Thomas Cook Ceases Trading - Compulsory Liquidation (EDIT MON 23/9)

bradders1983

Baled wrote: »

Just spoken to Expedia who have said the hotel booking will be fine.

They can't provide written confirmation at the moment because their verification process still requires TC's telephone number.

I've asked when a workaround for TC customers will be put in place, he suggested I call back after 24 hours.

I hope Expedia sort this out quickly.

Im in the same situation to you...booked a weekend to Berlin next month through Thomas Cook online back in March. Money was taken out in two blocks, half by Ryanair (and the seats have already been booked so that will be fine), the hotel portion by "Thomascook.com" however the ATOL certificate says Expedia.

Think I will be fine but will give Expedia a ring later on or tomorrow.

As for Thomas Cook, never had any issues with them at all, was on their flight from Vegas on Saturday morning and the staff seemed resigned to it, one of them was saying they were expecting the news on landing.

James-may

As I said wouldn't it be simpler for CAA to have access to TC accounts, a lot simpler, also how do CAA know what people are telling them is real, people could be running up all sorts of receipts on Photoshop nowadays, how do they check.?
Far safer and simpler using TC records of how much was paid surely.

NormalforNorfolk

We have (had) a 2020 package holiday booked with TC which we had paid a deposit for on our credit card. We are atol protected for the holiday but we also booked our travel insurance with TC at the same time we booked the holiday. Is the insurance still valid to use if we manage to book another holiday for the same dates? It shows as a separate item on the TC booking document and we paid for it at the same time as the deposit on our credit card but it was £79 so if we can’t use the policy have we lost our £79?

worldtraveller

NormalforNorfolk wrote: »

We have (had) a 2020 package holiday booked with TC which we had paid a deposit for on our credit card. We are atol protected for the holiday but we also booked our travel insurance with TC at the same time we booked the holiday. Is the insurance still valid to use if we manage to book another holiday for the same dates? It shows as a separate item on the TC booking document and we paid for it at the same time as the deposit on our credit card but it was £79 so if we can’t use the policy have we lost our £79?

As I've posted elsewhere, personally I'd definitely not assume anything and would contact the travel insurance provider to check/amend. When you call them have your travel insurance policy number handy (assuming you have a copy by email/paper). On the policy you should find a travel assistance services hot-line (for when you start your trip) and also the customer service number and your policy number.

Keep a note of all your conversations with them, the date & time, and the name of the person(s) you speak with.

silvercar

James-may wrote: »

As I said wouldn't it be simpler for CAA to have access to TC accounts, a lot simpler, also how do CAA know what people are telling them is real, people could be running up all sorts of receipts on Photoshop nowadays, how do they check.?
Far safer and simpler using TC records of how much was paid surely.

That will happen. They have auditors and insolvency experts to handle this. A photoshopped receipt is going to yield nothing other than a prosecution.

Alan_Bowen

I believe the insurance policy should be valid for another holiday within the validity period, insurers were almost certainly being paid on an ongoing basis, they would have withdrawn the deal if they were not but as suggested by World Traveller above, give them a call, possibly not today as I suspect everyone who has ever had dealings with TC will try and phone, they had a million forward bookings!

bradders1983

Baled wrote: »

Just spoken to Expedia who have said the hotel booking will be fine.

They can't provide written confirmation at the moment because their verification process still requires TC's telephone number.

I've asked when a workaround for TC customers will be put in place, he suggested I call back after 24 hours.

I hope Expedia sort this out quickly.

I just rang them up and from my mobile number the automated system retrieved my booking and sent it me back out again via email. Both the flight and hotel have CONFIRMED in green lettering next to them.

liver1977

I have been in contact with Lloyds Bank regarding claiming my money back through the chargeback scheme. As mentioned previously I booked with my debit card and the flights are unfortunately not ATOL protected. Lloyds were very unhelpful which I expected. They stated after quite a while on the phone have I contacted the company to which I stated there is no one to call? eventually they advised me to state all in a letter with details of the debit card used, correspondence they are no longer in operation and copies of invoices. I took travel insurance out last week they stated it covers this scenario. Should I claim from the insurance company and chargeback from the bank or try the bank first?

k-hkr

Hi, I am in the position, like many, of having paid for flights with TC Airways directly and using my visa debit card to pay. I have read up and the visa chargeback scheme is my only hope of getting a refund. I followed the advice in the MSE article and rang my bank using the number on the back of my debit card and asked to dispute a transaction. They went through the usual security questions and then asked which transaction so I gave them the date and amount. Once they realised it was a TC transaction the lady said that I would have to check the website later today or tomorrow for updated info on what to do. I explained that the chargeback scheme is my only course of action available and why this is the case but she repeated the mantra and, when asked which website she was referring to, said to check Thomas Cooks website! I said that their website would not tell me anything other than to use the chargeback scheme and contact my bank/card provider which I was doing. They basically would not raise a dispute case. Is this correct? I am going to now use the template letter on MSE and send that off rather than being fobbed off. I do wonder if Lloyds are maybe one of TC banks and I would be effectively trying to get them to refund me from their own coffers, hence the fob off.

k-hkr

liver1977 wrote: »

I have been in contact with Lloyds Bank regarding claiming my money back through the chargeback scheme. As mentioned previously I booked with my debit card and the flights are unfortunately not ATOL protected. Lloyds were very unhelpful which I expected. They stated after quite a while on the phone have I contacted the company to which I stated there is no one to call? eventually they advised me to state all in a letter with details of the debit card used, correspondence they are no longer in operation and copies of invoices. I took travel insurance out last week they stated it covers this scenario. Should I claim from the insurance company and chargeback from the bank or try the bank first?

I am in same position although my ins does not cover airline failure. I think the chargeback scheme is last resort though so try your ins first as it covers airline failure. Check for limits though. Good luck. Oh, and Lloyds are definitely most unhelpful. There is a template letter on here for chargeback claims.