Your Financial Peace of Mind: ATOL Protection & IATA Accreditation
When you book with us, as an associate of Bradley Travelstore, you are booking through an established travel business operating within recognised UK and international travel-industry frameworks.
Bradley Travelstore operates under ATOL licence number 11753. ATOL, the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing scheme, is the statutory financial protection scheme administered by the UK Civil Aviation Authority for qualifying flight-inclusive travel arrangements.
When you book an ATOL-protected holiday, you will receive an ATOL Certificate confirming who is protecting your trip and which parts of your booking are covered. Your protection applies to the elements shown on that certificate.
Bradley Travelstore is also IATA accredited, under agency code 96088381, giving the business recognised professional standing within the international airline industry and access to IATA’s airline distribution and ticketing framework.
Together, these credentials mean that when we arrange your travel, your flight-inclusive package holidays benefit from the statutory protection of ATOL where applicable, while Bradley Travelstore also operates within the recognised international systems used to transact and ticket air travel.
Why don’t we display an ABTA logo?
A common question we are asked is why we do not display an ABTA logo.
ABTA is a highly recognised and respected travel trade association, but it is only one part of the wider travel-industry framework. Membership of ABTA is voluntary and is separate from the statutory ATOL scheme that protects qualifying flight-inclusive package holidays.
Bradley Travelstore operates instead with ATOL protection for qualifying flight-inclusive bookings and IATA accreditation for its airline operations, alongside established supplier relationships and professional travel-industry systems.
It is also important to understand what an ABTA logo does, and does not, mean.
ABTA membership does not automatically mean that every travel arrangement sold by a member is financially protected. ABTA’s own guidance confirms, for example, that accommodation-only sellers do not have to provide financial protection as a condition of membership, although individual businesses may choose to do so. ABTA also publishes consumer wording specifically explaining that some travel arrangements sold by ABTA members are not covered by ABTA’s financial protection scheme.
ABTA can provide or administer financial protection for qualifying non-flight packages and for other arrangements where a member has chosen or is required to put that protection in place. But simply seeing an ABTA logo does not mean that every hotel-only, car-hire, rail or other standalone booking automatically carries ABTA financial protection.
For us, the important question is therefore not simply which logos appear on the website, but:
What protection applies to the particular holiday or travel arrangement you are booking?
We believe that is the information that matters most to our clients.
What about hotel-only, rail, car hire and other standalone bookings?
If you are booking a hotel, rail journey, car hire or another standalone travel service rather than a flight-inclusive package, the protection works differently, but there are still important safeguards around your booking.
Your reservation and payment are handled through Bradley Travelstore, using its established travel systems and supplier relationships. Depending on the type of booking, your travel service may also be held directly with the hotel, rail operator, car-hire company or other underlying supplier. This can be important because, where the supplier already holds and recognises the booking, the reservation may continue even if there were ever a problem with the travel agent itself.
You may also have valuable protection through the way you pay.
If you use a credit card for a qualifying purchase costing more than £100 and up to £30,000, you may benefit from Section 75 protection under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. This can make your card provider jointly responsible with the supplier if the qualifying service is not provided. In many cases, even paying only the deposit by credit card can be enough for Section 75 to apply, provided the legal requirements are met.
Both credit and debit card payments may also be eligible for chargeback through the relevant card provider if a paid-for service is not supplied. Chargeback is different from Section 75 and is subject to the card scheme’s rules, but it can provide another potential route to recover money.
We also strongly recommend taking out comprehensive travel insurance from the time you book. A good policy can provide protection for circumstances that ATOL, card protection or supplier arrangements are not designed to cover, such as illness, cancellation for insured reasons, medical emergencies and other travel disruption, depending on the policy you choose.
And this is where the ABTA distinction is important. An ABTA logo does not automatically mean that every standalone hotel, rail or car-hire booking is financially protected. The protection available still depends on the particular booking and the arrangements behind it.
