ATOL clarification made to avoid XL claim issues of 2010
Sunday, 30 Mar, 2011
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ATOL holders will have to smarten up their paperwork for customers following new rules by the Air Travel Trust Fund (ATT).
When a holidaymaker is left stranded after a travel provider fails, it is money drawn from the ATT that pays for repatriation and compensation.
The ATT has now contacted ATOL holders to let them know about amendments to payment policy and their legal requirements to provide clear documentation.
The move comes in the run up to the creation of an ATOL certificate which it is hoped will be established in 2012, along with ATOL reform.
The certificate, which the CAA is currently consulting the industry on, will be given to anyone booking a flight or air holiday with ATOL protection.
The amendments come after a series of ATOL failures in 2010, including that of the XL group, which highlighted the fact that many members of the travel industry produce poor standards of customer documentation.
Inadequate documentation means it takes longer for a customer to claim compensation after their travel provider has gone bust.
From now on the ATT will only pay claims where ATOL holders’ agents have properly issued their customers at the time of booking with an ATOL receipt that meets requirements set out by the CAA.
If such a receipt does not meet these requirements, claimants will be told to contact their agents for a refund.
An ATT spokesperson said: “The trustees want to refund customers as soon as possible after a failure, but we are increasingly finding that a considerable amount of time and effort is spent dealing with claims where documentation is either confusing, or in some cases fails to correctly identify the extent to which the customer was protected under ATOL.
“These issues create complexity and delay for customers, since the trustees are bound to ensure that Trust money is spent only on claims where evidence of ATOL protection is available.
“The statutory requirements relating to ATOL Receipts are intended to enable customers and the trustees to easily identify who is protecting the customer and the amount the customer should expect to be refunded if they have to make a claim.”
ABTA welcomed the clarification of ATOL claim rules and reminded agents that it produces guidance for its members on the receipts and other paperwork they should issue for every booking.
To see ABTA’s guidance notes, go to the Guidance and Advice section in the members’ area of abta.com and look for “A Travel Agent’s Guide to Receipts”.
by Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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