Tui refuses to refund couple struck down by 'severe food poisoning' as they may have 'overindulged'

The travel company dismissed their compensation claim, stating that without stool samples or photographic evidence of their illness, it could not confirm the food poisoning.

Tui suggested the couple's symptoms could have been caused by "stress or overindulgence" rather than contamination.

Julia Lofts, 52, said the couple began suffering from sickness and diarrhoea after eating at a beachside restaurant where they had salmon, basic salads and one mojito each.

She said: "We went to bed and I started being sick. My husband started being sick soon after, and we spent all night vomiting."

The following morning, Julia had to seek help from other hotel guests as their room phone was allegedly out of order.

She added: "I had to walk outside and knock on people's doors to ask for help because the phone wasn't working.

"They called an ambulance and got wheelchairs. We couldn't walk at all from the pain; it was awful.

"We had to pay over £700 to get an IV emergency treatment and medication."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Tui flight forced to divert after chaos erupts when mum and daughter duo 'swore at staff demanding to get off in mid-air'
• EasyJet flight diverted after stag do group were vaping and abusing cabin crew before being hauled off
• Tui flight erupts into chaos as 'drunk' passenger hauled off after screaming that the 'plane is going to crash' and PUNCHING cabin crew

Tui suggested there are numerous reasons why people might fall ill while on holiday, including factors such as climate, humidity, stress, or overindulgence.

Julia found their requirement for evidence absurd, given how unwell they were at the time.

She explained: "They said it could have been stress, overindulgence - and that was just taking the mick.

"They asked if we took any pictures. I wasn't going to take pictures of me sitting on the toilet and throwing up."

She described Tui's response as "like emotional abuse" for suggesting their experience wasn't genuine.

Julia said: "We made complaints to management, and they said they expected more people to be ill in order to do something about it. That was quite shocking to hear."

"When we came home, I investigated online and found a whole group on Facebook with similar situations. I sent a complaint to Tui, and they refused to deal with it altogether."

The couple had to cancel planned activities, including scuba diving and snorkelling, as they were too ill to participate.

Tui confirmed their customer service team had been in direct contact with the customer but stated they were unable to assist as the couple could not provide evidence of what caused the illness.