ARBITRATION

Arbitration is a quick, low-cost alternative to court action. With arbitration a third party (the arbitrator) hears both sides of a dispute and makes a decision to resolve the issue. All arbitrators are impartial and their decision is legally binding on both sides, so you won’t be able to go to court if you’re unhappy with the decision.

Arbitration is designed to deal with claims for general compensation arising from breach of contract and/or negligence. If such a general compensation claim includes an element of minor illness or personal injury then this can also be considered by the arbitrator, although for this specific element the arbitrator can’t award more than £1,000 per person. The scheme can’t be used for disputes concerning serious personal injury, serious illness, nervous shock, death or the consequences of any of these. A separate scheme is available for this kind of dispute.

Please note that before you can apply for arbitration you need to have sent copies of your correspondence to our Consumer Affairs department so that we can register your complaint. We’ll read your case and respond to you, sending you a unique ABTA reference number (e.g. BD/123456). You’ll need to quote this number when you apply for arbitration.

Claims are handled by professional arbitrators and the process is entirely independent of ABTA.

• In order to use the arbitration service, your complaint must be about an ABTA Member. Arbitration should only be used when you’ve reached deadlock.
• Your arbitration application form must be received by IDRS Ltd within nine months of the date on which your problem arose, or of the date of your return from holiday, whichever is the later.
• Within this period arbitration is compulsory, so the ABTA company has to agree. After nine months you can still use the arbitration scheme, but only if the company agrees.
• You can claim against more than one company. For example, you can claim against both the travel agent and the tour operator, provided both are ABTA Members.
• You can make an application by post, online, or a combination.
• Your claim will be dealt with on the basis of the documents, including any photographic evidence. You don’t attend a hearing or present any evidence in person. This could mean that some matters are not suited for this format – for example, serious illness or injury claims.
• The arbitrator’s award is issued in writing and gives a summary of the facts, the conclusions, and their reasons for reaching them. The arbitrator’s decision is legally binding on you and the company and is enforceable directly through the courts.

The Award

When the arbitrator has been appointed they’ll set out their award. Within the award it will state whether the claim succeeds or fails. If the claim is successful they'll state the amount that has been awarded.

If the arbitrator awards an amount equal to or less than what has previously been offered, then they normally direct that the claimant refunds the respondent an amount equal to the respondent's registration fee. Similarly if they award more than has previously been offered, then they can direct the respondent to refund the claimant's registration fee along with the award.

Fees

Review

Any party can ask for a review of the arbitrator’s decision, although there are limited grounds on which this can be challenged. If you wish to do so:

• You must make your application to IDRS within 21 days of the date of the award being dispatched.
• Your application must be accompanied by a copy of the arbitrator’s award together with a statement setting out the reasons why the award is one that no reasonable arbitrator should have reached on the basis of the documents presented.
• The review fee is £350.00.

Regardless of the outcome, you aren’t entitled to recover this fee and no order will be made in relation to the fee.

Information about the arbitration scheme, including the rules and guidance notes, can be found on the IDRS website.

Arbitration vs Court Action

If a claim is brought via the County Court, both sides will have to attend and judgement will be made on the arguments put forward. Please note that within the Court Civil Procedure Rules a judge can ask whether any other dispute resolution has been considered. If it hasn’t, then they can direct both parties to look at other ways to resolve the dispute, such as arbitration, and can postpone the court case for up to one month while you explore this. This ultimately can lead to further delays and loss of your court fee.

Court Fees

The commencement fee you pay to start the claim depends on the amount you're claiming. Current fees (February 2008) are as follows. Up to date fees and information can be downloaded from the Courts Service website.

An Allocation fee of £100 is payable on claims over £1,500.  This is to allow the claim to be allocated to the correct court track, such as the small claims track.

A Trial fee of £250.00 is payable on claims over £5,000.

The court rules give the judge the power to decide what happens with costs once the decision on the case is made. If you lose, you may have to pay: the reasonable expenses incurred by the company and witnesses in travelling to and from the hearing; up to £50 per witness for loss of earnings or costs incurred in staying away from home etc; and up to £200 to cover the cost of any expert fees.

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