Thomas Cook in bother??

Mr_Wang

ian41 wrote: »

Sorry but the information above is incorrect and rather misleading. The facts are as follows:

Overseas package holidays operated and sold by Thomas Cook Tour Operations Ltd are fully protected through their ATOL licence No 1179. If something went wrong, you would be fully protected, you would not be stranded and you would not lose money..

If you are talking about Thomas Cook retail shops, they are ABTA protected. TC retail will sell many different overseas package holidays for different operators including TCTO (above) as well as flights, accommodation etc. The package holidays that TC retail sell will all be covered with an ATOL licence for each and every operator and are therefore protected.

To complete the circle, always take out Travel Insurance and wherever possible pay by credit card. This provides additional cover including protection over and above the ATOL licence.

Thomas Cook is still a huge and substantial operation. TUI, owners of Thomson, also had poor sales figures reported in January. The reason being that there is a recession at worst or money is very tight, in most countries around the world. Holiday bookings are therefore badly affected. Airlines are also affected - American Airlines are currently in administration but their flights are operating normally every day around the globe.

So as long as you have booked through TC retail or taken out a TC overseas package holiday, you will be protected

You can read the details on the TC website here:

http://www.thomascook.com/reasons-to-book-with-thomas-cook

You should look forward and enjoy your holiday

You are a random guy on an internet forum providing info provided by Thomas cook - They are hardly going to say "yeah, we've lost x amount of business and are almost a £billion in debt"

Since you disregard informtion provided by the Guardian and the Financial times - two of the most reputable newspapers in existence...... Then how about you just take a look at actual business data: http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Summary?s=uk:TCG

Or is that incorrect and misleading too, considering it is FTSE info?

stephb34

Mr Wang i can't work out your negativity towards TC i presume theres an explanation. Even Martin Lewis says it is often cheaper to book a 7 day or 14 day package than independant and a true package is always safer than independant.
Sweetpea i do work for TC in a little TC shop in derbyshire and im very proud to do so we are performing very well and we have no concerns at all for TCs future and the rest of our region is doing extremely well. In fact i'll give you a comparison our cruise business is booming but one of our near rivals Bolsover Cruise is down in sales since the Costa sinking. Book yor TC holiday and put the £400 you've saved from not booking virgin in the bank and save it for your spending money.
You could always try a TC shop with your direct quote, if we can match it we will its always easier to book in a shop if you can it save the hassle if you need to contact direct for anything, and they'll help you with any info for america you need as well ie estas, trips, currency etc

Mr_Wang

stephb34 wrote: »

Mr Wang i can't work out your negativity towards TC i presume theres an explanation. Even Martin Lewis says it is often cheaper to book a 7 day or 14 day package than independant and a true package is always safer than independant.
Sweetpea i do work for TC in a little TC shop in derbyshire and im very proud to do so we are performing very well and we have no concerns at all for TCs future and the rest of our region is doing extremely well. In fact i'll give you a comparison our cruise business is booming but one of our near rivals Bolsover Cruise is down in sales since the Costa sinking. Book yor TC holiday and put the £400 you've saved from not booking virgin in the bank and save it for your spending money.
You could always try a TC shop with your direct quote, if we can match it we will its always easier to book in a shop if you can it save the hassle if you need to contact direct for anything, and they'll help you with any info for america you need as well ie estas, trips, currency etc

Lets try it out, price up a holiday somewhere and place your best price here. I reckon I could beat it, and given I get annual TI with my bank and tend to book on my credit card am well protected if anything goes wrong.

I am unbiased and providing actual facts, you are biased. I wonder how many of the staff in the 200 Thomas Cook stores shut recently are as optimistic as you.

ian41

Mr_Wang wrote: »

You are a random guy on an internet forum providing info provided by Thomas cook - They are hardly going to say "yeah, we've lost x amount of business and are almost a £billion in debt"

Since you disregard informtion provided by the Guardian and the Financial times - two of the most reputable newspapers in existence...... Then how about you just take a look at actual business data: http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Summary?s=uk:TCG

Or is that incorrect and misleading too, considering it is FTSE info?

The question asked by the OP and the second poster related to protection for their respective holidays and how they are/would be protected under the ATOL licence.

I have replied to that question. I could have supplied links to ATOL, ABTA and IATA but you can click through from the TC site if you wish.

If you wish to ignore the question posed and broaden it into a thesis on tour operators and their economic problems worldwide then why not do it in a separate thread.

I am not disputing that there are many companies around the world including Thomson's and Thomas Cook in Europe that are hoping for a significant increase in holiday bookings.

And no I do not work for and am not an investor in Thomas Cook or any company associated with the travel industry.

mick_vandick

Your actual facts though - the FT report - have already been rebuked by TC.

A GfK Ascent spokesman said: “The figures are not from us. We don’t know where these have come from.”

The Financial Times also reported: “Thomas Cook’s online sales have fallen 45%.” GfK Ascent said: “Our data does not show online data on its own.”

A spokeswoman for Thomas Cook pointed out: “The FT data relates to UK bookings for summer 2012. The reported figure is not a cumulative bookings position. Currently we are better loaded than the prior year (at +3%) as a result of capacity reductions.”

She added that the reported figures refer to less than a fortnight’s bookings in a single market for a single season. Thomas Cook made 90% of its operating profit outside the UK in the 12 months to September.

The spokeswoman added: “We last reported UK bookings on December 14. This showed we were going into January with a decent mainstream order book well ahead of the market at +8%.

“However, as we explained at the time, we had cut our summer 2012 capacity [by] -8%. We were expecting our intake to be well down in January (as) we would be managing bookings down towards capacity, focusing on margin rather than volume.”

