Thomas Cook ATOL refund. Still waiting

Sausmeister

Hope I have found the right part of the forum.

Booked package holiday direct with TC just a few days before their bankruptcy. I used a credit card for my protection, I have annual travel insurance and the holiday was ATOL protected.

The day after the announcement I was aware that it would be a few days at least before a claim mechanism would be published however I received a text from Barclaycard inciting me to complete a claim via them.

So September I completed Barclaycard claim and waited. When the CAA released their claim form I called Barclaycard to seek advice on whether I should make this claim with CAA as well. I called every day but was impossible to speak to anyone about this. I eventually made a complaint to Barclaycard but this didn’t help either.

On October 23rd Barclaycard contacted me to state I was ineligible for a credit card claim as I had booked direct with TC and was covered by ATOL. So several weeks wasted.

October 24 I completed the CAA form as prescribed by ATOL via the claims provider CEGA claims.

Then I waited.

On December 21st I called CEGA to get an update. They told me that my claim for reasons I could not fathom, had moved to a company called Protect Claims. And this company Protect Claims will have emailed me requesting a host of evidence from me at the start of December. I had received no such email.

I was advised to send them all the relevant information via email which I did. I got an auto reply advising me to expect completion within 28 working days.

Which to be fair haven’t quite passed yet but there is a new concern which is why I am writing this post today.

I called CEGA today to request an update. Got told the same stuff, all my claim is with Protect Claim now. But in the conversation we identified that when I sent my claim evidence off I didn’t attach my Z reference which apparently is necessary for my claim to be processed.

I had never heard of a Z claim reference. Four months after the TC collapse I’m being told my claim requires evidence attached to a reference I didn’t have in order to be processed.

So today January 20 I have resent everything again but with a Z reference attached this time.

I have no way of chasing this or checking on it. I’m stuck sitting on my hands with £2300 on my credit card plus interest now
For a family holiday I didn’t get to go on.

So can anyone shed any light on what is going on?

What actions I could take?

Am I missing something I should know about?

Ot do I just wait???

joolsleeds

I'm in a similar position, except where Protect Claims have rejected my credit card payment refund as they say I have paid by direct debit!

I've also raised a disputed purchase with my Credit Card company, which they have rejected as I'm covered by ATOL.

As it stands, I'm getting nowhere with Protect claims or my CC company - any ideas where else I go?

Protect claims are not responding to my emails now, and don't answer the phone.

Sausmeister

No mate that sounds horrendous.

I’m going to cal my cc company today too but don’t expect that to help.

I have not received anything from protect claims at all yet aside from one auto reply receipt to an emai I sent them. So they have said and asked me absolutely nothing.

Ombudsman, complain to CAA and keep badgering CEGA who you can call are my only suggestions

Alan_Bowen

There are now fewer than 10,000 claims outstanding, out of 320,000 received. The system was effectively an automatic one comparing claim details to data records but the last 10000 are going to be dealt with individually by humans as the data doesn't match. That may not be your fault, the data TC held was, by all accounts, a nightmare and on three separate and incompatible systems.

If you haven't heard anything in the next 7 days, contact the CAA rather than the claims handlers as I believe the files are being handed back for completion

Sausmeister

Thankyou Alan.

As I have received precisely zero since this debacle began four months ago I am now sending and calling whomever I can every day. But to day I’m still told my claim is with a company I cannot contact at all.

Very frustrating and futile but cannot get through to anyone well I can’t even identify anyone with a phone number who can help