New draft consumer rights guidelines published
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New guidelines for the trade outlining consumer law around advertising and selling of holidays have been published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Office of Fair Trading (OfT) today.
The new document for travel agents, tour operators and price comparison websites details what the law means for the travel industry and examples of how it could be breaching the regulations. Topics covered include advertising flight prices clearly; names on tickets; customer liaison and terms and conditions.
The CAA is to monitor travel agents in reaching the requirements and will hold a series of roundtable meetings with the industry to receive feedback on both the full document and a shortened reference guide. The final version will be published in early 2013 after a 10-week consultation process.
“Travel agents are required to provide prices and other relevant information to their customers in a clear and transparent way, so they can make an informed choice when booking their holiday. In many cases travel agents are already doing this, but we are aware of issues where information has not been displayed clearly and this is misleading for customers,” said Iain Osborne, group director of regulatory policy at the CAA.
“This draft guidance will therefore ensure travel agents understand the requirements, and we’ll be monitoring the situation and taking action where necessary so they comply with the requirements fully and consumers can easily access the information they need,” he added.
Cavendish Elithorn, senior director of OfT’s goods and consumer group said: “Following its work on payment surcharges in the airline industry, the OFT is keen to ensure that the wider travel industry is aware of its responsibilities to its customers”.