The expert view

Arecent press release sent out by Margot James, consumer minister, declared: “Government launches proposals to better protect holidaymakers.” Apart from the glaring split infinitive, the release contained mostly good news concerning the implementation of the second stage of an EU initiative which aims to improve the financial protection for consumers who book travel online.

The first part – extending the ATOL protection scheme which covers most flight-based holidays – was announced by Theresa May last month. The second stage is a consultation on how best to offer further financial protection and more information for holidaymakers buying travel arrangements online.

So, for example, in many cases consumers will be protected against insolvency even where they have bought a flight from an airline website and at the end of the booking process have clicked through to another provider which offers car hire or accommodation for the same trip. It will also ensure that the website or company that puts such a package together is legally responsible for all the elements it books, even those from a third party.

These proposals are to be welcomed, but there is another, more insidious, problem for holidaymakers in the digital age which these measures don’t address. I see it every week on our Ask the Experts email (asktheexperts@ telegraph.co.uk) which tries to help readers with questions or complaints. An issue which constantly crops up is the huge frustration felt when trying to communicate with companies – especially when they have queries or complaints about their holidays. They get no reply to emails, they can’t get through on the phone and when they do, no one calls back. They get passed from one operator to the next.

It is not just rogue online agents which are failing their customers here: many of the complaints are about mainstream companies, clearly under-investing in customer service; a cynic might say that they are deliberately making it harder to complain.

The consequence of this approach is that many travel companies are losing the sense of customers as individuals. Heady with the savings made from taking bookings online, without the costs and trouble of paying a real person to answer calls and emails, they are depersonalising their business models. When automation works, it can be wonderful. But, as we all know, when it goes wrong it is frustrating and alienating. This is something not easily solved by EU directives or government legislation. They can protect us from financial failures, not cynicism and indifference. But, in future, how many of those failures will happen among companies who have forgotten how to treat their customers as individuals? More and more, I would say.

us that arrangements had been made to fly us to Singapore with British Airways, where we could connect with our original KLM flight on to Bali.

We dashed to Terminal 5, where BA staff said there was insufficient time in Singapore to make the connection. After some discussion, we were allowed to board, but BA said it would not be responsible for the transfer of our luggage.

The flight left an hour late, so we did miss the connection. BA agreed to pay for a hotel in Singapore and KLM booked us on the next morning’s flight to Bali. Our bags were eventually tracked down in London and turned up a day later.

Since our return, I have completed three electronic forms on the KLM website outlining our situation and seeking recompense, but have only received acknowledgements. I have also phoned KLM on nine occasions, and each time the agents have apologised and said they would raise our case at a higher level.

Our travel agent, Flight Centre, has also tried to obtain redress, but again without success. Can you help us? PETER DURRANT