The more the issue of non-compliance is highlighted, the more likely it is that regulators will take action, says Abta chairman Noel Josephides
Recently I have been contacted by several operators who are extremely worried about competition from unlicensed organisations selling in the UK and how it affects their businesses.
These competitors are either 100% based abroad or are based abroad but with contact telephone numbers or representatives in the UK, often with a UK bank account.
Trading Standards officers visited The Adventure Travel Show and Destinations Show in London to see for themselves how many unlicensed businesses were there.
Selling without protection
I spent four days at the Destinations Show and, along with Derek Moore of Aito, asked exhibitors whether they were actively selling at the show and what financial protection they provided to comply with UK laws.
The exercise was a real eye-opener, demonstrating the extent of the problem that our specialist operators face. When asked if one could book at the show, the answer was generally ‘yes’. When I then asked what kind of financial protection was being offered, the answer was less certain.
When they were told that it was illegal to sell packages in the UK without financial protection, they answered that they did not sell packages, but sold tailor-made holidays. Of course, there is no difference whatsoever between packages and tailor-made tours.
Some were based overseas but also had UK addresses. Some had Atol licences but no protection for non-licensable product. Several became abusive and asked what it had to do with us. Some said they could not afford an Atol or to become members of government-approved bodies such as Abta.
Yet, there they were, openly selling to the public without complying with UK laws, and without financial protection.
Highlight the issue
UK regulators need to be aware that their woeful lack of policing of many companies that are selling holidays in the UK is putting the travelling public at risk.
Every day the public is put at risk of losing money by booking with companies that, firstly, don’t offer full financial protection,
and, secondly, won’t take responsibility for their customers should anything go wrong.
It is very easy for regulators to target licensed, law-abiding operators for small discrepancies, while leaving the stable doors open to illegally-operating firms.
It is not cheap to have the licences demanded by UK/EU regulators, or to have adequate public liability insurance, or to have knowledgeable, well-trained staff, or to undertake health and safety checks. But this is what law-abiding companies do to ensure they have the correct protection in place.
Abta continues to raise its concerns over this issue with the regulators and I would encourage all law-abiding travel businesses to report cases of non-compliance to your local Trading Standards officer. The more of us who highlight this issue, the more likely it is that regulators will have to take action.