The Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart has determined that travel agencies who try to collect an unlawful claim on behalf of a tour operator are acting unlawfully. The background to this is a lawsuit brought by the consumer advice center in Baden-Württemberg.

At the beginning of the corona pandemic, many travelers fell into a "trap": Because of the unclear situation, many canceled their vacations themselves and were then charged cancellation fees by the tour operators. in numerous cases, the tour operators canceled the performances of their own accord shortly thereafter.

In this specific case, a man canceled a river cruise booked before the pandemic and referred to the travel warning from the German Foreign Ministry that was valid at the time. The organizer did not want to grant him a free cancellation and charged him for costs. The mediating travel agency tried to collect the claim on behalf of the tour operator and threatened to sue in the event of non-payment.

The consumer turned to the consumer advice center in Baden-Württemberg, which initially warned the tour operator and the agency. There was no response to the letter, so a lawsuit was filed with the responsible district court. In the first instance, the tour operator and travel agency prevailed, but the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court took a different view. This ruled that the travel agency had acted as the tour operator's assistant and had provided assistance by threatening legal action against the tour operator's violation of consumer rights.