| Who is Travel Trust Association? |
| The Travel Trust Association is a travel trade association. Our membership base consists of Travel Agents, Tour Operators and Travel Organisers.The Travel Trust Association exists in order to provide you, the customer, with 100 percent financial protection and has been doing so for over fifteen years. This means that every penny that you pay to our members is protected by the Travel Trust Association. |
| What does it mean if a company are a member of Travel Trust Association? |
| It means that you can book your holiday secure in the knowledge that Travel Trust Association will protect you in the unlikely event of a member becoming insolvent.Should a member of the Travel Trust Association for any reason financially fail or cease trading, the Travel Trust Association will liaise with the suppliers and Tour Operators to ensure that you holiday goes ahead unaffected. If for any reason this is not possible, we will administer a claim for a refund of money that you have paid to a member for your holiday.
All members of the Travel Trust Association have to abide by the members Code of Conduct. This is to ensure that the customers receive the best possible service. |
| How does Travel Trust Association provide 100% financial protection for me? |
| Every Travel Trust Association member deposits your money into the Trust Account. A Trust Account is a bank account designated to hold the customers’ money.Your money remains in the Trust Account is supervised by an appointed Trustee who is either a banker, chartered or certified accountant or a solicitor. Both the Travel Trust Association members AND the Trustee are required to authorise payments from the Trust Account.
In addition to being held in trust, your monies are also insured. A Stand Alone Safe Seat Plan policy is an insurance policy which is issued on your behalf by the Travel Trust Association member. If your money is not in the Trust Account, the Stand Alone Safe Seat Plan policy will reimburse the loss of any amount paid to a Travel Trust Association member up to the value of £11,000 per passenger. It is the combination of the Trust Account and the Stand Alone Safe Seat Plan that ensures all of the money which you have paid to a Travel Trust Association member is safely protected and available to pay for those services which you have booked. Please be aware that this is NOT a travel insurance policy. The Stand Alone Safe Seat Plan will only protect the money that you have paid to a Travel Trust Association member. You will need to take out a separate travel insurance policy to provide cover for cancellation, medical expenses and lost baggage etc. The Travel Trust Association member will be able to provide you with a travel insurance policy. |
| What is the difference between Travel Trust Association and ABTA? |
| ABTA ended its consumer promise in 2006. This means that not all of the travel arrangements that you book through an ABTA member are necessarily protected in case of the financial failure of the travel company.You will need to ask the ABTA member how financially secure their travel arrangements are. If the arrangements are not automatically protected, the ABTA member may be able to offer suitable insurance to cover you.
If you book with a Travel Trust Association member your money is 100% financially protected. This is achieved in two ways. Every Travel Trust Association member deposits your money into the Trust Account. A Trust Account is a bank account designated to hold the customers’ money. Your money remains in the Trust Account is supervised by an appointed Trustee who is either a banker, chartered or certified accountant or a solicitor. Both the Travel Trust Association members AND the Trustee are required to authorise payments from the Trust Account. In addition to being held in trust, your monies are also insured. A Stand Alone Safe Seat Plan policy is an insurance policy which is issued on your behalf by the Travel Trust Association member. If your money is not in the Trust Account, the Stand Alone Safe Seat Plan policy will reimburse the loss of any amount paid to a Travel Trust Association member up to the value of £11,000 per passenger. It is the combination of the Trust Account and the Stand Alone Safe Seat Plan that ensures all of the money which you have paid to a Travel Trust Association member is safely protected and available to pay for those services which you have booked. Please be aware that this is NOT a travel insurance policy. The Stand Alone Safe Seat Plan will only protect the money that you have paid to a Travel Trust Association member. You will need to take out a separate travel insurance policy to provide cover for cancellation, medical expenses and lost baggage etc. The Travel Trust Association member will be able to provide you with a travel insurance policy. |
| I booked with a Travel Trust Association member that entered into an Event of Default. What happens now? |
| A travel company enters into an Event of Default once they have ceased to be a member of the Travel Trust Association. It is a standard term used by the Travel Trust Association when a company is no longer a member of the Travel Trust Association for any reason.If you have booked with a Travel Trust Association member who has entered into an Event of Default, do not panic! The Travel Trust Association provides total financial protection.
We expect clients to travel as planned. We shall be liaising with suppliers and tour operators to ensure that your holiday/trip goes ahead unaffected. If for any reason this is not possible, we will be administering a claim for a refund of money that you had paid to the member for your holiday. It is important that customers contact Travel Trust Association before booking a replacement holiday as it is likely that you will continue with your booking as intended. If you wish to cancel your booking please note that you will be subject to the cancellation charges levied by the Tour Operator. Travel Trust Association requires all customers to provide the following information: Copies of correspondence with agency e.g. booking confirmation, invoices etc. Proof of payment. If you paid by: – credit/debit card, we require an original copy of your bank statement showing the payments that you have made to the Travel Trust Association member. This is the monthly statement that you receive from you card provider. Please contact your card provider for duplicate statements if necessary. – cheque, we require a copy of the cheque paid to the Travel Trust Association member. Please contact your bank to obtain a copy of the cheque and forward to the Association together with a copy of the bank statement showing that this cheque has cleared your account. Please send this paperwork to: Travel Trust Association |
| What does Event of Default mean? |
| A travel company enters into an Event of Default once they have ceased to be a member of the Travel Trust Association. It is a standard term used by the Travel Trust Association when a company is no longer a member of the Travel Trust Association for any reason. |
| I have a complaint about a Travel Trust Association member. What can I do? |
| In the event of a breakdown of communication or a serious disagreement between a member and their customer, the Travel Trust Association can act as an independent intermediary.All complaints are dealt with in writing. Should you feel the need to make a complaint about one of our members, please detail the matter in writing and post it to:
Travel Trust Association Please enclose copies of any previous correspondence that you may have had with the company and any paperwork that is at all relevant e.g. receipts, bookings etc. Upon receipt we will administer your complaint for you and ensure that you receive a response. Should the response that you receive not be satisfactory, we can then offer you an arbitration service. |