Fake sickness claim crackdown: UK to cap lawyers' fees
Thursday, May 10, 2018 @ 1:20 PM
BRITAIN'S government will place a cap on fees charged by solicitors who handle sickness cases for clients who have been abroad in a bid to clamp down on the lucrative 'fake food poisoning' fraud which is crippling hotels and holiday resorts along the Mediterranean.
The number of claims against tour operators – which are passed on to the resort owners - for illness allegedly suffered by UK holidaymakers has increased 500% in just three years.
Spain is not the only victim – typical sun, sea and sand destinations across southern Europe including Portugal, Greece and Cyprus have also fallen victim to the scam – but Spanish hotels appear to be the main target, especially in the Canary and Balearic Islands, the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca, particularly Benidorm.
Justice minister Rafael Catalá says the cost to hotels and holiday complexes in Spain runs into millions of euros.
Claim touts have been seen patrolling tourist belts in vans designed to look like ambulances, approaching Brits on the street and asking them if they would like 'a free holiday'.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com