ABTA Reviews 

Very professional - far less painful experience than I was anticipating
The mediator was friendly and reassuring
Thank you

I had a very positive experience with the mediation service. The mediator called exactly on time, spoke in a calm and professional manner, and clearly explained the process. The conversation was efficient, respectful and well organised, and I appreciated the follow-up call as well. Overall, the service felt professional, supportive and easy to navigate.

It was "great" because it worked, but the (in my opinion) unnecessary hassle in uploading the supporting documentation (i.e. it had to be in pdf format)made the process more difficult than I would have expected

Process felt automated but efficient, and had the desired effect, i.e. it got the travel company actually talking to me rather than dismissing my concerns.

Went through the arbitration process, total shambles and costly. The process really is stacked in the favour of the ABTA members, points of contract are misstated by arbitrator in original award then on appeal they become super defensive and raise the appeal bar so high, no one will be able to overturn. In hindsight I would of pursued the travel company in small claims. Really was disappointing, apparently members can act how they want and not be punished.

First time using ABTA for help resolving issues experienced whilst holidaying abroad with Easy Jet. After sending our list of numerous complaints to the holiday company, we were not happy with the outcome, so told them we would take the issue up with ABTA, only for them to reply with, ' the 15% we have offered is what ABTA states'..... Long story short ABTA set up a mediation telephone conversation with myself and the holiday company to try to resolve the issuses where we requested compensation on level more than Easy Jet had offered. After my first 10 minute call, where I got to put my points across, then the company's 10 minute call, then both of us having another 10 minutes each. A decision was reached and our compensation was more than doubled

ABTA were helpful in prompting a resolution after a prolonged dispute with a tour operator.

While ABTA correctly clarified the limits of their remit, their involvement led to the tour operator re-engaging and ultimately resolving the matter with a fair settlement. Communication was clear and professional, and the case was handled in a structured way once escalated.

The process was not quick, and it did require persistence, but ABTA’s intervention did make a difference to the final outcome. Overall, a useful dispute resolution service when direct dialogue has stalled.

Abta ensure the tour operators look after their clients and are fair.
I had an on going complaint with Jet2. I had turned down their initial, insulting offer and was fed up of constant apologies for the wait.
I registered my complaint with Abta and received another call from Jet2 within the week. The offer was double the original offer and had I have not had other stressful events going on I would have paid the £150 & gone to arbitration as I believe Jet2 had truly misrepresented the holiday we purchased.
Abta do not get involved too much but they were there to ensure the tour operators that sell the holidays follow a code of conduct and are accountable for the holidays they sell. I would never book a holiday without an ABTA licence.

ABTA has stated they will not engage with my complaint until a Section 75 claim is fully exhausted.

This is an extraordinary position. Section 75 is a credit card consumer remedy, it is not an investigation into safety, seaworthiness, or whether a cruise operator acted transparently. It does not establish facts, examine ship defects, or assess whether passengers were placed at risk.

My complaint concerns Cunard’s Queen Anne, Voyage H531 (30 Nov–14 Dec 2025), where the vessel displayed sustained abnormal movement and mechanical noises inconsistent with sea conditions, followed by an early termination of the voyage. These are not billing issues, they are safety and disclosure issues affecting around 3,000 passengers.

ABTA has declined to review evidence, challenge Cunard’s explanations, or seek clarification on whether defects were known prior to sailing. Instead, they have chosen to repeat Cunard’s “force majeure” wording and insist that a credit card dispute must conclude first.

In practice, this means ABTA will not act at all unless another party forces the issue.

If ABTA’s involvement is conditional on exhausting unrelated financial remedies, then its value as an independent consumer body is questionable. Based on my experience, ABTA functions as a shield for its members rather than an advocate for consumers.

Following ABTA’s response yesterday.

The claim that they “cannot assist” while a Section 75 or chargeback claim is active is misleading in my opinion.

Section 75 is a legal right for credit card purchases and does not prevent anyone from filing a complaint with ABTA at the same time.

The wording on “what we can and cannot help with” reflects ABTA’s internal process, not the law, and could confuse consumers.

Section 75 and a chargeback are related but distinct: Section 75 applies only to credit cards and is a legal right under the Consumer Credit Act. The credit card provider is jointly liable with the merchant in this case, Cunard/Carnival — for purchases between £100–£30,000.

Chargebacks can be used on credit or debit cards and are a voluntary scheme run by card networks, not a legal entitlement.

My contact with ABTA is about multiple points with Cunard, and I like many other passengers strongly refute Cunard’s reliance on “Force Majeure” which it is advising customers of this cruise.

I understand ABTA’s internal procedure is to wait until the Section 75 claim has concluded, and I will confirm the outcome once it is resolved.

