ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS To ASK

Treat booking a car tour, rally or event visit as you would any other holiday – by making sure you’re covered if something goes wrong. This requires more than just buying travel insurance; you need to perform a little bit of due diligence on the company taking your money.

Any Uk-based operator selling a package that involves both travel and accommodation is required by the Package Tour Regulations (1992) to have a bond in place to protect customers’ money and repatriate them if the company goes bust. Two of the best-known bonding organisations are the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the Air Travel Organisers Licensing (ATOL) but there are others.

Some tour operators circumvent the need for bonding by arranging only accommodation and the tour route, leaving you to arrange your own travel to the start point.

Richard Webb of Travel Destinations offers this view, ‘Most tours are fine most of the time. The issue of bonding is only a problem when something goes wrong. Likewise with public liability insurance – it can be very important if the worst happens but few customers even think to ask.’

Payments made on a credit card can be refunded if you haven’t received what you paid for – but that’s no help with getting home from overseas, for example. ABTA itself says it’s impossible to police the market, such is the number of tours offered to groups ranging from car enthusiasts to golfers or hill walkers. Those inspired to run a tour privately or through a car club need to know that any mishap will leave them and the board members of the club personally liable, but really it’s those booking the tours who need to think hardest.

‘People need to ask more questions,’ says Webb. ‘It’s a legal requirement for a firm to display ABTA and ATOL logos if it’s bonded, so it’s easy to spot. Bonding is available to companies of all sizes so if someone hasn’t got it, ask why not.’