ABTA Members agree to be bound by the Code of Conduct which governs the relationship between you and a Member company, and also the company’s relationship with us.

The Code aims to ensure that you receive the best possible service from your ABTA travel company from before you book your travel arrangements, the information you get, through the booking process, to the after-sales service and the way they handle any complaint you may have.

Advertising

• ABTA Members mustn't mislead you with their advertising and must include all fixed compulsory charges in their prices, e.g. UK Air Passenger Duty [Code 1.3].

Booking Procedures

• When you book with an ABTA Member they must give you accurate information to help you choose the travel arrangements that are right for you [Code 1.1].

• ABTA Members must make you aware of the terms and conditions that apply to your booking and provide you with information about any financial protection scheme that may be available [Code 1.4].

• ABTA Members must also give you guidance about any health requirements and the passport and visa requirements for your travel arrangements [Code 1.6].

• If you have any special requests concerning a disability or other medical condition ABTA Members must ensure that these are dealt with properly and confidentially [Code 1.4 (ii)]. ABTA Members must also give you information about travel insurance [Code 1.7].

• Before completing a booking, ABTA Members must tell you if the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued advice about your destination [Code 1.6 (iii)].

Surcharges

• Once you've made a booking ABTA tour operators can only add a surcharge to your holiday price in certain circumstances. They must obtain ABTA’s permission to surcharge, and ABTA publishes a list of surcharge permissions on its website.

Once the Booking is Made

• ABTA Members must notify you as soon as possible if it’s necessary to change or cancel your travel arrangements. An ABTA Member can’t cancel your booking after the date for payment of the full price unless it’s necessary to do so for reasons outside its control. If this happens, the ABTA Member must offer you the choice of having all your money back or choosing alternative travel arrangements [Code 2.1 & 2.2].

• If an ABTA Member makes a significant change to your travel arrangements they must offer you the choice of accepting the changed travel arrangements or having all your money back [Code 2.2].

• If an ABTA Member does cancel your booking or makes a significant change to the travel arrangements after the date for payment of the full price they must offer you compensation, unless the reason for the cancellation or change was outside their control [Code 2.1 & 2.2].

Building Works

• An ABTA Member must notify you as soon as possible of any serious building works at your destination. If you wish you can transfer to another holiday or cancel and have your money back [Code 2.5].

Complaints

• If you have a complaint about your travel arrangements you should write to the ABTA Member concerned. They must provide you with a full reply within 28 days. If you remain dissatisfied you should write again pointing out the areas of dispute. Again the ABTA Member must respond within 28 days [Code 3.1].

• If you fail to reach a satisfactory position with the ABTA Member you can have the matter resolved through the ABTA Arbitration Scheme (see [Code 3.4].

We take the issue of Code breaches very seriously and may take disciplinary action against Members found to have breached it. We have a Code of Conduct Committee, which has independent representation, to consider cases, and its decision could result in companies being reprimanded, fined or even expelled from ABTA. These disciplinary procedures are quite separate from the complaint procedures, and the results of the Code of Conduct Committee hearings have no effect on these. However, if you’ve brought a breach of the Code to our attention then we’ll notify you of the outcome of the investigation. Details of the latest decisions taken by the ABTA Code of Conduct Committee can be found here.

If you believe that an ABTA Member has breached our Code of Conduct, please contact our Consumer Affairs Department.

Last updated: 23 May 2006