On Wednesday, December 12, Rostourism removed the Pearl River legal entities from the tour operator registry due to the company's inability to fulfill its obligations under tourism product contracts. Here's how tourists should handle this situation and what to do. Alexander Bayborodin, head of the company "Lawyers for the travel industry" "Bayborodin and Partners," told the TRN portal.
Thus, according to the expert, due to the exclusion of the Pearl River from the tour operator register, in accordance with Article 17.5 of the Federal Law "On the Fundamentals of Tourist Activity in the Russian Federation," tourists have the right to contact the insurance company and demand payment under the tour operator's liability insurance policies. The insurer, in turn, is obligated to review the claim within 30 calendar days.
At the same time, Mr. Bayborodin particularly emphasizes that in a situation where a tour operator ceases its activities, the agency bears no responsibility.
"According to Article 10 of the Federal Law 'On the Fundamentals of Tourist Activity in the Russian Federation,' tourists may submit claims related to non-fulfillment of a contract directly to the tour operator at the tour operator's legal address," the lawyer explained.
In response to the question of whether the agent is obligated to return the commission in this situation, Alexander Bayborodin stated that, by law, retailers are not obligated to return the agent's commission received from the sale of a tour to clients if the tour operator fails to fulfill its obligations. "For example, in a number of cases involving Panorama-Tour (the legal entity of Natalie Tours, editor's note), the courts left the commission in the agent's control. The only reason for returning the commission is not the law, but an attempt to reach an agreement with the tourist. In this case, each agent makes their own decision based on their relationship with the individual tourist," the expert explained.
It's also worth noting that some travel agents worked with Pearl River without a power of attorney—the tour operator failed to provide the partner with the original contract. However, according to the lawyer, even in this case, there is no serious cause for concern, since the use of a power of attorney has been optional since September 2018. "We see no connection between the lack of a power of attorney and the travel agent's liability limits. It is advisable to obtain a contract with ZHR, if possible. The travel agent's liability limits—booking the tour and transferring funds to the operator, as well as the tour operator's liability limits—are defined by law. Therefore, the absence of a power of attorney or a TO-TA contract cannot be grounds for imposing liability on the travel agent or grounds for the insurer to refuse payment. Furthermore, a TO-TA contract is not included in the list of documents that tourists are required to attach to their claim to the insurer in accordance with Article 17.5 of the Federal Law "On the Fundamentals of Tourist Activity in the Russian Federation," concluded Alexander Bayborodin.
Source: trn-news.ru