Two people who had tried to sue for food poisoning while on holiday in Gran Canaria have been accused of putting in a false claim.
The tourists claimed to be ‘bed-ridden’ with stomach cramps and severe diarrhoea during their holiday at the Gloria Palace Hotel and had claimed compensation from the hotel and tour operator Jet2holidays.
An investigation revealed the pair had ordered drinks from the bar on the dates they said they were ill and in total had drunk 109 drinks in nine days.
The holidaymakers, from Liverpool, had travelled on a 12-day all-inclusive trip in July 2015 and made the claim over 15 months later, using a solicitor in Oldham.
Neither Jet2holidays nor the hotel had received any complaint from the customer at the time of the holiday or subsequently.
In a statement, Jet2 said: "The law firm claims the couple both suffered ‘stomach cramps and severe diarrhoea’, and both were ‘bed-ridden during an acute period of illness‘.
The symptoms allegedly came on from the second day of the holiday. The claim alleges that the illness ‘spoiled the rest of the holiday’.
"In the course of investigating the claim with the hotelier, it has come to light that their records show that the customers continued to enjoy a range of alcoholic drinks throughout the time of their illness.
"The night of the alleged onset of the illness, at least six shots of spirits and mixers were consumed, while the night after the onset of the illness, more cocktails and spirits were consumed.
"Alcohol continued to be enjoyed throughout the rest of the holiday."
Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy said: "The sharp rise in the number of sickness claims is costing hoteliers and travel companies dearly, and it’s frustrating when so many are made a year or more after the holiday has ended.
"If you have a problem on holiday, we are there for you and we take genuine claims very seriously.
"But the food bug fraudsters are fooling customers into thinking they can make a claim even when they weren’t ill without any consequences, which is not true. I’m calling on the Government to crack down on the food bug fraudsters."
