Travel agent Documentation
As soon as you make a payment for a flight or flight-inclusive holiday to a travel agent, you are entitled to receive an ATOL Certificate containing the name and ATOL number of the ATOL holder your booking is with. This will ensure that your payment is not at risk if the agent ceases to trade. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate, ask why. If you still do not get one, you can contact the CAA for advice.
Standards of service
The CAA has no legal powers to regulate agents' standards of service except in providing the correct documents. You should take up the complaint first with the company concerned. If the matter is not resolved and the company is a member of either ABTA, TTA or The Global Travel Group you should contact them for advice. If not, try Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.
Agent ceased trading
If you have an ATOL Certificate specifying an ATOL holder, you should contact that firm first. If there is no ATOL reference but an airline is identified, you should contact the airline to see if a booking has been made, and for any further details they can give you.
If there is no reference to an ATOL holder or airline but the agent is in a trade association such as ABTA, the TTA or the Global Travel Group you should contact them for advice. If not you should contact online or by phone on 08454 040506.
I have paid the travel agent and been given a receipt but there is no mention of ATOL on it.
You are at risk of losing both your payments and your flights. If you have been given flight numbers contact the airline to see if it has your name, and if so, which ATOL company booked it. Details of ATOL companies can be checked here. Retail agents rarely deal with airlines directly; they deal with ATOL holders who in turn deal with the airlines. If the agent is a member of a trade association you should also contact them for advice. You should also contact ATOL Enforcement
I have not received my tickets.
There is no set legal period when tickets should be issued. Two weeks before departure is the norm although it is not unknown for them to be issued at the airport on the day of departure. If you are concerned you should check the status of your booking with the airline. No rules have been broken until the aircraft departs without you because you did not have a ticket.
The flights are not those that I asked for.
The CAA regulates travel organisers primarily in order to provide customers with protection against their insolvency, to ensure that they do not become stranded abroad or lose money paid in advance when a tour operator fails.
However we have no mandate to regulate the detailed standards of service that tour operators or their agents provide, or to dictate and interpret Booking Conditions. If the company is in a trade association such as ABTA, the TTA or the Global Travel Group you should contact them for advice. If not you should contact Citizens Advice online or by phone on 08454 040506.
My name has been spelt wrongly
If you received an ATOL Certificate should contact the ATOL holder for advice. The CAA regulates travel organisers primarily in order to provide customers with protection against their insolvency, to ensure that they do not become stranded abroad or lose money paid in advance when a tour operator fails. However, we have no mandate to regulate the detailed standards of service that tour operators or their agents provide, or to dictate and interpret Booking Conditions.
If the company is in a trade association such as ABTA, the TTA or the Global Travel Group you should contact them for advice. If not you should contact Citizens Advice online or by phone on 08454 040506.
The agent cannot supply what I asked for and is asking me to pay more for an alternative flight
If you received a receipt with an ATOL number on it you should contact the ATOL holder for advice. The CAA regulates travel organisers primarily in order to provide customers with protection against their insolvency, to ensure that they do not become stranded abroad or lose money paid in advance when a tour operator fails. However we have no mandate to regulate the detailed standards of service that tour operators or their agents provide, or to dictate and interpret Booking Conditions.
If the company is in a trade association such as ABTA, the TTA or the Global Travel Group you should contact them for advice. If not you should contact Citizens Advice online or by phone on 08454 040506 for an opinion.
Consumer rights for Package Holidays are set out in the 'Package Travel Regulations 1992'. Regulations 11, 12 and 13 relate to changes made before departure, and are enforced by Trading Standards Consumer Advice Office.
I have booked a flight inclusive package. My tour operator now tells me that my flight/accommodation/car hire/resort/special requests are not available and that I must accept a substitute arrangement or pay more money.
The CAA regulates travel organisers primarily in order to provide customers with protection against their insolvency, to ensure that they do not become stranded abroad or lose money paid in advance when a tour operator fails. However we have no mandate to regulate the detailed standards of service that tour operators or their agents provide, or to dictate and interpret Booking Conditions. If the company is in a trade association such as ABTA, the TTA or the Global Travel Group you should contact them for advice. If not you should contact Citizens Advice online or by phone on 08454 040506.
Consumer rights for Package Holidays are set out in the 'Package Travel Regulations 1992'. Regulations 11, 12 and 13 relate to changes made before departure, and are enforced by Local Trading Standards Offices.
The agent has disappeared with my money
If the agent was a member of a trade association you should contact them in the first instance. If you received an ATOL Certificate you should check the status of your booking with the ATOL holder mentioned on it. To find the contact details of all current ATOL holders check our online database.
You should also check with the airline to see if they have, or had, your booking, and what the status is. If it is not a member of a trade association and has not booked you with an ATOL holder your payments are at risk.
If you paid by credit card you might be protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and by Visa's Chargeback Scheme if you paid by debit card. If you used other methods of payment you should contact Citizens Advice online or by phone on 08454 040506..
I am having/I have had a problem with my holiday
The CAA regulates travel organisers primarily in order to provide customers with protection against their insolvency, to ensure that they do not become stranded abroad or lose money paid in advance when a tour operator fails. However, we have no mandate to regulate the detailed standards of service that licence holders or their retail agents provide and as such there is little we can do to help.
If the company is in a trade association such as ABTA, the TTA or the Global Travel Group you should contact them for advice. If not you should contact Citizens Advice online or by phone on 08454 040506.
Consumer rights for Package Holidays are set out in the 'Package Travel Regulations 1992'. Regulations 14 and 15 relate to problems in resort and are enforced by Local Trading Standards Offices.
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