With more and more motorhomers choosing organised tours as a way of visiting Europe, it is perhaps worthwhile for them to be aware of the law regarding companies who organise such tours.
The snappily named “EC directive on Passenger Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours (90/314/EEC)” obliges European companies involved in the supply of package holidays to safeguard their customers’ money. This can be done in two ways; either by being bonded with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), or their national equivalent, or by placing all customers’ payments into a trust fund operated by a firm of solicitors who only release that money to the tour operator after the tour has been completed. This prevents repeats of instances in the 1960s when a few tour operators “did a runner” with their customers’ payments and were never seen again.
To the best of my knowledge the tour companies operating in the motorhome sector in the U.K. are all trading legally by using one of these schemes to safeguard their customers. However I know of at least one company operating within the EEC, but outside the U.K., who offer no such safeguard to their customers – while selling their tours to British motorhomers.
If you are considering buying an organised tour from anybody it would be worth your while to ask the tour operator what safeguards they have in place to protect your hard-earned cash.
The snappily named “EC directive on Passenger Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours (90/314/EEC)” obliges European companies involved in the supply of package holidays to safeguard their customers’ money. This can be done in two ways; either by being bonded with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), or their national equivalent, or by placing all customers’ payments into a trust fund operated by a firm of solicitors who only release that money to the tour operator after the tour has been completed. This prevents repeats of instances in the 1960s when a few tour operators “did a runner” with their customers’ payments and were never seen again.
To the best of my knowledge the tour companies operating in the motorhome sector in the U.K. are all trading legally by using one of these schemes to safeguard their customers. However I know of at least one company operating within the EEC, but outside the U.K., who offer no such safeguard to their customers – while selling their tours to British motorhomers.
If you are considering buying an organised tour from anybody it would be worth your while to ask the tour operator what safeguards they have in place to protect your hard-earned cash.