Protection when booking holiday separate

Heedtheadvice

On the other hand I was in ATOL 'protected' acommodation (I did have the certificate) and got no help whatsoever when the end supplier went bust!
Had to make own arrangements over 'room' payment but flight supplier was OK so travel was not an issue!

Hell of a job to reclaim when back home. Insurer and credit card company not interested till Atol claim route exhausted.
So half of holiday partially ruined (when all the effort to resolve should have been done for me) and protection only covered finances after the protracted claim.


Not saying ATOL was not of benefit, it certainly was and still should be, but does not always work well.


Just be aware at booking time of cover, limitations, conditions etc. and what you do if all goes wrong! Travel insurance is often left too late with potentially inadequate cover. Save just a few pounds on cover for a poorer policy, save maybe hundreds by DIY, but ensure you realise what the extra risks are and cover them as best you can. Well worth ensuring you make a 'package' within the ATOL rules or mitigate against the risks!


We must all give thanks to Alan Bowen for his great free advice!

bagand96

One interesting observation in all of this.... is the events surrounding Monarch’s failure.

The vast majority of Monarch’s bookings were flight only and were NOT ATOL protected. However, when the company failed, the Government/CAA arranged repatriation flights anyway, and those who were abroad were able to finish their holiday and fly home on their originally booked date. This protection is usually only provided for ATOL protected passengers. But nearly everyone got it in the case of Monarch, even though the majority were not covered.

Obviously it was no help to those who had future bookings. And there’s nothing to say it has set a precedent. Any future government may not decide to do the same.

Alan_Bowen

The government claimed they had to protect everyone because there were insufficient seats available to get everyone home. The cynics amongst us suspect the fact that the failure occurred on the first day of the Conservative Party Conference also helped those abroad at the time as the government wanted to be the headline, not thousands of potential voters stranded at airports abroad.

However it cost the government upwards of £60 million and they have made it clear they do not want to be put in that position again hence the reason they set up a Review which was published last month recommending a statutory scheme for all airlines, UK and overseas, that fly out of the UK which requires them to have financial protection in place as part of the licencing system.

Of course, just when we might need it, the government is falling apart at the seams and there is no realistic chance of anything happening in the short term at least. Chose your airline carefully and make sure that you insure against airline failure.

Ganga

Nice of the original poster to come back and thank the helpfull people and also tell them what they have done to protect themselves- NOT

mattyprice4004

Ganga wrote: »

Nice of the original poster to come back and thank the helpfull people and also tell them what they have done to protect themselves- NOT

Unfortunately that's usually the way - take take take, and no thanks or advice for others in future.
The world we live in, eh