ARE all newspaper editors fat? Do they all drink too much, wear peaked eye shades and have cigarettes permanently hanging out of their mouths?

Of course not - and I'm sure BEN editor Mark Rossiter wouldn't thank me for the generalisation. In the same way, I object to being lumped in with every other travel agent and tour operator as a rip-off merchant with no morals, delivering cheap holidays in dodgy hotels to unsuitable resorts

The BEN Money Supplement, January 27, contained four separate articles about travel which were all not only misleading but also incorrect.

The lead feature entitled "Don't get burned on your holiday" referred to holiday insurance and how it can be bought at a cheaper price almost anywhere than with your travel agent.

Of course you can buy travel insurance cheaper elsewhere - as you can also get discounted holidays and other types of insurance - but do you know or even check whether the cover is comparable? It's only when a claim becomes necessary that you find out how good the policy is by the number of exclusions and excess supplements.

The article also highlights the discount schemes operated by credit card companies and others through their telephone centres.

But, inevitably, all the recommended ways of saving on insurance and holiday bookings involve the clients themselves in a great deal of work and research and then the only point of contact is a distant telesales unit based at the other end of the country. No experienced advice is available, no recommendations, no expertise.

To encourage the average reader to try these methods is doing them a great disservice.

Your efforts to undermine our Bolton business are not appreciated.

Andrew Dickson F.INST.T.T., F.T.S

Managing Director

St Andrews Travel Centres

Editor's note: Our intention was to inform readers of all the options available, not to undermine Bolton businesses. We accept that cheaper insurance isn't necessarily the best cover. The articles were correct but we also can see how they would have annoyed travel agents who do look to provide good insurance cover at a reasonable cost. As for being fat and drinking too much - I've started the diet today.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.