6,500 put relaxation on hold to sort out holiday hitches

Six and a half thousand people had to interrupt their breaks to look for help with holiday problems in July, new figures from Citizens Advice have revealed.

One in four of the record 28,000 people turning to the charity’s online Adviceguide for help with holiday problems last month were still abroad when they logged on.

The top issues which people needed help with while they were abroad were lost luggage, cancelled or delayed flights and lost or stolen belongings.

People also looked for help when hotels fell short of what was promised in the brochure or they were left struggling to get money from their insurance after falling ill on holiday or they’ve been a victim of crime.

People in 172 countries turned to Adviceguide for help in July 2014. The USA had the most holiday makers looking for advice online.

The top 10 countries which people accessed online advice about holiday problems in July 2014 were:

Between August 2013 and July 2014, Citizens Advice helped over 200,000 people with holiday problems online.

Delays to passport applications have coincided with an 18 per cent increase in the number of problems with passports reported to bureaux. People got help with 871 problems with passports between April and June 2014, 18 per cent higher than the same three months in 2013.

Holiday and travel problems can have a huge financial impact on consumers. New data from the Citizens Advice consumer service data finds people in England, Scotland and Wales have sought help for over 10,000 problems with holidays and air travel worth £14 million between August 2013 and July 2014.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of national charity Citizens Advice, said:

“People are getting burned by consumer problems while on holiday. Summer holidays should be a time to unwind, but last month we saw the highest number of people ever turn to our online advice to sort out problems with their break.

“No matter where in the world you are, you can access free and impartial advice via the Citizens Advice website to help solve your problems.

“You usually have the right to claim compensation if a mistake by your holiday company, like lost luggage or a sub-standard hotel, affects your break. Your holiday insurance can also pay out in these circumstances, so make sure you know exactly what your insurance covers before you go.”

Citizens Advice Scotland CEO Margaret Lynch said:

"Over the last few years the CAB service has taken on a lot of new responsibilities for consumer protection and we are now the lead consumer agency in the country. So we are here to help people with free impartial advice on any consumer problem - and that includes holidays.

"Scots work hard and look forward to their holidays. If your holiday is ruined by someone else's poor service or neglect or scam, you don't need to suffer in silence. As a consumer you have rights and we are here to help you understand and enforce those rights. You can call in at any CAB or phone our consumer helpline 03454 040506."

The 10 most common holiday problems people got advice on while they were abroad in July are:

Case studies:

One woman came to the CAB for help after being hit by a €29,000 bill when she was rushed to hospital for emergency care while on a family holiday in Spain. Her insurance refused to pay out as they said she had not disclosed an ongoing medical condition, even though she had never been diagnosed with any condition.

A family came to the Citizens Advice consumer service after their luggage, containing £3,000 of items, was lost on a flight to the USA. The airline failed to respond to any of their applications for compensations and they were eventually offered £1,500 by their insurer, leaving them hugely out of pocket.

A parent contacted Citizens Advice on behalf of their son, who was on holiday in Mexico and had been left stranded at an airport when the transfer he had pre-booked never arrived.

Holiday top tips:

1. If you’re booking a package holiday, check that it’s covered by a holiday protection scheme like ATOL, ABTA or AITO.
2. Make sure you leave plenty of time to get new or updated passports, if you need to. Every member of your party, including babies, must have their own passport to travel outside the UK and Ireland, and many countries require you to have at least six months left on your passport before it goes out of date.
3. Make sure you check whether you need a visa, and apply in plenty of time. If the country you’re visiting requires you to have one and you don’t then you might be refused entry
4. Make sure it’s safe to travel to your destination by checking the Foreign and Commonwealth advice for your destination before you book.
5. Take out travel insurance as soon as you book.
6. Consider paying your deposit using a credit card. This will give you extra rights to claim money back from your credit card company if you run into problems and have difficulty getting money back from your operator, but make sure you know how much it will cost to pay back.
7. If you’re booking through an agent, make it clear what’s important to you. For example if a sea view is important stress this and get it in writing. This will put you in a much stronger position to get compensation if something goes wrong.
8. Check whether you need vaccinations at least four to six weeks before you travel.
9. Apply for an EHIC card for each member of your party if you are holidaying in Europe. This will mean that if you fall ill, your treatment costs will be reduced free. Make sure you still have travel insurance to cover any excess charges.
10. Under package holiday regulations you can transfer your holiday booking to someone else if you are prevented from going on the holiday. Prevented must mean something more than just changing your mind - for example, illness or the death of a close relative.

Notes to editors:

1. In July 2014, the ‘Holidays’ page of Adviceguide.org.uk received 27,964 unique visitors. 23% of these were from people outside the United Kingdom.
2. Between August 2013 and July 2014, the ‘Holidays’ page of Adviceguide.org.uk received 208,888 unique visitors.
3. Citizens Advice consumer service helped people with holiday issues worth £11 million and air travel issues worth £2.8 million between July 2013 and June 2014.
4. This year the Citizens Advice service celebrates its 75th anniversary. We’ve planned a year of activity running from January to December 2014. Contact the press office on 03000 231 080, or via email at press.office@citizensadvice.org.uk, to find out more.
5. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
6. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
7. To find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk. You can also get advice online at adviceguide.org.uk
8. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers
9. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.1 million clients on 6.6 million problems from April 2012 to March 2013. For full 2012/2013 service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends
10. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 22,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England and Wales.