UK consumer protection shift

THE British government has launched a consultation into significant changes in consumer protection to cover travel booked online as dynamic packages.

The move is a response to a new European Package Travel Directive which updates the scope of protection to include “new business models and modern methods of buying package holidays”.

Currently many UK consumers purchase holidays online which are not protected under existing arrangements, with the UK Consumer & Competition Policy Department saying they are “confused as to the level of protection, if any, which their chosen method of booking travel arrangements attracts”.

The new proposal introduces the concept of Linked Travel Arrangements - and interestingly also provides a specific exemption for business travel arrangements which “do not require the same level of protection”.

In particular the proposals would see online travel sites have the same responsibility for protecting travel arrangements against supplier insolvency as bricks and mortar agencies.

The regulations, which are open for consultation for the next six weeks, make all travel intermediaries “responsible for the entire holiday”.

Australia has taken a different tack, with the new AFTA Insolvency Chargeback Scheme (AICS) providing a mechanism for protecting client funds from supplier collapse ( TD 28 Jun).