I raised a complaint regarding Cunard setting sail on a 14 night cruise (Queen Anne) in December, knowing that the stabilisers were not working.
The ship rocked and rolled every sea day and Cunard finished it early so that it could dock in Southampton a day earlier for divers to try and fix it.
Cunard claimed it was an Act of God (Force Majeure) and refused any compensation.
It wasn't Force Majeure as Cunard were well aware of the problems before setting off.
ABTA didn't do anything except print the Cunard denial.
A waste of time

I only have it 1 stars as you can't give Zero.
Abta advertise book your holiday with confidence, but are unable to do anything in our case.
After spending nearly £10,000 on a luxury cruise with P&O for our 20th wedding anniversary, we complained to Abta as after 5months of trying to get a response from P&O we expected Abta to mediate between us and P&O. But after a month the only response we got from Abta was P&O do not want to respond to us, so there's nothing we can do.
You spend hours detailing all the information but aren't allowed to upload any photos, which would help your complaint.
We expected Abta to not necessarily side with us but help us get answers from P&O , why we were treated the way we were, as that way you could have closure.
Abta obviously feel that it's acceptable for a person to spend an entire week sleeping on the floor as the bed was completely unsuitable for any of our party to sleep on and for an injured teenager to be left shoreside on their own after having an accident on a P&O arranged shore excursion, as there wasn't enough room for an adult to go with them and was refused medical treatment until an adult had arrived 2hours later.
Abta are not an independent company to help and protect the consumer, they're just another company that no matter what the complaint, they side with the company that has basically ripped you off and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.

ABTA acted very promptly and clearly. A dispute that had been rumbling on for almost 2 months with no resolution in sight was settled by ABTA within 10 working days. They gave very clear instruction/guidance to the Cruise line that they should refund all monies to me - which happened.

Registered a complaint about a Tui package holiday nearly four months ago and have heard nothing back apart from the acknowledgment of the complaint being registered then updated regarding further information we sent across.
Tui had agreed that the hotel fell very short of an acceptable standard (we had to pay for a hotel that was clean and didn’t have two open sewage outlets in the bathroom) but refused to refund any money to us.
There appears to be no way to chase our case and absolutely no way of contacting ABTA re a follow up.
What a frustrating waste of time.

Extremely helpful in resolving the matter with the travel agency.

Very helpful

Fantastic service provided by ABTA who dealt with a complaint I had regarding TUI. The complaint was dealt with quickly with a resolution that I was happy with. Would highly recommend using if no satisfaction can be reached with a holiday company

ABTA were fantastic in resolving a dispute where Carnival group had failed to comply with the UK package travel regulations. ABTA kept me informed every step of the way leading to successful case resolution.

ABTA were just the service I needed as a customer in confusing times. I have screen sight problems .

I initially gained no answers or agreement after a very poor holiday experience yet ABTA’s professional neutrality coupled with Sarah’s sensitivity during arbitration helped me glean the answers I needed to move on . Thank you

I have never used this service before and felt it was very clearly explained and professionally dealt with a satisfactory outcome

ABTA ref 306811.

I contacted ABTA following a failed stay at a cottages.com holiday cottage - Gardener's Cottage, The Garth, in the Lake District (14/11/2025 - 21/11/2025).

Upon arrival at the cottage I found there was no heating on, it was cold, very damp, and very musty smelling. The shower room was dirty and I didn't know if blinds were mouldy or just dirty. The white light switches were brown with dirt. I phoned cottages.com Windermere office, as the instructions gave their number if there was a problem. I was greeted with the message 'all our agents are unavailable' and the line went dead. Not wanting to stay in such poor conditions, I drove back home. The next working day, I contacted cottages.com by Chat and email. They didn't respond for 4 days saying as I hadn't contacted within the holiday period (which hadn't ended at this stage) they wouldn't refund my payment. Several emails later, after a fortnight, they said they could have put me up in a hotel while they cleaned the cottage. If they had offered this during the holiday I would have accepted. I have since found many reviews where others staying at the same cottage had found it cold, damp, smelly and dirty over many years! Despite my actions, my contact following cottages.com booking conditions, and the history of cleanliness issues.

ABTA have sided with cottages.com and haven't offered any real support.

I have stopped the payment through my credit card, but cottages.com are challenging this.

Having been a loyal customer of cottages.com for 8 years, I am very disappointed with their conduct, and the lack of support by ABTA.

Although there were a small number of reviews on the cottages.com website, none described the cottage. There are however, many reviews highlighting the cold, damp, smelly and dirty conditions, over many years at Gardener's Cottage.

I appreciate cottages.com wouldn't want negative feedback and unlike my many other stays prevented me from leaving feedback on this occasion.

Perhaps ABTA should try offering support to the customer rather than covering up for an uncaring company only interested in the money and not offering service.

I suppose, I should have checked other reviews rather than the ones cottages.com allow on their website!