Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
UK IS FACING SPANISH HOLIDAY BAN
Hotels demand crackdown on £42m food poison scams at all-inclusive resorts
ANGRY Spanish hoteliers could ban UK tourists after a huge rise in bogus food poisoning claims
All-inclusive holidaymakers have allegedly fleeced them of £42million, as “no win no fee” firms flood the costas. A hotel boss said: “We must take drastic measures.”
FED-UP Spanish hotel owners are demanding a crackdown on compo sharks who chase bogus food poisoning payouts for tourists. And they want a ban on UK allinclusive sun-seekers who they say are the worst offenders, allegedly fleecing them of £42million in the past 18 months. Fake gastroenteritis claims have soared by 700% in a year. Hoteliers say UK claims management firms are flooding the costas offering “no win no fee” services that can land customers between £2,000 and £3,000 in payouts. They are being helped by the fact “victims” only need a pharmacist’s receipt for food poisoning medicine to make a claim and not a doctor’s note. One hotelier said he was left £25,000 out of pocket by a dodgy claim from a British family in Salou on the Costa Dorada. He added: “It’s a scandal. Strangely, they were the only ones who got sick despite the hotel being practically full.” There are fears hordes of UK tourists will try to cash in on the payouts when the summer holidays get into full swing. And the Hotel Business Federation of Majorca wants UK all-inclusive visitors banned unless the compo culture is smashed. President Inmaculada Benito told a Spanish newspaper: “The only way to address this once and for all is by taking drastic measures.” The Federation wants a change in the rules so holidaymakers claiming a payout for illness must present a medical certificate with a proper diagnosis. The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation said: “In many cases, they do not even present medical evidence of the supposed illnesses caught in the hotels. They only report that they have become ill from some food poisoning and ask for compensation.” Hotel bosses in Benidorm have asked chemists not to sell tummy upset cures to Brits unless they have a prescription. The Association of British Travel Agents branded the scandal the “new PPI” misselling that has cost banks £37.3billion in payouts. A spokesman said: “Data from ABTA members has shown a dramatic rise in the number of gastric illness claims made since 2013, while sickness levels reported in resort have remained stable. “ABTA has been calling for the Government to take further swift and decisive action to close legal loopholes that are being ruthlessly exploited by claims management companies. “It seems since PPI and whiplash have dried up, they are after holiday sickness.” ABTA has raised concerns with the Government over the scams. According to figures from Madridbased law firm Rogers & Co, in the first three months of this year there were around 350 claims of food poisoning from UK citizens compared with none
It’s a scandal. They were the only ones who got sick HOTEL BOSS FOLLOWING ‘DODGY CLAIM’ FROM BRITS
from any other nation. Solicitor David Diez Ramos said: “Sooner or later Spanish hotels will increase the price or stop selling allinclusive to the UK.” The company, which has been monitoring the rise of claims made by UK tourists, is not one of the outfits trying to cash in. But there were genuine cases of illness, too. This year sisters Victoria and Louise Deans cut their Spanish holiday short after their children were poisoned by chicken and pork on the Costa del Sol. Victoria, of Edinburgh – whose son Harris, one, and 10-month-old niece Evie were hit, said: “They were very poorly with sickness and diarrhoea.” The sisters are battling Thomson for a payout. Louise and Rowland Quinn of Gateshead, Tyneside, won an undisclosed payout when they and their three children Will then aged 11, Alex, aged nine and four-year-old Anna fell ill in Majorca in 2012. Rowland said: “Food in the restaurant was often cold and appeared to be re-used from earlier meals.” A woman who died after plunging from a 10th-floor flat in Benidorm was named locally yesterday as Kirsty Curry, 27, from Scotland.
The only way to address this once and for all is drastic measures HOTEL BUSINESS BOSS INMACULADA BENITO