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Foreign Office extends false holiday sickness claims warning to Portugal
Holidaymakers to Portugal are being warned by the Foreign Office not to let firms in resorts coax them into making false holiday sickness claims in the hope of winning compensation from tour operators or hoteliers.
In an update to its travel advice for Portugal, the FCO said: "There have been reports of an increase in holidaymakers being encouraged to submit a claim for personal injury if they have experienced gastric illness during their stay."
It went on to warn holidaymakers that they should only pursue a claim if they have genuinely suffered from injury or illness.
"If you make a false or fraudulent claim, you may face legal proceedings in the UK or Portugal."
The Foreign Office had earlier issued similar advice to Britons holidaying in Spain, where hoteliers claim that fraudulent sickness complaints from mainly British guests are costing them more than €60 million a year.
The latest update to the FCO advice follows a report a week ago that Jet2holidays is hiring private detectives in unspecified resorts to stop touts coaxing holidaymakers into making false sickness claims.
Jet2holidays says the detectives will act on customer tip-offs and will report any activity to the tour operator and to local police.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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