One in five Brits encouraged to say they were ill on holiday to make compensation claims, poll shows

Holidaymakers have been contacted and encouraged to make false claims, study shows
PA Wire/PA Images
Eleanor Rose9 January 2018

Holidaymakers are being encouraged to say they fell ill on holiday to claim compensation, experts have said.

As many as one in five Brits - or 9.5 million - have been approached about making a compensation claim after their travels, according to a new poll.

While some claims are legitimate, seven in ten people were unaware that making a false or exaggerated claim could land them in prison, the Yougov survey showed.

The results come as part of research by the Association of British Travel Agents.

In October 2017 a couple from Merseyside received a prison sentence after being found guilty of making a fraudulent sickness claim.

Deborah Briton was sentenced to nine months and her partner Paul Roberts was jailed for 15 months.

Some 19 per cent of respondents had been contacted, and the most common ways were by phone, text or email.

Some also reported being approached on social media or even in person at the airport.

​ABTA said that since 2013, there has been a 500 per cent rise in the number of claims received by travel companies for holiday sickness - yet the number of sickness reports to hotels in resorts stayed flat.

According to the trade association, the problem is only linked to UK holidaymakers, while travel firms in other countries have not seen an increase.

Although the Government announced plans to clampdown on the rise in false sickness claims six months ago, the measures have not yet been introduced.

ABTA is calling for the closure of a loophole in the law that means claims management companies and legal firms make more money in fees from sickness claims abroad than from personal injuries.

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