A campaign by authorities against fraud and new regulations for filing package-holiday complaints have abruptly stopped a wave of food-poisoning complaints by British travelers on holiday in Spain.
Spanish package-tour hotel operators have complained for years about British claims companies that have encouraged travelers to file false claims and collect compensation. The situation grew so serious by last year that it appeared to threaten the very existence of all-inclusive packages.
But a combination of British warnings and legislation limiting claims, and Spanish legal action against false claimants appears to have driven the number of false claims to zero. Spain’s Civil Guard broke up a ring involved in thousands of false complaints, and Britain placed a limit on fees that could be charged by lawyers promoting the cases, making the scam less profitable.
