According to this article in El País (http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2017/05/25/diario_de_espana/1495721295_484665.html?), there has been a sudden and huge increase in the scam of taking an all-inclusive holiday in a hotel in Spain, then claiming on the insurance for the galloping trots caused by food poisoning. They reckon that 70% of all such claims are false. (How do they know that?)
Polite people refer to the disturbance of the digestive system as "Spanish tummy". :D
It's masterminded by the "No win No fee" solicitors*. They are now openly advertising for people in Tenerife to "interview" possible clients.
*You could Substitute the word Leeches for Solicitors.
But the fightback has started:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4548686/Hotel-sues-fake-holiday-bug-pair-170-000.html?ito=social-facebook
It's been going on some time, and people get quite aggressive when the scam is criticized ... they argue that these "claims gatherers" are just doing a job, and they need the income. It's a bit like Millers leaflets in that they cause a problem but you can't complain without generating abuse from those you're trying to "deprive of an income" ...
The British and Spanish Governments have been working on this for some time (I posted THIS (https://www.janetanscombe.com/news/ashotel-denounces-ambulance-chaser-british-lawyers-in-tenerife.html) last year), and have recently announced that working with Ashotel there are going to be private investigators checking people in hotels and, especially, their social media profiles, particularly on Facebook and Instagram, to see if they can identify a disconnect between posts showing people larking about in pools or nightclubs and claims to have been laid up in bed poisoned by a hotel ...
This is the type of vehicle that was brazenly parked in central Costa Adeje. What a scummy scam, and how sad that it's so associated with British holidaymakers ... and British scammers.
[attachimg=1]
Hopefully Brexit will put the blockers on scams like that, once the UK has severed its ties with the European court system.
:ermm:
not getting that ....
Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. I figured that these ambulance chasers depend on the open borders to be able to drive round holiday resorts in their carnival floats, and that the claims procedures are facilitated by reciprocal agreements across the EU. Maybe it's not. But I'd have thought that if the EU wasn't a factor there'd be richer pickings for these "claims clinics" hanging round hotels in India or Egypt.
I think they just go where Brits are on holiday, and the ambulance chaser firms are in the UK anyway. The people who do the claims gathering are employed as autonomos (or illegally, probably), and the vans are sourced here and painted here, so I don't think open borders, or EU courts, will make a difference. I think this is why the Governments decided they had to act jointly, and in collaboration with Ashotel. They couldn't see an alternative other than coordinated legal action.
One thing that will keep them in Europe, as opposed to India or Egypt, is the modern legal systems in European countries. Try chasing a claim in Goa, or Sharm ... is there anyone even still there?! :D ... and these systems operate independently anyway, and separately from the EU infrastructure, because of national jurisdictions.
Unrelated, but funny....
[attachimg=1]
Quote from: Perikles on Sun 28 May 2017, 13:35
Unrelated, but funny....
[attachimg=1]
The El Duque area really isn't what it used to be :giggle:
Quote from: Nova on Sun 28 May 2017, 13:48
The El Duque area really isn't what it used to be :giggle:
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Quote from: Michael on Sun 28 May 2017, 18:52
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Last time I was in Tenerife 2008 that's where I stayed Costa Adeje Gran. Too bleedin posh for me :giggle: :giggle:
Quote from: Janet on Sun 28 May 2017, 12:52
It's been going on some time, and people get quite aggressive when the scam is criticized ... they argue that these "claims gatherers" are just doing a job, and they need the income. It's a bit like Millers leaflets in that they cause a problem but you can't complain without generating abuse from those you're trying to "deprive of an income" ...
The British and Spanish Governments have been working on this for some time
The Canarian Tourism Institute has announced that two British people have been arrested on suspicion of falsely claiming to have received food poisoning in their Majorca hotel. The Guardia Civil apprehended the pair last Friday, and say that this is the first case of its kind based on the instigation by British legal firms of claims of illness caused to British tourists by Spanish hotels. They also say that more prosecutions will come, throughout Spain.
