Government amends the General Law for the Defence of Consumers to increase protection for individuals purchasing package holidays

Agreement in the Council of Ministers

• The new legal framework considers the new method of contracting services via Internet, while at the same time increasing transparency, eliminating ambiguities and filling existing legislative gaps.
• The deadline for the transposition of the directive is 1 January 2018. Therefore, the Council of Ministers has also approved the urgent processing of the draft project in order to meet this deadline.

At the request of the Minister for Health, Social Services and Equality, Dolors Montserrat, the Council of Ministers today approved the draft project amending the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws. The purpose of the modification is the transposition of Directive (EC) 2015/2302 on package travel and linked travel arrangements to the Spanish legal system.

The directive repeals the current community legislation on package travel, package holidays and package tours, establishing a new legal framework in this area, which increases consumer protection, considers the new form of Internet contracting, while also increasing transparency, eliminating ambiguities and filling existing legislative gaps.

The deadline for the transposition of the directive is 1 January 2018. Therefore, the Council of Ministers has also approved the urgent processing of the draft project in order to meet this deadline.

FURTHER INFORMATION, CANCELLATION RIGHTS AND COMPENSATION

The main objective of these modifications is to increase the level of protection of the rights of travellers, who will receive all essential information about the package before concluding the package travel contract. These are the main benefits for passengers:

• There is always at least one trader who is liable for the proper performance of all the travel services included in the contract.
• Travellers are given an emergency telephone number or details of a contact point where they can get in touch with the organiser or the travel agent.
• Travellers may transfer the package to another person, on reasonable notice and possibly subject to additional costs.
• The price of the package may only be increased if specific costs rise (for instance fuel prices), and if expressly provided for in the contract, and in any event not later than 20 days before the start of the package.
• If the price increase exceeds 8 % of the price of the package, the traveller may terminate the contract. If the organiser reserves the right to a price increase, the traveller has a right to a price reduction if there is a decrease in the relevant costs.
• Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee and get a full refund of any payments if any of the essential elements of the package, other than the price, are changed significantly.
• If, before the start of the travel, the trader responsible for the package cancels the package, travellers are entitled to a refund and compensation where appropriate.
• Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee before the start of the travel in the event of exceptional circumstances, for instance if there are serious security problems at the destination which are likely to affect the package.
• Additionally, travellers may at any time before the start of the package terminate the contract in return for an appropriate and justifiable termination fee.
• If, after the start of the travel, significant elements of the package cannot be provided as agreed, suitable alternative arrangements will have to be offered to the traveller at no extra cost.
• Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee, where services are not performed in accordance with the contract and this substantially affects the performance of the package and the organiser fails to remedy the problem.
• Travellers are also entitled to a price reduction and/or compensation for damages where the travel services are not performed or are improperly performed.
• The organiser and retailer have to provide assistance if the traveller is in difficulty.
• If the organiser or the retailer becomes insolvent, payments will be refunded. If the organiser or, where applicable, the retailer becomes insolvent after the start of the package and if transport is included in the package, repatriation of the travellers is secured.

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