ABTA has issued a warning to holidaymakers who may have been approached by a company seeking to make sickness claims related to their time away from home.

A company operating under the name Capital Holidays/Capital Holiday Group is reported to have contacted a number of consumers about making a claim, suggesting that contact details had been passed on by ABTA themselves.

In a short statement, ABTA - the leading association of travel agents and tour operators – insisted that it had no links to and hadn’t passed on any information to Capital Holidays, urging consumers to use caution when contacted by such companies.

“ABTA has been hearing from consumers who have received calls from a company called Capital Holidays / Capital Holiday Group, about making claims if they were sick on holiday, suggesting that their contact details have been passed on by ABTA,” the statement read.

“ABTA does not work with Capital Holidays, nor do we vouch for them or recommend their services. We have not passed on any personal or contact details to Capital Holidays.

“If you do not wish to receive such calls in future, we recommend you register your number with the Telephone Preference Service.

“We would not recommend disclosing personal information, such as copies of your passport or driving licence, to any company unless you have satisfied yourself as to the identity of the company, the purpose of their call and that they will keep your personal data secure.”