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ABTA investigates possible Code of Conduct breach
ABTA is investigating a possible breach of its Code of Conduct by travel insurance firm Staysure after complaints from agents.
Agents claim the firm’s new travel arm, launched last July and an ABTA member, has been taking their bookings after they’ve put in all the work.
Posting on the travel industry Facebook forum, Travel Gossip, agents claim they have spent hours putting together complex itineraries for customers, who had then called Staysure for a travel insurance quote.
But during the call the customer had then been referred to Staysure’s new travel arm, which had undercut the agent’s price and also offered a discount on the insurance.
Homeworker Becky Aljabbar, who works for Luton-based Broadway Travel from her home near Northampton, says she recently lost a £3380 cruise booking after one of her clients had called Staysure for an insurance quote.
Her client had later told her that during the call to Staysure’s insurance call centre, she had been put through to Staysure’s travel division, which had offered a discount on both the holiday and the insurance.
"The insurance was expensive because her husband had medical conditions, which is why they had called Staysure in the first place," she said.
"They were regular clients and this was their last blow-out holiday, their last trip abroad, which makes it even worse. I know customers like to shop around, and we sometimes lose bookings when customers go direct, but to lose a booking when they’re calling up about insurance is a different case to answer."
Another agent said she had spent nine hours putting a £12,000 holiday together, only to lose the customer in the same way to Staysure.
A spokesman for Staysure said: "The vast majority of people who contact us for travel insurance have very often already booked their holiday.
"A very small proportion of our calls would ever relate to a broader travel quote, but of course people have the choice to ask for quotes on other products in our range such as home insurance, as we are a lifestyle product provider and we pride ourselves in providing high quality service in the best interests of our customers. We are a fully regulated business and fully compliant with all ABTA and ATOL procedures."
A spokeswoman for ABTA said: "We will look into this matter as a potential breach of the Code of Conduct."
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Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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