Over 60 arrested in police raids in the Canary Islands
RDO has been informed that on 22nd July, the unit for organised crime at the Las Palmas police force arrested over 60 people and raided the offices and sales decks of various Holiday Club Companies, including Voyager Travel, Lifestyle Holidays, Reclaimgc and Timeshare Refund Network. In addition, computers and files have been confiscated from the company offices in Arguineguin and San Bartolomé de Tirajana. It is alleged that the companies made around €5million by defrauding in the region of 2,000 holidaymakers, who made payments of between €5,000 to €30,000 for the guarantee of discounts of up to 70% at holiday accommodation. The...
Package Travel Directive Proposals Released
Last week, the European Commission released its proposals for updating the 1990 Package Travel Directive. Whilst the current directive has guaranteed comprehensive protection to consumers booking pre-arranged package holidays that involve combinations of, for example flights, hotels or car rentals, it does not explicitly cover packages that are combined at the consumer's request. The aim of the revised Directive is to extend the current protection for traditional, pre-arranged packages to new combinations of travel services. If those new combinations of travel services feature the characteristics associated with packages, the consumer is protected under the new rules. For buyers of traditional and customised packages,...