Agents should view ATOL reforms as ‘sales aid’
Agents should view ATOL reforms as a potential source of increased revenue and aid to closing sales, said Rock Insurance managing director Antony Martin.
“Much of the Department for Transport’s announcement is clearly based on clarifying the levels of protection for the consumer.
The proposals not only require agents who dynamically package to simplify their paperwork but also spell out the levels of protection the consumer will receive. This will inevitably better educate the consumer about financial protection and canny agents will be able to point out that while the booking may include the additional £2.50 charge, it brings with it peace of mind.
It will allow agents dynamically packaging to differentiate their product by stating the financial guarantees implicit within it.
The new financial protection will mean less time and money is wasted in handling customer complaints in the event of failure as repayments are undisputed and quickly handled. For instance a customer stranded overseas on a dynamically packaged holiday will no longer trouble the agent for repatriation but can instead go straight to the CAA.
It is easy to work out the cost to agents of the failure of a supplier in how much they have to physically pay out. What is rarely considered is the cost to companies as staff spend days after a failure handling the complaints and the reimbursements. The expense of setting up a bond or holding customers’ money in a trust fund should pale in comparison.
What this doesn’t offer is total clarity against scheduled airline failure and more should be done to protect against this. Perhaps airlines should be compelled to provide such cover. It also fails to bring click throughs from airline websites under the ATOL hat which is surely a complementary requirement."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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