It comes after a couple were jailed after admitting fraud, following a fake sickness claim worth nearly £20,000 against Thomas Cook.
Matt Gatenby, partner at Travlaw, told TTG he expected a few more high-profile cases from operators such as Tui and Jet2holidays in the coming weeks but no more after this “because the point has been made”.
Deborah Briton and Paul Roberts both admitted four counts of fraud at Liverpool Crown Court last week in the private prosecution brought by Thomas Cook. Briton was jailed for nine months while Roberts received a 15-month sentence.
Sentencing them the judge described the pair’s claims as a "complete and utter sham", adding that the claims, which were made in August last year, would have required planning and premeditation. “Why?” he said. “Pure greed. Seeking to get something for nothing.”
Gatenby said it was “rare to get bang to rights liars”, adding that “most people are not stupid enough to have Facebook postings that completely crucify themselves”.
He also highlighted that private prosecutions could be expensive for very little reward, “because costs will not be what you get back”, and he warned that operators were at risk of being seen as bullies.
Gatenby said such high-profile cases would not lead to an automatic end to the huge rise in fake sickness claims, and instead said the industry should focus on campaigning for fixed costs on such cases.
“The driver is the amount of money a law firm can get by encouraging these claims… If you’re looking for an event that kills this overnight, it will be when claims firms are on fixed costs of £500 per case.”
The Ministry of Justice announced a Call for Evidence last week, with the travel industry given until November 11 to lodge evidence about the growing number of fake sickness claims.
The MoJ is considering plans to bring claims payouts in line with recoverable costs and to crack down on false applications.
