Which? Legal Services conducted research which showed that British holiday makers frequently made complaints while on holiday but are typically not satisfied with the results.
The poll of 1,553 British adults found that one in ten had complaints while on their holiday over the past three years. Over 10% were disappointed with the handling of their complaints, and 8% would consider initiating legal claims for holiday compensation.
Over half of those polled felt that the company or their personnel were unconcerned and indifferent about their complaints.
Many holiday makers complained about the standards of the hotels. They felt that the services of the hotels was insufficient in spite of what services were advertised, and many hotels that were supposedly 5 star rated should have only been 2 stars.
A major source of complaints was the tour operators’ poor handling of the disruption as a result of the volcanic ash cloud that occurred earlier in the year. Many holiday makers have still not received any refunds.
Another major complaint was that cruise liners failed to stop at certain destination ports even though they were advertised as part of the cruise. Travellers said that they had paid for these stops and felt that they were not getting the full value for their money.