A couple from Liverpool got caught out on this one as the hotel called up their account which had 109 alcoholic drinks on it. Whoops.
:link: (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-4615006/Brits-ordered-109-drinks-NINE-DAYS-sue-Jet2Holidays.html)
love the comments underneath that say that 6 drinks a day every day for 9 days was quite normal and not at all excessive ...
Quote from: Janet on Sun 18 Jun 2017, 17:45
love the comments underneath that say that 6 drinks a day every day for 9 days was quite normal and not at all excessive ...
Well that was my first thought :giggle:
Quote from: Janet on Sun 18 Jun 2017, 17:45
love the comments underneath that say that 6 drinks a day every day for 9 days was quite normal and not at all excessive ...
If I'm not mistaken, Del's just been on another thread and confessed to drinking 7 G&T's earlier today.........
Just sayin............. :giggle:
yes but that was myrtle's fault ... :-X
:laugh:
Remember that these people were on an all-inclusive holiday so drinks were included in the price. If you're the kind of holidaymaker who stays by the hotel pool, I'd think six all-inclusive drinks per day would be very easy to achieve.
Quote from: Janet on Sun 18 Jun 2017, 19:24
yes but that was myrtle's fault ... :-X
:laugh:
Hang on, I thought it was [you]'s fault.
@Nova (https://chalkcat.com/index.php?action=profile;u=1) you better take it away because I'm gonna use it every chance I get. I cannot stop myself, and the posts just write themselves.
Quote from: Myrtle Hogan-Lance on Sun 18 Jun 2017, 19:42
Hang on, I thought it was [you]'s fault.
:021: :021: :021:
It's like Jim Carrey in The Mask: "Somebody stop me!"
Seriously, it has me in side-splitting laughter. Easily amused.
Am I right in thinking this stupid thing will only work if the @ button is used to highlight the name?
Quote from: TOTO 99 on Sun 18 Jun 2017, 19:51
Am I right in thinking this stupid thing will only work if the @ button is used to highlight the name?
No it's nothing to do with the @. The @ still works normally, in fact it's incompatible with the YOU button - thank god :great: The stupid thing only works when somebody puts the (https://chalkcat.com/Themes/Actualism/images/bbc/you.gif) button into their post.
Looks like it could soon be removed though :D
No. When you are typing a response just add the little person who is immediately to the right of the "off topic" button which is just under all the emotes above where you are typing.
There is one of these companies advertising on the radio to "help" people claim if they have been taken ill on holiday. I've heard the advert a number of times.
Article in the Grauniad (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/24/hotels-compensation-spain-cyprus-bogus-food-poisoning-claims)
QuoteBut last year Miguel was hit by around 200 claims alleging food poisoning. Every single one was from a British holidaymaker, with not a single complaint coming from the Germans or the Dutch. None of the Brits complained to the hotel at the time; all the claims were lodged by UK claims management companies once the holiday-makers returned home.
This could just as easily go on the 'What I Hate About Facebook' page but here we go.
As some of you know, my son & daughter-in-law recently spent a week in Tenerife visiting me.
Guess what popped up on her timeline? :whistle:
[attachimg=1] (http://claimfor.me/holiday/)
From the DM, apparently a lot of cases are being dropped after the threat of prosecution from the Spanish. Good move.
:link: (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4658920/Hundreds-food-poisoning-claims-dropped-crackdown.html)
actually I'm pleased ... lying conniving thieving scum ...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4688306/Couple-faked-10-000-sickness-claim-holiday.html
Good to see Thomas Cook fighting back against the fake scammers. (hopefully the link works!!)
The link is fine 👍 That's great news! Very nice to see the scams backfiring on the scammers :clap:
There's also a Greek hotel that's counter-suing scammers for reputation damage, a huge counter claim where the couple fear losing their house ... and so are trying to drop the case ...
without realising that their original "case" has now become a criminal one of fraud that is beyond their control to "drop" or not ...
