The quality of your summer holiday will be improved ten-fold if you know you've got all the legalities covered, then you can properly relax and concentrate on soaking up the sun and cooling off in the swimming pool.
Comprehensive travel insurance:
It's worth reading the small print to ensure you're covered in all the territories you're going to visit, for example if your policy only includes EU states then your travel insurance won't be valid in places such as Egypt and Turkey. Recent research revealed that nearly 50% of Brits didn't know that they weren't covered for medical treatment and hospital bills, so it's vital you familiarise yourself fully with all the terms and conditions. Adventure sports like rock climbing, bungee jumping and white water rafting often require additional cover, so keep this in mind if you're going to be doing activities.
Travel documents:
Make photocopies of all your identification and travel documents, especially if you are going to visit locations where pick pocketing is quite common. Guarantee you have the necessary visas with you. There are so many holidayers every year who are left monumentally disappointed because they weren't allowed to board that once-in-a-lifetime cruise as they didn't have the necessary visas sorted. Remember, all entry papers are the travellers' responsibility, and often you won't get a refund.
Flights:
If your flight is delayed, cancelled or overbooked (also known as denied boarding) then you are entitled to receive compensation. Fortunately for those on their holiday this field of travel law is governed by EU regulations which are largely consumer oriented. Genuine cases of cancellation should be sorted by fixed compensation provided by the EU regulations. If you're delayed for over three hours you are entitled to fixed compensation which you'll have to apply for with the airline.
Renting Accommodation:
The issue is that websites offering holiday rental are not responsible for any monetary losses you may suffer due to falling victim to a rental scam, which are very common in the summer months. This is because they only deliver the service of advertising holiday villas or other properties, and are not responsible for any security checks to ensure the advertisers actually have a place of accommodation available. Try Googling the site name with 'complaint' after it and see what the results are. As a reaction to this criminal trend that's emerged, many sites now provide insurance against scam adverts so if you can, purchase fraud protection insurance and get some peace of mind.
Holidays are all about relaxing, rejuvenating and recharging your batteries. You don't need to be worrying about the legal ramifications of advertising scams, or what'll happen if you have an accident. It's worth covering yourself and your family, and double checking everything before you go, so then you can get the full benefit of the holiday.
Zac Colbert covers a range of legal topics including compensation cases, advice on holiday accident claims and where you stand with medical negligence.
