False claims

UK firms taking 60% of false holiday sickness claims payouts

Arrests were made in early September. | Alejandro Sepúlveda

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma18/01/2018 00:00

Reports by the National Police and Guardia Civil into false holiday sickness claims have established that around 60% of the claims which are settled end up in the pockets of law firms in the UK. Even so, the clients who have made the claims can be satisfied. As the reports also indicate, the websites of these firms in the UK say that clients can get an average payout equivalent to 2,500 euros, an amount which may well cover the cost of the holiday. The websites also boast having a 98% success rate.

The court investigation in Majorca into false claims was started following the complaint filed by Mac Hotels in Alcudia. This eventually led to the arrests of the alleged ringleaders operating on the island. The National Police and the Guardia Civil, meanwhile, have identified two British citizens said to be at the head of this organisation who were acting from the UK. They have been named as Ryan Bridge and Craig Kennerly.

This information has come out because the court has lifted the secrecy that had been imposed for the case. Bridge and Kennerly, it is alleged, managed the claims that were made in Majorca. Directing the operation on the island, it is further alleged, was Laura Cameron, one of those arrested in September.

The coordination of the "tiqueteros" who were approaching holidaymakers and getting them to make false claims was via a Whatsapp group, and the name by which it was functioning was UK Holiday Claims Ltd.

Earlier last year, two "tiqueteros" were arrested in Alcudia. At a court in Inca, one of them denied knowing Laura or her mother Deborah Cameron. The Guardia Civil, however, established that she was in the car belonging to Laura Cameron.

In addition to Mac Hotels, there is representation in the case from Melía and the Majorca Hoteliers Federation. Investigators are currently waiting for bank information in order to check on possible money laundering.