His call comes after a British holidaymaker, who boasted on Facebook about his holiday to Cape Verde only to lodge a sickness claim six months later, was ordered to pay Tui more than £19,000 costs.
Justin Miller, 40, of Penarth, south Wales, went on an all-inclusive Tui (then Thomson) holiday with his dad, brother and brother’s girlfriend at the Hotel Rui Toureg in May and June 2016.
However, despite not reporting and issues or illness at the time, the first Tui or the hotel heard of Miller’s complaints was a claim letter dated approximately six months after the trip.
Miller, said Tui, made various allegations of poor standards of hygiene at the hotel and improperly cooked food. The claim was supported by medical evidence from a doctor and his father, Steve Coombe.
Tui’s investigation though found a string of Facebook posts by Miller, showing him eating, drinking and socialising “and generally having a fantastic time” during his trip.
Miller’s posts included "little beer while waiting for the gang" along with a picture of a beer, "warm as f***" along with a selfie and "showered ready for beer and food" along with another selfie.
“These were not the posts of a man who was ill and had his holiday ruined,” said Tui. “He positively commented on the quality of the good, the beach and numerous outings. This was used against him as evidence in court.”
The operator said there were other inconsistencies in Miller’s claim, such as the period of illness, how he reported it, the severity of his symptoms and the cause of illness.
Miller’s claim was dismissed by Cardiff County Court on August 14 last year where he was found to be “fundamentally dishonest”. He was ordered to pay Tui £19,025 costs.
In a statement, Tui UK managing director Flintham said: “As the UK’s leading tour operator, we’ve continued to make a stand and do all that we can to put a stop to fake sickness cases.
“Mr Miller’s case, having been found fundamentally dishonest and ordered to pay a hefty fee, is another lesson to anyone thinking about submitting a fraudulent claim.
“We hope this sends out a clear message to anyone else considering making a fake sickness claim. We will simply not pay compensation claims of this nature and we will bring all similar cases to a court hearing.
“Our fight back against this type of activity helps us to protect genuine holidaymaker and we will continue to do all that is necessary to defend our industry and hotel partners.”