In a note to investors, analyst Douglas McNeill of Charles Stanley Securities said: “It would be unwise to place too much emphasis on a snapshot of trading over a very short period of time. Nor does this data square very well with the notion that customers are fretting about Thomas Cook’s solvency, given that its December bookings were relatively strong.”

They are hardly going to say "yeah, we've lost x amount of business and are almost a £billion in debt"

Thomas Cook are a PLC. A PLC is legally obliged to tell the truth, one of the reasons why we all know about them asking the banks for more money in November.

I wonder how many of the staff in the 200 Thomas Cook stores shut recently are as optimistic as you.

Quite a lot of them actually by the sounds of it. Not all of the 200 shops are actually shutting either. Ian Ailles has already said that some of those who's performance improves could actually be saved. From Travel Weekly...

At the briefing Ailles offered some hope to the 200 Thomas Cook stores earmarked for closure saying some could still be saved if their sales continued to improve. He said agents had reacted positively to a consultation on the planned closure programme, which ends in March, and that morale was high.

He said he had experienced a real buzz in stores he had visited. "We are seeing a great performance from the shops that are under consultation. What we are absolutely delighted with is that our Co-op stores are performing well," he said.

"Given what Thomas Cook has been through I was delighted with the shops and the feeling that they were really buzzing. The morale has been fantastic."

Ailles said the decision on shop closures was still not final, pointing to a closure programme involving 24 stores in September that saw a number of counter proposals. This resulted in three being saved and one, in Stirling, that went on to win an internal award for its performance.

Mr_Wang

mick_vandick wrote: »

Your actual facts though - the FT report - have already been rebuked by TC.



Thomas Cook are a PLC. A PLC is legally obliged to tell the truth, one of the reasons why we all know about them asking the banks for more money in November.

Quite a lot of them actually by the sounds of it. Not all of the 200 shops are actually shutting either. Ian Ailles has already said that some of those who's performance improves could actually be saved. From Travel Weekly...

Mick, you are providing data provided by an ailing company trying to save their own !!!!!!. I have provided independent data from three extremely reputable sources, none of whom have anything to gain by falsifying the data on TC.

I mean I could sort of understand you trying to say the Guardian had it slightly wrong, the Financial Times - Well it's remotely possible. But the FTSE? Seriously????

stephb34

You may be able to beat my price you may not, after 2 glasses of wine i cant (wont) take your challenge right now but when i'm compus mentus bring it on, but it is a case of some you win and some you lose and also how much time you have on your hands to DIY or if you can't be arsed and for the difference of a few quid you'll let someone else do it for you. I don't buy TC travel insurance i have it free with the nationwide and only friday i sent a young man to the nationwide when his debit card fell out of his wallet instead of selling him mine and getting brownie points for it. Some of us do care about our customers and whats best for them.
I think you'll find of the 200 shops that are shutting they are a selection of thomas cook, coop and going places of which most of the staff are being found jobs in other shops, some are taking voluntary redundancy and yes a few will lose their jobs but thats what you'd expect when 2 businesses merge.
In what capacity are you unbiased please tell what do you do for a living, why are you so interested in travel?

Mr_Wang

stephb34 wrote: »

You may be able to beat my price you may not, after 2 glasses of wine i cant (wont) take your challenge right now but when i'm compus mentus bring it on, but it is a case of some you win and some you lose and also how much time you have on your hands to DIY or if you can't be arsed and for the difference of a few quid you'll let someone else do it for you. I don't buy TC travel insurance i have it free with the nationwide and only friday i sent a young man to the nationwide when his debit card fell out of his wallet instead of selling him mine and getting brownie points for it. Some of us do care about our customers and whats best for them.
I think you'll find of the 200 shops that are shutting they are a selection of thomas cook, coop and going places of which most of the staff are being found jobs in other shops, some are taking voluntary redundancy and yes a few will lose their jobs but thats what you'd expect when 2 businesses merge.
In what capacity are you unbiased please tell what do you do for a living, why are you so interested in travel?

I just enjoy travelling and have been to a few places.

Tis all.

brightonman123

I would think ANY firm that was in Admin would have to immediately advertise the fact.. i see no such notice..

https://www.twitter.com/thomascookuk

http://www.thomascook.com/legal-notices/

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Foreigntravel/BeforeYouTravel/DG_175232

added this- companies house search, too..
(I couldnt find how/where to check a licence number, on ABTA site..)

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/f93468e350ca197456854dd1cd8f5185/compdetails
Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 22/04/1909

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC):
6330 - Travel agencies etc; tourist
Accounting Reference Date: 30/09
Last Accounts Made Up To: 30/09/2010 (FULL)
Next Accounts Due: 30/06/2012
Last Return Made Up To: 01/04/2011
Next Return Due: 29/04/2012
Last Members List: 01/04/2011
Previous Names:
Date of change Previous Name
01/11/2007 GOING PLACES LEISURE TRAVEL LIMITED
27/12/1993 PICKFORDS TRAVEL SERVICE LIMITED

ian41

Mr_Wang wrote: »

Lets try it out, price up a holiday somewhere and place your best price here. I reckon I could beat it, and given I get annual TI with my bank and tend to book on my credit card am well protected if anything goes wrong.

I am unbiased and providing actual facts, you are biased. I wonder how many of the staff in the 200 Thomas Cook stores shut recently are as optimistic as you.

I am unsure what is wrong with you.

What on earth has stephb34 done to you to talk to her in such a way? You denigrate the company she works for and quote newspaper articles that have no relevance to protection of holidays.

Stop bullying please and if you are incapable of contributing positively to the thread to help the poster, why bother to post?