Fraudsters caught out by Jet2holidays

A couple have been ordered to pay nearly £30,000 to Jet2holidays after their holiday sickness claim was found to be a fraud.

Martin and Lindsey Brown, 38 and 35 respectively, both from Chorley in Lancashire, were convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud in order to try to win £20,000 in compensation.

They claimed to have suffered stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea from food poisoning whilst on an all-inclusive 10-night holiday at the Emre Hotel in Marmaris, Turkey, in 2016.

Mr Brown even claimed that he had soiled himself in bed, and that his children had soiled themselves at the pool, as a result of their sickness.

But a thorough investigation by the tour operator, the hotel and a law firm found evidence to show otherwise.

Another holidaymaker provided evidence that Martin Brown had bragged about how he planned to fabricate a false sickness claim to win compensation, and how he had done it before.

The investigation also uncovered video evidence showing Mr Brown dancing by the pool, and diving into the pool, at the same time as he claimed to be bedridden with nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Photos showed them out and about posing with a parrot and a social media post from a holidaymaker at the same hotel at the same time said Mr Brown was not ill and was in a bar until ‘daft o clock’.

During the hearing at the Civil Justice Centre in Manchester, staff and the doctor from Emre Hotel also gave evidence demonstrating that the couple had not been ill.

His Honour Judge Sephton QC convicted the Browns of conspiracy to commit fraud, saying: "They sought to benefit by their wrong-doing in a thoroughly dishonest fashion. Dishonest claims are a scourge which are blighting these courts."

He also found that ‘the representations made by their solicitors were dishonest’.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: "Martin and Lindsey Brown travelled to Turkey having already worked out how to make a fraudulent sickness claim, but thanks to our robust investigation their deception has been uncovered.

"Jet2holidays has led the way to tackle the issue of false sickness claims so that holidaymakers do not expose themselves to the risks that come with getting involved in such dishonest activity, and we hope this ruling sends out a serious message to others. That message is clear, we will investigate and defend any claims that we believe are dishonest, and the courts do not just take a dim view of such deceit, they are prepared to punish it accordingly."

The hotel’s managing director Emre Deliveli thanked Jet2holidays for working with it on the case.

Jet2holidays has led a campaign to stamp out false sickness claims and has successfully fought several cases.

In October, Michael Jameson, Claire Weir, Jane Weir  and Janet Weir, all from Liverpool, were sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years, after admitting to making a fake claim.

In June, Liam Royle from Eccles in Manchester was found fundamentally dishonest and ordered to pay Jet2holidays more than £6,000 after his ex-girlfriend presented evidence, including video footage of him dancing to Gangnam Style by the swimming pool.

Earlier this year the travel industry welcomed a decision by the Ministry of Justice to extend Fixed Recoverable Costs to cover holiday sickness claims brought under the Package Travel Regulations, making defence costs predictable and thus deterring bogus claims.

The Government has also clamped down on the practice of cold calling without consent, and further proposals are being put forward by the Financial Conduct Authority when they take over regulation of Claims Management Companies (CMCs) from April 2019.