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Travel company fined for breaching ATOL rules
A London-based travel company has been fined £3,500 for breaching ATOL regulations in the first prosecution brought by the Civil Aviation Authority since the introduction of Flight Plus.
Mohamed Oweiss, the former director of Diving World based in Borough, South London, was also ordered to pay more than £5,000 in legal fees after he pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates court to two instances of selling flight-based packages without an ATOL and for falsely claiming that Diving World (UK) Ltd held an ATOL by displaying the ATOL logo on its website.
The CAA had demanded Diving World remove the logo but the company had continued to display it.
The CAA’s head of ATOL Andy Cohen said: "This prosecution demonstrates the CAA’s willingness to use our powers to enforce the ATOL Regulations so that UK consumers are not misled into buying unprotected holidays.
"We are particularly pleased to note the court’s emphasis on the misuse of the ATOL logo when setting the fines, as this is an offence we take very seriously.
"We will continue to take enforcement action whenever it is in the public’s interest, and we are currently investigating several more businesses which we believe may be in breach of the ATOL regulations."
He said the CAA was currently looking into about 20 companies.
The CAA urged travel industry staff worried that their own employer is acting in breach of the regulations to inform the CAA by calling its whistleblower line, 01293 573190, or by emailing [email protected]
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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