In the last year, According to Hosbec data, there has been a 700% increase in false claims filed by British tourists against Spanish hotels. British tourists who enjoy their holidays in our country's hotels can "brag" about doing so for free; and it is that protected by British legislation and aided by expert lawyers, they claim to the hotel to have suffered food poisoning in their establishment, and this without being necessary to prove the alleged illness, nor present a single medical report that proves such indisposition. The high cost for the TT.OO. supposes assuming the legal defense in the United Kingdom makes it accept the compensation that is claimed, which is usually around €3.000, to subsequently recover said amount from the hotel by virtue of the contractual relationship between the two. This problem has already been analyzed by Canarisk, which we invite you to read again (Access here the Canarisk report on the false claims of British tourists)
LThe Secretary of State for Tourism has been working, in collaboration with the British Government, to find a solution to this problem, and it seems that possible alternatives are beginning to see the light. As confirmed by Matilde Asian, Secretary of State for Tourism, the British Parliament is processing amendments to its claims legislation that will put an end to the high number of false claims. What is promoted with this legislative change is to require the plaintiff to provide medical evidence that proves the damage suffered. Until now, the permissiveness of the legal norms in the United Kingdom allows claims to be submitted without any medical document proving the illness suffered, since the demonstration and proof of the damage suffered and the accreditation of the causal link is less demanding than in Spain " .
This is one of the main solutions that hoteliers have been waiting for. Hotel employers have criticized this lack of severity in British legislation by not requiring, as we have commented, any evidence before a complaint of food poisoning. This has caused British lawyers or also called Claimfarmers, who are familiar with English law and how the courts work, to encourage tourists to make claims against Spanish hotels and recover the money invested in their vacations.
This modification of the law is being worked on with the professional associations of British lawyers. In addition, efforts are being made to make the British population aware that these fraudulent claims can be a crime. In this sense, The British Government's website alerts its citizens to the seriousness of this type of practice. ( https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain ).
With all this, it seems that there is a will on the part of the British institutions to put an end to these false claims, which areAccording to the insurer AXA, it detected more than fifty in 2016.
We recommend paying special attention to the insurance contracts signed to cover the Civil Liability of the establishments. Check out our tips and recommendations