Bug scare: family loses £800 break

A FAMILY were left out of pocket following a health scare at their holiday destination.

Stephen Tomlinson (37), originally from Failsworth but now living in Blackley, paid £800 for a week-long break to the Holiday Village, Sarigerme, Turkey, with his wife Jannine (28) and two-year-old daughter Olivia.

He decided to change the booking after reading reports of a salmonella outbreak at the resort.

But he said tour operator First Choice Travel replied that he could either pay £500 more for an alternative break or lose £450 by cancelling the holiday.

Mr Tomlinson, who booked and paid for the break in August, said: “It was only when we heard reports about salmonella at the resort on the radio last week that we decided to speak to First Choice.

“They said normal booking conditions applied and that there wasn’t a problem at the resort. They said an independent investigation had given it a clean bill of health and all was fine.

“We were told we could move destination, but all the holidays available cost a lot more than we had paid, and a £50 administration charge would be added for each of us, including Olivia.

“Or we could cancel and lose half of the holiday cost.”

Mr Tomlinson said he asked why the company was still letting people go to that resort got no answer. He decided to cancel the break but said he felt ‘backed into a corner’.

He has now sent a letter of complaint to both First Choice and ABTA in a bid to reclaim the money he paid.

Mr Tomlinson said: “If I was cancelling for my own reasons then there would be no problem, but it wasn’t because of that. It was their problem that they hadn’t cleared up.”

Hundreds of holidaymakers are currently pursuing legal action against First Choice Travel.
Andrew Morton, a specialist solicitor with Pannone, said estimates put the figure of those affected at more than 1,000.

A spokeswoman for First Choice said the company believed the sickness to be viral in origin.

She said: “With Prevention of Spread and Illness (POSI) measures applied in the Holiday Village, Turkey, in addition to working to the independent consultant’s recommendations, sickness levels have decreased significantly.

“For this reason, and due to the procedures in place, normal booking conditions apply.”