Package Holidays

When you decide to go for an “all inclusive” trip and we purchase a package holiday, either through a travel agency or via internet, you have some important rights that need to be respected, concerning the price and the quality of the service. Package holidays commonly include transport and accommodation and may also cover meals and excursion tours (at least two of these elements). First of all, according to EU law, the travel organiser has the obligation to provide accurate information on the package proposed, including on transportation, accommodation, meals, itinerary and insurance requirements. Therefore it is important to read carefully the brochure and the offer (even if it is shown on a website), verifying all the information provided that are binding for the tour operator, who is required to inform the consumer about any significant change in one of the essential elements of the agreement, in a written form.

The brochure and the advertising offer need to be detailed and trustworthy and they are binding for the seller or the organiser of the package holiday: the trader should provide the consumer a written copy of the agreement signed by both parties, consumer-trader (agency/tour operator), and the consumer will have to keep it. The consumer will have to keep a copy of the advertising offer of the website he purchased the package holiday from as well as a copy of the invoice and of the confirmation of the purchase or of the on-line reservation.. Remember that while entering into the agreement, the consumer is usually asked to provide the seller with a sum of money as a “deposit”, which does not have to amount to more than 25% of the total cost of the package holiday. Remember to ask for a proper invoice of the deposit you have paid. If you decide not to leave anymore (for your personal reasons), the agency or the tour operator will keep the deposit and they might ask you to provide a further payment as well as a penalty (depending on how long before the holiday’s starting date you have informed the trader about your decision to no longer leave).  Remember that the organiser of the trip has to provide written and accurate information concerning passports, visa, medical obligations that are necessary in the destination place.

In case an unexpected event or ill service occurs, the organizer has to take all the possible steps to provide the consumer with a remedy and to assist him, by offering him an alternative solution; the consumer has to inform the organiser as soon as the problem occurs. In case the organiser provides you with a different accommodation from the one you had asked for and paid for, according to the agreement (you entered into with the agency or through an internet offer), you will have to inform the representative of the tour operator in the destination place, or in an assistance place provided by the organiser as soon as possible. It can be  also important to take pictures or to video tape the inefficiencies and to collect different kinds of deposition, for example you could save the invoices and the bills which could be useful to support any possible request of compensation once the holiday is over. In fact, it is extremely important to document those things you would like to object to, by enclosing pictures, invoices, depositions and any other proof.

In case you are not satisfied with the quality of the package holiday you can lodge a claim and ask for the refund of the main charges you had to incur or for the services you have not been able to utilise, although you had regularly asked and paid for it. The compensation requests have to be submitted within 10 working days starting from the day you have returned from your trip, by writing a delivery recorded letter with advice of  delivery to the agency/tour operator providing the package holiday.