How to complain when your holiday was not as expected

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Did your dream holiday turn into a nightmare?

The weather is telling us that Summer is over and any thoughts of our holidays away may be distant happy memory for many of us.

But for some disappointed holiday makers, their dream escape did not live up to expectations. Helen Dewdney, AKA The Complaining Cow, a consumer champion, is on hand to help explain what you are entitled to and how to get it.

Were you misled about your holiday?

If you were misled about your holiday you can claim redress under the Package Holiday and Linked Travel Arrangements 2018. Your holiday organiser, usually the tour operator is liable for the failures of hoteliers, suppliers and services within the contract. If your holiday was cancelled, you were entitled to a substitute package of equivalent or superior quality (if available) or to take a substitute package of lower quality and recover the difference in the price or get a full refund. This decision was yours to make at the time.

Loss of value

You can claim the difference between the price paid for the holiday and the one you received. For example if you paid for a 4-star hotel and it turned out to be a 2-star, you would be entitled to the difference in cost between the two.

Out of pocket expenses

You can claim reasonable costs for expenses incurred as a result of the company’s breach of contract. For example, taking a taxi if the transfer coach didn’t turn up.

Loss of enjoyment

You can claim compensation for the disappointment and distress caused by things going wrong. For example, if you booked a holiday with a “kids club” and there wasn’t one, that could be a loss of enjoyment for child and you!

Personal injury

If you incur a personal injury abroad due to negligence, such as unsafe conditions in the hotel, you will be entitled to compensation from the tour operator.

If you have an accident that wasn’t your fault or suffered medical negligence abroad, you will be entitled to compensation but not through the tour operator.

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How to complain about your package holiday. How to get a refund on your #packageholiday #traveltipsandtricks #refunds #consumerrights #learnontiktok

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How to claim redress for your holiday

Write to the tour operator attaching all your evidence, such as pictures and videos. Describe the issues politely and objectively, bullet pointing complicated matters and quoting the Package Holiday and Linked Travel Arrangements 2018. If no email address is available or you are unhappy with the reply, contact the CEO. You can get the CEO’s email address from ceoemail.ceoemail.com The CEO may not respond personally but it will get the matter escalated to the Executive Team and you will have your complaint in writing if you need to take the matter further.
Provide a deadline by when you expect a reply. For example, 5 working days is fine, even if you receive a holding email to say that they are investigating. They will then provide another date at which you can contact them again if you don’t receive an update.
Tell them what you want as redress. This could be the exact cost of your out of pocket expenses or a percentage related to number of days ruined, etc.
If the company is a member of ABTA, you can threaten to use the Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme. Stage 1 offers a free, informal process to help consumers and ABTA members resolve disputes without legal representation. Arbitration at Stage 2 is administered independently and requires a £150 registration fee which is refunded if you win.
Go to moneyclaimonlinein England and Wales. For Scotland go to.scotscourts.gov.uk and Northern Ireland NIDirect.gov.uk

Fill in all the details until “submit”. This should include everything that you are claiming, plus the court costs which vary according to the amount. Add in any out-of-pocket expenses, such as travel costs that you may have incurred or will incur in attending court. Then take a screenshot.

Email the CEO, attaching the screenshot, forward the previous correspondence and change the subject line to “email before action”. In the email state that further to the previous correspondence, you are not satisfied with the response and will be taking the matter through the Small Claims Court.

Don’t let a disappointing holiday cost you more than it already has. Be clear, assertive, and persistent to get the redress to which you are entitled.

Look out timber frame on a beach "researching, booking and complaining aabout holidays and flights. Tips, ideas and your rights"

For more information, stories, laws and advice see All you need to know about booking/complaining about holidays/flights

For more advice, tips, information and template letters covering holidays and more: GET THE BOOK! How To Complain: The ESSENTIAL Consumer Guide to Getting REFUNDS, Redress and RESULTS!

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Want to get better at complaining? See 101 Habits of an Effective Complainer

Save yourself time and effort finding the laws and wording a letter of complaint and download a template, fill in your details and get that redress

Purchase downloadable templates to gain redress

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“The critical thing is empowering people and part of empowerment is making people understand their legal rights more and it’s theirs, being able to identify the persona in authority to make a decision and having the elbow when somebody says “no” to say “well I’m sorry..” and those are the three things and I think you do that with gusto and are an example in that regard.”

“How to Complain

Helen Dewdney’s How to Complain is a masterclass in asserting your rights with wit, precision and just the right amount of righteous fury. It’s the book every consumer didn’t know they desperately needed – until now.”

“101 Habit of an Effective Complainer

If complaining is an art form, Helen Dewdney is Rembrandt. This book is easy to follow, beautifully written and – above all – teaches us that complaining effectively doesn’t require rudeness or angry sharp elbows. Dewdney’s book is a brilliant reminder that being a successful complainer (or getting what you were entitled to in the first place) is simple to achieve and can even be fun. Her superb how-to guide isn’t for ‘complainers,’ it’s for anybody who has ever been a consumer and been let down – it’s for all of us.”

“How to Get Free PR and be Paid for it

Helen Dewdney writes with fearless clarity and she’s done it again… She’s one of my few and regular go-tos, especially for how to approach consumer issues or in the event of an urgent sense check. This book is packed full of great and creative ideas for building up excellent PR, establishing yourself as the expert and keeping the momentum going. She is – hands down – a mega star in the world of consumer affairs and in this latest book, on PR, she shares how you can do it for yourself.”

Rob Rinder

Journalist, TV Judge barrister, presenter