Bad illness on Holiday - can I reclaim anything?

harrymetsally

Hi everyone

Really sorry if this is in the wrong place - I'm a regular MSE-er but I haven't used the forums before.

I recently booked an all inclusive holiday through travelrepublic.co.uk to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.
I have no complaints about the service or anything to do with the people I booked through etc. but both of us ended up with food poisoning from the hotel.

We had it really badly – we arrived Tuesday night, ate dinner at the hotel and by Wednesday evening we were both very very ill. We remained ill for 7 out of the 10 days we were there for. Not ideal.

Can I reclaim any money for this? We both have travel insurance (separately) but I don’t really know whether it’s a claim from them or from travelrepublic or from the hotel etc etc etc.

Basically I don’t know if I am entitled to anything and if I am – I have no idea where to start?!

Would appreciate some pointers from others who have experienced this?

Thanks
Harriet

bcl999

Well,if you have had medical expenses, then your travel insurance would be the first place to approach. However, I get the impression you are maybe looking for something more than medical expenses i.e.compensation for loss of enjoyment etc, and in that case I don't really know where you should start.

hcb42

was anyone else ill?
did you go to docs and provide a sample?
Was it reported to hotel?

food poisoning is hard to prove!

bcl999

I would also say name the place you were staying. You can name them without saying that you were poisoned there!

I.ve been to egypt a dozen times. I have stayed in anything from 5star to no star and only once have I had any problems. That was at the Hyatt Regency in Taba Heights where I was ill for about 10 days out of 14. I was fortunate that I got to know a couple of ladies from the same flight- one of whom suffered from Crohns Disease and gave me some of her drugs so I could make it home. i wasn't the only one one with problems at that hotel. When you complain, they tell you it is to do with the change in weather etc - utter fu**ing rubbish! Excuse my French!

P.S. You are in the wrong forum.This is the flights forum.

Alan_Bowen

If you had booked a package holiday you could have made a claim against the tour operator who is legally responsible for an illness contracted as a result of food poisoning in the hotel, provided you have medical evidence( that is why hotels like to call the doctor who won't say it was the food!)

Your problem is you didn't book a package holiday as Travel Republic don't sell them and therefore, apart from any outstanding medical expense claims you may have against the insurer, you only claim can be against the hotel itself. This is when 'moneysaving' by booking separate items suddenly becomes a nightmare as you lose all the rights under the Package Travel Regulations. Just how realistic it is to try and take legal action against an Egyptian company I hesitate to say but you might get at least a bit of free advice from a firm of solicitors. If others were ill at the same time, that increases the likelihood of the hotel being at fault but the truth is 80% of people going to Egypt get ill for a day or two at least, particularly in July and August just because of the sheer heat, so there is no guarantee. A firm that has had a lot of success in claiming for illness abroad is Irwin Mitchell so you might want to try calling them

mandi

Alan_Bowen wrote: »

If you had booked a package holiday you could have made a claim against the tour operator who is legally responsible .

Your problem is you didn't book a package holiday as Travel Republic don't sell them

A popular misconception

Technically it depends on the OPs perception when booking the holiday . If he thought he was buying a " package " ie flight/accommodation then as the law stands it is in fact a package & would therefore be covered under The Package Travel Regulations .

"The simple fact is this – if you believe that you were sold a package and that there was nothing either through the website or any other factor to put you on notice that it was not a package, then it WILL be a package – this is not just me saying this – in 2008 the government published a Guidance to the selling Package Holidays. The key point in the guidance and indeed the law, is if the perception, or what was in the mind of the Consumer, was that what was sold was a package, then it is a Package!"

http://www.holidaytravelwatch.net/2011/08/11/are-holiday-complaints-defeated-by-the-so-called-diy-holiday/

Caz3121

mandi wrote: »

A popular misconception

Technically it depends on the OPs perception when booking the holiday . If he thought he was buying a " package " ie flight/accommodation then as the law stands it is in fact a package & would therefore be covered under The Package Travel Regulations .

"The simple fact is this – if you believe that you were sold a package and that there was nothing either through the website or any other factor to put you on notice that it was not a package, then it WILL be a package – this is not just me saying this – in 2008 the government published a Guidance to the selling Package Holidays. The key point in the guidance and indeed the law, is if the perception, or what was in the mind of the Consumer, was that what was sold was a package, then it is a Package!"

http://www.holidaytravelwatch.net/2011/08/11/are-holiday-complaints-defeated-by-the-so-called-diy-holiday/

from the Travel Republic home page
"Travel Republic champions value, choice and flexibility and does not sell, organise or arrange package holidays."

does that not cover them...or is someone saying they did not read/understand going to be enough

mandi

Caz3121 wrote: »

from the Travel Republic home page
"Travel Republic champions value, choice and flexibility and does not sell, organise or arrange package holidays."

does that not cover them...or is someone saying they did not read/understand going to be enough

Again it depends on the OPs peception when they booked .

Did they read the " T&C s .. at the bottom of the page


We don't Know do we?


So assuming the OP didn't and booked flights/hotel /transfers .. Thinking it was a package

Then it is classed as a " package "

Alan_Bowen

I wish the law was as simple as Mandi suggests but the CAA who issue ATOL licences to package tour operators sued Travel Republic on the basis that customers thought they were buying package holidays and they lost, in the Magistrates and subsequently on appeal. Travel Republic do not only have the words 'we do not sell package holidays' in the booking conditions, in the evidence given at trial, it appears the words appear in front of you as the system looks for the travel arrangements, so the Judges took the view you could not be mislead. I don't like the outcome anymore than I am sure 'harrymetsally' does, but going down the route to sue under the Package Travel Regulations won't work in this case.

harrymetsally

Thank you all for taking the time out to help me work this out.

I will have a go and see what happens.
I shall let you all know the outcome or if I find out anything contradictory!

Thanks again!
Harriet