An industry body that promotes best practice among claims management firms has vowed to kick out members which encourage fake sickness cases.
The Alliance of Claims Companies (ACC) condemned rogue firms that “hang outside resorts touting for business”.
ACC chief executive Simon Evans said: “There will always be companies that push the boundaries, but I’m committed to working with our regulators and the travel industry to find out who they are.
“I might be saying something that will come back and bite me, but we undertake due diligence before accepting members, and I visit each one of them.
“The activity of some of these firms isn’t the way reputable claims management companies should be operating. That’s not the way you find genuine claims.”
Evans pledged to expel any members of ACC, whose 50 members account for about half of the industry, if he found they were encouraging fake sickness claims.
He has written to Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer since the association launched its Stop Sickness Scams campaign, complementing Travel Weekly’s Fight Fake Claims campaign.
Evans disagreed with demands of both campaigns for a change in the law, suggesting regulators use existing legislation to enforce rules.
“They should be using the rules that they have against bad claims companies rather than going after the entire industry,” he added.
“There always will be genuine claims, but there are a few bad eggs. I don’t want to close any gap that would risk genuine claims.”
Evans said regular dialogue between tour operators, claims management firms and Abta was the best way to curb false claims.
Abta is advising holidaymakers to avoid using claims management firms, which take a percentage of any payout awarded, and deal with operators direct or via Abta.
However, Evans said: “Some people feel uncomfortable filing a claim against the people who caused the claim and trust an expert to get the right compensation for them. There’s a need for an alternative access to justice for consumers.”
This week Abta urged members to lobby their local MPs by using a templated letter, available at stopsicknessscams.com.
It came as the government announced proposals to better regulate claims management companies. Tanzer welcomed this as “a step in the right direction”.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, warning tourists to those countries against making false claims.