elect to use ABTA's arbitration service*(3), they must pay ABTA a fee but they cannot attend the hearing, put their case in person or challenge the ABTA member's evidence. They must accept the decision of the arbitrator as legally binding and if they want to appeal they must pay a further fee of GBP £350. Very few claims actually make it to arbitration (ABTA states that over 90% of claims are withdrawn beforehand) but for those that do, it seems higher awards might have been obtained in court: ABTA arbitration*(4) recently came under fire when Holiday Which?, the Consumers' Association magazine, analysed the experiences of 11 groups of unhappy holidaymakers travelling with 10 tour operators. The judges made higher awards in eight of the 11 claims *(5).

Dissatisfaction seems to be widespread. Villaspain has evidence revealing that membership of ABTA has dropped by around 14% in just one year*(6) and it's a matter of public record that members are increasingly unhappy with its red tape tyranny and operator bias*(7).

Villaspain concluded that ABTA's system of passing over claims to its arbitration wing at cost to the claimant was unsatisfactory, and supports the view that if they are unable to settle with their holiday firm, consumers get a better deal by going direct to the small claims court.

UK holidaymakers using air travel can rest assured that they are protected from losing their money or being stranded thanks to ATOL (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing), which is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority, though the advice about paying by credit card is also applicable.

Notes:

*(1) Source: http://www.oft.gov.uk/News/Press+releases/2006/127-06.htm
*(2) This applies to credit cards but not debit cards
*(3) Information about the ABTA arbitration scheme can be found at http://www.abta.com/arbitration.shtml
*(4) Source Jon Robbins: http://money.guardian.co.uk/travel/money/story/0,1456,1293752,00.html
*(5) Source: http://www.adrnow.org.uk/go/SubPage_3.html#cos
*(6) From correspondence received by Villaspain in August 2005 confirming in August 2006 that ABTA membership declined from over 7,000 members to over 6,000 (copy letters available).
*(7) Source:
http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2005/07/28/21112/
Consortia+consider+ABTA+alternative.html

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About Villaspain:
Villaspain has operated for over 17 years in Brighton, East Sussex, and belongs to owner / sole trader, Bruce Gibson. The company specialises in fully managed villas located in the area between Altea and Denia on the Costa Blanca and offers a personal service to customers. Villaspain has its own local office support in Benissa, Costa Blanca.

For further information, please contact:
Bruce Gibson, Villaspain
Tel: 01273 623723
Email:
Site: www.villaspain.co.uk