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Trouble Abroad

Dealing with legal problems abroad is a situation few travellers like to consider before they set off on their holidays.

But if it does happen, stay calm. Now, that might be easier said than done, especially under the gaze of some para-military policeman asking you if that item in your suitcase is yours. Well its legal back home you might stutter, but first things first, ask for help. Dealing with legal problems at home is bad enough, but you can’t and won’t be expected to sort if out for yourself while abroad.

If you’re on a holiday package, then the first call will be to your holiday rep. These people have seen it all. They will advise you on what to do in the initial instance and how to take it from there.

If you’ve organised your own holiday and paid with plastic, then some of the credit card companies, such as American Express, Barclaycard and MasterCard, might be able to give you advice on dealing with legal problems via their telephone help-lines.

If that doesn’t work, or if you instinctively feel that your problem is beyond the scope of your holiday rep, or help-line, you might have to seek assistance from the British Embassy. This happens more than you might think, with the latest figures showing that over 65,000 Brits use the consular service every year. There are 1,700 British consuls worldwide, some full-time, some honorary, but all there to help a British citizen in distress abroad. Not all are legal problems of course; consuls deal with a range of woes, but they are there to advise, help and contact people, locally and back home, on a 24-hour basis.

Don’t use them as a nice help-desk though; they do not appreciate being asked the best way to the Eiffel Tower, and will sometimes charge for their services, so check out the Foreign Office web-site before you pack the sun cream.

Dealing with legal problems abroad will be less fraught if you keep a list of numbers you can call if you find yourself answering some difficult questions. Be prepared.

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