Following on from last week’s story about card mill companies selling questionable agent credentials to US consumers, our sister publication Travel Weekly UK has reported that British consumers are losing £1 billion a year to scam holiday clubs.
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), has described these holiday clubs as a “menace” to the travel industry. The UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is launching an awareness campaign directed at UK holidaymakers heading to Spain after revealing that more than 400,000 people are ripped off by bogus holiday offers every year.
October is the peak month for consumers to be targeted by bogus holiday clubs, with the average victim being defrauded of more than £3000 in resorts such as Costa del Sol, Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
Consumers are targeted by so-called scratchcard touts, who promise them a prize. They are told to attend a lengthy presentation and persuaded to sign a contract for an “exclusive” club, which makes false claims about the price, range and quality of holidays available.
These holiday clubs simply offer services such as online bookings, which are available free from high-street travel agencies.
ABTA head of policy and communications David Marshall said he was particularly concerned as many of these operators allude to the fact they are ABTA members. He said: “It brings the whole travel industry into ill repute. These bogus holiday clubs are a menace. When people go on holiday and are targeted by the clubs they come to ABTA all too late.”
He described them as the new “timeshare” rip-off which the government has already legislated against. “These holiday clubs are timeshares in all but name. We fully support the OFT campaign.”
OFT head of consumer protection Mike Haley said: “Every year British holidaymakers are deceived by the false promises and sophisticated high-pressure selling of bogus holiday clubs and their marketers.”
María Luz Peñacoba, director of the European consumer centre in Madrid, said: “We will be handing out information and advice to holiday-makers arriving at resorts to warn them of the dangers of these distressing and expensive scams.”
Travel Weekly UK