ABTA Lifeline issues financial hardship advice
ABTA Lifeline is urging anyone who is facing financial hardship due to the coronavirus crisis to avoid contacting them until they’ve completed a couple of self-help steps.
The charity, which helps ABTA members in times of need, is run by only two people and said it has been inundated with applications as travel companies are forced to make drastic job cuts.
It comes just as the charity was starting to recover from a flood of applications after the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Director Trudie Clements said: "Because of the many, many people this affects we are asking people to firstly do a couple of necessary self help steps."
She also urged those in need to be patient as the charity deals with the rise in applications.
Before contacting ABTA LifeLine, Clements advised concerned ABTA members to seek benefit and debt advice, especially those who have been made redundant, had their hours reduced, or been put on zero contracts.
"If they are struggling to find that advice locally, we can put people in touch with our partner Citizens Advice Manchester who can provide the expert advice that they need,’ she said.
Those with mortgages should contact their bank and seek a three-month mortgage holiday.
"For those renting, we are still waiting for advice from the Government.
I have raised with various charity bodies how government funding could be put into charity pipelines to help distribute help to those severely affected in their relevant industries or communities," she said.
Worried members should also look at their budgets and decide what they can do without or can suspend for a couple of months, or see if a family member can help.
Those who are still in severe financial hardship are invited to fill out an application form online, not by post.
The charity relies solely on travel industry funding and is likely to face a difficult year.
"We are here to help those in financial need, and yet many charities of differing sizes will face challenging times to deliver on the level of support required with little income," said Clements.
See the ABTA Lifeline website for more information.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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