Consumer champion Citizens Advice estimates three million Brits have had a problem with a package holiday in the past 12 months, with many suffering ‘stress’ and ‘disappointment’ as a result.
The organisation said around 14 complaints a day are made to its Consumer Service about package holidays, including issues such as unexpected hotel changes, denied refunds and poor customer service.
Citizens Advice Consumer Service dealt with 3,500 package holiday complaints in the past year, and more than two in five (42%) involved all-inclusive packages abroad.
The largest portion (33%) of complaints related to substandard services, where the quality of the holiday fell short of what was agreed, such as being misdescribed, bad food or unavailable facilities.
Customer service failures, such as long phone wait times, ignored complaints and admin errors, made up 19% of complaints.
Research carried out by Citizens Advice in April reveals one in four (25%) people who experienced an issue with a package holiday said they had feelings of stress, anxiety or upset, while 17% had to fork out extra for daily expenses.
A third (33%) of those who experienced an issue said it was resolved but required significant time and effort.
The research showed that 8% experienced a problem in the past 12 months specifically, which Citizens Advice said equates to more than three million Brits.
One complaint Citizens Advice heard was a semi-retired NHS doctor who spent £6,300 on an all-inclusive, seven-night trip to Lanzarote with her daughter, through a ‘popular UK holiday operator’.
Torrential rain on the second day caused flooding, leaving guests without electricity, water, food and Internet. The pair said they received no on-site support from their operator, causing them considerable stress.
“We all gathered in the hotel lobby to hear what was going on. It was the weekend and reps from all the other travel companies were there, talking with people, reassuring them, giving them information. Some were already distributed to other places. We asked, ‘Where is our rep?’ And we were told he doesn’t work on weekends.
“We were very angry. Hotel staff told us our travel company was always a problem and never helped people.
“I feel a victim twice over because I had the stress of our holiday being ruined, and then months of trying to get compensation,” she said.
Citizens Advice Consumer Expert Jane Parsons said: “Too often, people are left stressed and disappointed when their dream holidays are spoiled because they’re not getting what they paid for. To make matters worse, they’re having to spend a lot of time and effort trying to resolve issues, sometimes with no luck.”
Chartered Trading Standards Institute Chief Executive John Herriman said: “This research highlights the real impact poor practice in the travel sector can have on consumers, specifically the problems for consumers booking holidays online, particularly through social media. Too many people are left out of pocket or dealing with stress when holidays don’t meet what was promised. What should be a time to relax and unwind can turn into the opposite.
“While it’s vital consumers understand their rights, check the protections included and keep clear records if something goes wrong, businesses must meet their legal obligations and ensure they deliver the standard of service people have paid for – and resolve issues raised quickly. Strong consumer protection depends on both informed consumers and responsible traders.”
The survey was carried out by Yonder among 2,018 adults in Great Britain, between 17 and 19 April, about their experiences with package holidays. Respondents were asked to exclude issues outside the operator’s control, such as geopolitical events or natural disasters.
This story was updated at 4.45pm on Monday (8 June) after Citizens Advice got in touch to say its original figure of four million Brits affected by package holiday problems has since been recalculated to three million.
