Buying a Holiday Online: Consumer Rights, Cancellations, Refunds and Complaints

With the advent of the Internet, booking any paying for a holiday has never been easier or cheaper. Buying a holiday over the Internet, you are effectively cutting out the 'middle man' - known to most as the high street travel agent. This in turn often reduces the administration costs, therefore reducing the overall price that you will pay for the holiday.

However, before you buy online, it is always a good idea to be aware of your rights before you buy. This article outlines your rights in relation to buying online, what to do if you want to cancel, request a refund or wish to make a complaint.

Consumer Rights

When buying a holiday online, you are still covered by your consumer rights, providing that the website is UK-based, and therefore within the jurisdiction of UK law. These basic rights are as follows:

• The name of the business owner or trader
• Their geographical address (no PO Box numbers), and ideally a contact telephone number
• An accurate description of the goods and services on sale to you
• A full disclosure of the full cost of the services and products on sale, including otherwise 'hidden' costs such as supplements and taxes, before you make your final purchase
• The company's cancellation policy and your rights in relation to cancelling a product or service However, when purchasing online you are also entitled to rights as set out by the EU's Distance Selling Directive. In the UK this translates as the Distance Selling Regulations (2000). These regulations stipulate that you should have several key pieces of information made available to you before you buy, namely:
• That you have what is known as a 7 working day 'cooling off' period, where if you change your mind you are entitled to a refund
• Proper description of all the goods and services on offer to you
• A written confirmation after payment describing all the goods and services that you have paid for.

To make sure that you are fully protected, it is best to opt for a UK website that has been approved by the regulatory body. For package deals, contact the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and for independent outlets, the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) is the authority to look out for. Accredited members will usually display the logo on the website, but if you are in any doubt as to whether they are genuinely accredited, then you should be able to contact them via telephone, or contact ABTA or AITO directly to confirm.

Further to this, if you book a package deal with a UK operator, you will have some extra protection, as outlined under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. This is because the tour operator you have booked with has a responsibility to look after any payments you have made before you've taken the holiday, as well as looking after you whilst you're on your holiday. Ultimately, if your tour operator goes under before you have taken or completed your package holiday, you will still be able to continue as normal without the need for any extra payments. If you have booked a flight as part of your package deal, you should also note that your tour operator should hold a special license from the Civil Aviation Authority. This license is called an Air Travel Organiser's License (ATOL), and will ensure that as a customer you have all the proper protection and rights in place in regards to air travel.

Remember that just because a company uses a .co.uk domain, or uses a UK within the website name, this does not necessarily mean that the company operates within the UK and under UK jurisdiction.

Cancellations and Refunds

Further to the Distance Selling Regulations regarding the 7-day cooling off period, you should always check the company's cancellation policies and the affect they have on refunds. If you decide to tailor your own holiday - by choosing your own flights, accommodation and travel dates - then you will not be as well protected as well as if you were to take out a package deal with a UK our operator. Basically this means that should things go wrong, or you want to make a complaint, then you will probably not be able to arrange alternative travel or accommodation, or seek compensation. It is best in this instance to take out some comprehensive travel insurance to try and protect yourself as best as possible - but always read the small print!

Booking online using a credit card will also provide you with further protection if the tour operator is based within Great Britain. When paying online, if the website address (URL) starts with https:// then you will be transferring your payment over a secure server. If you believe that any of your consumer rights were abused - for instance the holiday was not properly described, or the services offered were not received, then because of the nature of credit card protection and liability, you may be able to claim back against your credit card provider too. This is not always the case if the payment (essentially the contract made between you and the seller) was made outside of Great Britain.

Complaints

There is no set procedure for making complaints about your holiday. To initiate a complaint process, the best idea is to go directly to the tour operator. If this does not resolve your complaint, then your next step is to take the matter up with ABTA or AITO, or the Consumer's Association. The last option available to you is taking court action, which should only be done with appropriate legal advice. Free advice can be sought from the Citizen's Advice Bureau.