A ‘red list’ of travel companies produced by Which? to warn consumers about Covid policies has reduced from 12 to 7 in less than a week.
The consumer group caused controversy last week when it warned holidaymakers against booking with 12 providers because of alleged shortcomings with booking terms and commitment to refund in the event of Covid-related disruption.
Which? had put 20 companies on its initial ‘red list’, but several companies came forward at the last minute to clarify their policies – and the red list was reduced to 12 before it went live.
Now the list has shrunk to just seven: Best At Travel, Voyage Prive, Teletext Holidays, On the Beach, Love Holidays, Lastminute.com and Holiday Gems.
Other companies on the list are rated as amber or green according to their refund policies.
Aito, the Specialist Travel Association, had slammed the consumer group for its “bully-boy tactics”, which it dubbed “misleading”.
It wrote to Which? on Friday (August 6) to ask for talks about the issue but has not received a reply yet.
The association also held an online meeting on Monday (August 9) with members who had been affected by the controversy but has not yet decided on a course of action.
Bharat Gadhoke, Aito’s head of commercial, said: “We are waiting to hear the response from Which?. People are on holiday so we need to give them time.”
Aito had criticised Which? for not giving its members enough time to respond to requests for detailed information on refund policies.
Gadhoke said members had received emails at 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon, requiring a response within less than two days, even though many operators are struggling to deal with the pressures of the pandemic.
Sutton Coldfield agency Sutton Travel commented on Twitter about the dilemma facing operators, asking Which?: “What happened to companies who were too busy sorting out assisting their clients with fast refunds, or amending holidays free of charge, who just didn’t have the time to respond to your questions, as they were focussed on supporting their clients? Did you just categorise them red?”
What happened to companies who were too busy sorting out assisting their clients with fast refunds, or amending holidays free of charge, who just didnt have the time to respond to your questions, as they were focussed on supporting their clients? Did you just categorise them red?
— Sutton Travel (@suttontravel) August 4, 2021
A Which? spokesperson said: “The Holiday Checker was always intended to encourage companies to engage with us and improve their policies where necessary, so we’re pleased to see a number of companies who had previously chosen not to engage with us are now seeking to clarify their position on Covid-related disruption and refunds, and that others have improved their policies in order to boost their rating.
“Sailing Holidays has been temporarily removed from the tool while we review its rating. Inspired by Travel isn’t trading right now, so they’ve been removed from the tool, and we’ve contacted Beachcomber Tours a few times but it hasn’t supplied new answers yet.
“The Holiday Checker is designed to be dynamic, which is vital as policies change and new information comes to light. Therefore, all companies could be subject to review and see their rating change, not just Red companies.”