Travelling

Sometimes a package tour does not correspond to what was ordered. For example, the hotel is changed to a different hotel, it has lower standards or because of the change it is situated further away from the place which is important to the traveller, paid excursions are not organised, the promised air-conditioning does not exist etc.

The tour operator must correct the error immediately at his/her own cost.

• However, the tour operator can refuse to correct the error, if the correction would result in unreasonable expenses or unreasonable disadvantage.
• The traveller can refuse the correction if it would cause him/her substantial disadvantage.

Make your complaint to the tour operator or their representative

It is important that the traveller complains immediately about those defects which are possible to correct during the trip. If there is no tour operator guide or other representative at the destination, inform the tour operator's service provider, such as the hotel. Make sure that you have the necessary evidence to prove that you have been in contact with, for instance, the hotel personnel.

• If the error is not corrected immediately at the tour operator's expense or it is not possible to correct the error, the traveller has a right to a price deduction corresponding to the significance of the error.
• If the traveller makes a complaint after the trip about an error which could have been corrected during the trip, the traveller loses his/her right to demand a price deduction.
• If the defects are not corrected during the trip the traveller can also claim compensation for them at a later date.

Complaints about a package tour after the trip

If the package tour did not correspond to the trip which was agreed or if the errors were not corrected during the journey, make a complaint to the tour operator in writing within two months from the end of the journey. The issue registered in the feedback form of the holiday is not the kind of a complaint to which the tour operator would be obliged to react. 

• When making a complaint, specify the issue you wish to demand compensation for. Present also a clear demand for compensation.
• If the issue is not solved, the Consumer Agency can assist and negotiate with the consumer and the company in a dispute situation
• If you are not satisfied with the company’s response or if the possible Consumer Ombudsman's actions are not helping, you can take the matter to the Consumer Disputes Board.

Although the failure of the holiday item is annoying, you cannot get financial compensation for an upset mind and the fact that the holiday was ruined. Compensation can usually be received only for concrete items which were not brought about as agreed.

You don't have to accept a gift voucher or a discount for another trip as compensation. However, sometimes this kind of compensation is bigger than the one recommended by the Consumer Dispute Board. The Board treats a package tour as an entity when making decisions: which parts of the trip were brought about as agreed, what was the error ratio to the total price.