PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Tourism: Coronavirus (23 June 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps is he taking to prevent travel companies asking customers to pay the balance on holidays that have not been confirmed as going ahead.

Asked by:
Charlotte Nichols (Labour)

Package travel agencies are required to comply with the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a full refund if a package holiday is cancelled due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued within 14 days.

Further information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses was published on 30 April by the Competition and Markets Authority who have also set up a covid-19 taskforce for consumers to register complaints, available through: https://www.coronavirus-business-complaint.service.gov.uk/.

Where payments were made using a credit card meeting certain criteria, redress may also be sought from the credit card company under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Answered by:
Paul Scully (Conservative)
1 July 2020