Two unnamed British people have been detained in Majorca and will face an ongoing judicial investigation amid an alleged fraud scheme involving food poisoning claims. They are suspected of encouraging tourists to make bogus claims, with their supposed targets said to be British holidaymakers in hotels in Spanish town Alcudia.
“It follows a campaign by hoteliers in Spain and holiday destinations in Greece and Portugal against the growing food poisoning scam in which holidaymakers falsely claim to have been ill during their stay in a bid to claim compensation,” said a
Daily Mail Online report.
It added that tour operators in Majorca have reported a 700% rise in cases of false complaints about stomach problems. Meanwhile, the Association of British Travel Agents noted a 434% increase in the number of gastric illness claims made by British tourists since 2013. It didn’t say what percentage of these claims was fraudulent.
In addition, the report cited a British couple accused of making a bogus holiday sickness compensation claim, who then faced losing their home after the hotel launched a £170,000 counter-claim for damaging its reputation.
“Sean and Caroline Bondarenko put in a claim against the five-star Caldera Palace Hotel after saying the resort’s food and drink made them ill,” the report said. “They are now said to be trying to drop their claim which was made three years after their one-week stay in October 2013.”
Related stories:
Warnings over “dramatic” rise in fraudulent claims
Aviva sees 9.5% jump in fraudulent claim rejection
.jpg)
