Compensation when everything goes wrong

Holidays, love them, either booked last minute, or in advance. The children are off school, you've finished the work for your boss, the pets are being fed by your neighbour and its time to enjoy those 2 weeks in the sun……..or not. Now if like millions, you choose the hassle free package holiday option, who is responsible when things go wrong and more importantly how do you claim compensation?

Under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (PTR) the holiday company is responsible for providing all parts of the holiday as agreed. This means you have a right to

* Get the holiday that you booked or was described to you (for example, if you book a named five-star hotel in Barcelona for two weeks for specific dates, that's what you should get)
* Get the holiday at the price you agreed
* Expect that any details you are given about the holiday are factually correct and not misleading (for example in a holiday brochure or on a company website)
* Expect that your holiday accommodation and resort is clean and safe.

If any part of your holiday, such as your hotel, is changed significantly before you leave, or if your holiday is cancelled, then you have the right to:

* A refund, without having to pay a cancellation fee
* Accept an inferior quality holiday and get a refund for the difference in price
* Accept an equivalent or superior holiday, without having to pay extra.

You may also be entitled to compensation if you are left out-of-pocket, for example, if you'd already booked car rental that you now can't use, or for loss of enjoyment.

If your accommodation or resort is not as described to you, the law says that the holiday company must offer you a suitable alternative. If it really can't provide anything that is remotely close to what you had paid for, it should offer to fly you home.

You can claim compensation for:

* 'loss of bargain' (the difference in value between what you booked and what you got)
* Out-of-pocket expenses, and
* Loss of enjoyment, or inconvenience or disappointment.

Now if your travel agent goes bust, dont worry, the travel operator should have all your details and the holiday will go ahead as normal. If the operator goes bust, under PTR all package holidays have to be bonded, so your money is protected.