There's also been someone arrested, in the Balearics I think, but in Spain somewhere I'm almost certain, for walking the streets trying to drum up claims to submit to a legal firm. No doubt the "PR" person was in for a tiny cut of commission for any claims that ended up being submitted, or won.
I remember when I first posted this last year about the scam in Tenerife, and as usual the post went from my website to twitter and Facebook, there were a couple of Facebook followers who really didn't like the story, and could see nothing wrong with it, and indeed accused all of us reporting it, or criticising it, of trying to do ordinary people out of paid work in times that were really hard. They couldn't begin to see, it seemed, that being a scumbag was just being a scumbag and that "hard times" didn't make someone a scumbag, nor justify someone becoming one.
These claims represent an increase of nearly 1000% for such "illnesses" in (always) all-inclusive hotels (where it can supposedly be "proven" that the holidaymakers ate at the hotel) ... and where only the British holidaymakers got sick despite an equal number of Italian, French, Dutch, German, Russian, Estonian, Lithuanian whatever tourists being in the same hotel at the same time.
And then these idiots post their stupid photos on Facebook showing them having a fabulous time, drawing attention to themselves by drinking bucketfuls of alcohol and behaving like only Brits abroad can do, and filling out holiday surveys on the flight home saying they had a wonderful time ... and leaving the "any problems" section blank ...
I've said before there's something about the Brits being the only nationality that won't issue denuncias to the police, but would rather complain on Facebook. Seemingly they're the only nationality too that thinks it's a laugh or an easy scam to make a fraudulent insurance claim that could ruin someone's reputation.
What is it with Brits? I am so seriously jaundiced at the moment, and not least with the monumental Brexit negotiation cockup, that I am closer to becoming Spanish than I have ever been before.
At risk of maybe upsetting a few people, I will say that I am proud to say that I am English, I'm not British! I'm English!! I was born in the North East of England and I am proud of my roots and heritage. Having said that, I find that some of the behavior of our country folk abroad is often embarrassing and shameful.
I wonder how many brits try it on in their own country! I bet it's only a few.
British mum and daughter accused of being 'masterminds of Majorca food poisoning scam' (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/british-mum-daughter-accused-being-11124962)
I am as sceptical as anybody about Spanish authorities but think they wouldn't have raided the homes of and arrested two women without very good suspicion.
Quote from: Geordie Maggot on Wed 12 Jul 2017, 11:48
At risk of maybe upsetting a few people, I will say that I am proud to say that I am English, I'm not British! I'm English!! I was born in the North East of England and I am proud of my roots and heritage. Having said that, I find that some of the behavior of our country folk abroad is often embarrassing and shameful.
Your passport begs to differ (I presume) ... :D
The claims companies are still advertising on radio over here.
A British couple who falsely claimed €20,000 compensation for food poisoning they allegedly suffered while on a Thomas Cook holiday to Majorca in 2015 have been jailed by a Liverpool Court. The pair, 53-year-old Deborah Briton and 43-year-old Paul Roberts, were sentenced to nine and fifteen months respsectively in prison after admitting four fraud charges. Thomas Cook said that the case was serious, and a reflection of what is happeing in the British travel industry. Here in the Canaries, tourism authorities and the hostelry industry have expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the case, the first of its kind to involve a custodial term.
If stupidity were a crime, they would be jailed for another 10 years. They were busted by their internet postings about a fabulous holiday. :rofl: :rofl:
Two more losers have been caught out lying about getting sick on holiday, this time in Benidorm. They've been given til Friday to pay £15K to TUI and their doctor and solicitor are under investigation.
:Woot_Emoticon: :Woot_Emoticon: :Woot_Emoticon:
:link: (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5513789/Posing-pool-Benidorm-sickness-bug-scammers.html)
Dr Zuber Bux ? FFS
Quote from: Perikles on Sun 18 Mar 2018, 09:55
Dr Zuber Bux ? FFS
He'll be Dr NO Bucks after this ??
People like this need to be taught a lesson...15K is a good start.