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Package holidays are holidays where you booked your flight and accommodation at the same time, through the same travel company. It could also include transfers, car hire and tours if you booked these at the same time as your flight and accommodation.
If you've booked a package holiday you're protected by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
If you're holiday is cancelled, delayed or substantially changed it gives you the right to make a claim for:
Find out how to complain about a flight-only booking, or make a complaint about holiday accommodation.
Or your rights if you want to cancel the holiday.
If your holiday is cancelled the Package Travel Regulations gives you three options. You can:
If a tour operator makes a significant change to your accommodation, it must:
You do not have to pay for an enforced upgrade. The Package Travel Regulations say the tour operator is responsible for the hotel owner’s actions, so they have to make suitable alternative arrangements for the continuation of the package.
Once a holiday is confirmed, a tour operator can only increase the cost if all of the following conditions are met:
If the pay increase equals 8% or more of the total cost of your package holiday, you must be told at least 20 days before the holiday is due to start and be provided a clear calculation of the price rise.
If you don’t want to pay an increase of 8% or more, you can cancel the booking without termination fees.
When you booked your holiday, you should have been given plenty of paperwork including a description of your holiday, an itinerary and terms and condition'. If not, you can usually find a lot of this information on the travel company's website.
The terms and conditions in particular will outline the company's responsibilities to you, and your responsibilities as a customer. If you think it has let you down on its part of the deal, you'll have a strong argument to make a complaint.
If you want to complain about your holiday, start by writing directly to the company you booked with.
If the travel agent was acting for another party, such as an airline or tour operator, follow its complaints procedure. It should be explained in the paperwork you were given when you booked the holiday or on the agents website.
You can use our tool to start your letter of complaint.
If you booked a holiday and it didn’t go how you planned, we can help you make a claim.
Complain about a holidayIf the tour operator is a member of a travel trade association, you can make a complaint to them and try to resolve your issue using their arbitration services.
If you paid for your holiday using a credit card, you might be protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if you didn't get what you paid for.
Section 75 can cover holidays costing more than £100 and up to £30,000.
If you paid for your holiday using a debit card, you might also be able to claim your money back using chargeback.
Get in touch with your bank or card provider to ask if you can make a claim using Section 75 or chargeback.
Getting compensation from a tour operator can sometimes be difficult, and you usually have to be persistent.
If you think you have a strong grounds for making a claim, keep complaining using the company’s formal complaints procedure.
If this doesn’t work, you could consider taking the tour operator to the small claims court.
You can use the small claims court for most claims that involve a breach of contract. In other words, when you didn't get what you were told you were paying for.
In England and Wales, you can claim up to £10,000 in the small claims court. In Scotland and Northern Ireland it’s £3,000.