Following the collapse of the holiday tour operator ‘Holidays 4 U’ Shadow Culture Minister Gloria De Piero MP has said that families should not pay the price for corporate failure. De Piero commented on the need to ensure that those already abroad are looked after and to enable them to complete their holiday and return home on time with as little inconvenience as possible. She also stated that all those that had a summer holiday booked with Holidays 4 U should receive compensation as soon as possible. De Piero commented: “This just highlights the importance of the ATOL scheme, and of making sure that as many holidays as possible are covered. The Government must listen to the voices of the consumer organisations on this and ensure that, with the changing face of the holiday market, the gaps that exist are closed as soon as possible.”
The Department for Transport published a consultation on ATOL in June, outlining plans to reform the scheme to better reflect today’s holiday market so that consumers can be certain if their holiday is protected. Proposals in the consultation include; extending the ATOL scheme to Flight-Plus holidays comprising a flight and other component bought within two successive days; that everyone booking a ATOL protected package holiday or Flight-Plus will get a recognisable ‘ATOL certificate’ confirming their rights under the scheme; and ensuring that ‘agent for the consumer’ businesses arranging holidays are fully aware of their legal responsibilities to consumers. The consultation will also consider ways to enable the ATOL scheme to become self financing. The consultation can be read here and the deadline is the 15th September.