When you book through Bradley Travelstore, your booking is managed through an established travel business, with additional consumer protections potentially available through your method of payment and travel insurance. Where relevant, we will also make clear the protection that applies to your particular booking.
Additional protection when you pay by card
Your method of payment can provide an additional layer of consumer protection.
For qualifying purchases costing more than £100 and up to £30,000, payment by credit card may provide protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Section 75 can make the credit-card provider jointly responsible with the supplier where qualifying goods or services are not provided or the supplier fails.
Importantly, you do not necessarily have to pay the whole cost by credit card. Where the statutory requirements are met, paying even the deposit by credit card can be sufficient for Section 75 protection to apply to the qualifying purchase.
Debit and credit card payments may also be eligible for chargeback through the relevant card scheme. Chargeback is different from Section 75 and is not a statutory right, but it provides another potential route through your card provider where a paid-for service is not supplied.
For this reason, where appropriate, we recommend that clients consider using a credit card for eligible travel purchases.
We also strongly recommend taking out comprehensive travel insurance from the time you book, so that you have appropriate cover for the circumstances included within your chosen policy.
IATA Accreditation
Bradley Travelstore is a fully accredited member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) under agency code 96088381.
IATA accreditation is different from ATOL protection. It is not a consumer compensation or insolvency scheme. Instead, it relates to the professional airline-distribution and ticketing side of the travel business.
IATA accreditation provides accredited travel agencies with recognised status within the global airline industry and access to IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP). It provides a streamlined framework through which accredited agencies interact with participating airlines, including ticketing and payment arrangements, subject to the relevant airline authorities.
For our clients, that means Bradley Travelstore combines:
- ATOL protection for qualifying flight-inclusive travel
- IATA accreditation and professional airline-ticketing capability
- established relationships with travel suppliers
- card-payment consumer protections where the relevant requirements are met
- personal booking management through Signature Escapes and Bradley Travelstore
Whether you are booking an ATOL-protected bespoke package or asking us to arrange an individual element of your trip, our aim is that you understand both who you are booking with and what protection applies to your particular arrangements.
What Happens in the Unlikely Event Bradley Travelstore Ceases Trading?
We believe in being completely transparent about financial protection.
The position depends on the type of travel arrangement you have booked.
If you have an ATOL-protected booking
If Bradley Travelstore were to cease trading and you held a qualifying ATOL-protected booking, the protection set out on your ATOL Certificate would apply.
If you had not yet travelled and the protected trip could no longer go ahead, you may be able to claim a refund of the protected monies.
If you were already abroad, the Civil Aviation Authority works with suppliers to minimise disruption and, depending on the circumstances, may make arrangements so protected travellers can continue their stay and return as originally planned. Where necessary, replacement flights can also be arranged.
Your ATOL Certificate is therefore an important document because it identifies the protected elements of your particular booking and the ATOL holder responsible for that protection.
If you have a standalone arrangement
For a standalone hotel, rail, car-hire or other arrangement that is not ATOL protected, the position will depend upon:
- the type of booking
- whether Bradley Travelstore was acting as principal/organiser or as agent
- the underlying supplier arrangement
- whether the supplier has already received payment
- the way you paid for the booking
- any applicable insurance or other financial protection
Where Bradley Travelstore is acting as agent for another travel supplier, the underlying booking with that supplier may continue despite the travel agent’s failure. Where additional recovery is required, qualifying customers may also have recourse to Section 75 or card-scheme chargeback, depending upon the circumstances and the applicable requirements.
This is why we encourage clients to think of travel protection as layers rather than a single logo.
Depending on what you book, those layers can include:
ATOL protection, IATA-accredited airline arrangements, established supplier contracts, credit-card protection, card-scheme chargeback and comprehensive travel insurance.
At Bradley Travelstore, as an associate, our role is not simply to find you a beautiful holiday. It is also to make sure you understand how your booking is arranged and the protections that apply to it, so that you can book with confidence.