Thomas Cook - package holiday price hike after booking

mamajo_2

Hi - has this happened to anyone?
We booked and part paid for a package holiday to Tenerife last week (22/6). Thomas Cook said it can take 72hrs for booking confirmation to come through. We rechecked with them that all was ok and were assured that it was and we would get confirmation and after waiting 3hrs on their WhatsApp today (as no one is contactable via phone) they said there was still no problem and we'd receive the booking details shortly. An hour later we got an email to say that due to a backlog (at their end) at the point of us booking  Ryanair had put their flight prices up so we now need to pay an extra £219 per person for the flights and as there's 4 of us travelling so that's a hell of a lot more than what we were expecting. Can they actually do this? We haven't been abroad since 2019 so not sure if this is a new thing travel companies can do. Ironically was reading last week's newsletter so GHICs ordered and travel insurance arranged. If we can't go at the original price we could move the holiday to another day but not sure whether we can do this or easier just to cancel but that will take up to 14days... 

jimi_man

Personally I wouldn’t accept another £900 on the holiday, so I’d cancel and try another date. 

bagand96

Section 5 of their T&Cs Thomas Cook | Booking terms and conditions

5.7         The flight information advertised comes from all the major airlines. The data is regularly updated. Seat availability and pricing is at the airline Supplier’s discretion and is subject to availability. Please be aware that the component prices within a package can fluctuate as a direct consequence of changes in: (i) the price of the carriage of passengers resulting from the cost of fuel or other power sources; (ii) the level of taxes or fees on the travel services included in the contract imposed by third parties not directly involved in the performance of the package; or (iii) the exchange rates relevant to the package.

5.8         Irrespective of its extent, a price increase shall be possible only if we: (i) notify you in clear and comprehensible language; (ii) provide a justification for the increase; (iii) provide the calculations of the relevant price increase; and (iv) notify you on no less than 20 calendar days before the start of the Package Holiday.

5.9         You shall also have the right to a price reduction corresponding to any decrease in the costs referred to in subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of clause 5.8 above that occurs after the conclusion of the contract, but before the start of the package. In the event of a price decrease, we shall have the right to deduct actual administrative expenses from the refund owed to you. At your request, we shall provide proof of those administrative expenses.

5.10       If the change amounts to a price increase of over 8% of the original package price you booked, we will inform you without undue delay and provide you with the option to either: (a) accept the proposed change; or (b) cancel the contract without paying a cancellation fee.

5.11       We shall without undue delay inform you of: (i) the proposed changes and their impact on the price of the package; (ii) a reasonable period within which you have to inform us of your decision regarding the change; (iii) the consequences of your failure to respond within the period referred in subsection (ii) in accordance with applicable national law; and (iv) where applicable, the offered substitute package and its price.

5.12       If the package is terminated by you as a result of a price increase of over 8% in accordance with clause 5.10, and you do not accept a substitute package, we shall refund all payments made by or on behalf of you without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days after the contract is terminated.

Section 10:

10.         ACCURACY

We try to ensure that all the information and prices on our website or in any advertising material that we publish are accurate, but changes and errors sometimes happen and we may correct prices and other details. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the Services that you wish to book before you make your booking. Where the Service or price has been listed incorrectly and the booking has already been confirmed, we may cancel the booking and refund you.

So yes, they can do it.  The reason for this is that the Thomas Cook of today isn't an actual tour operator like the old Thomas Cook was (or for example TUI and Jet2Holidays are).  The owners of the new site purchased the TC brand from the administrators of old TC.  They are an Online Travel Agent (OTA)  like OnTheBeach, LoveHolidays, TravelRepublic etc.  They don't operate their own package holidays, they just create a holiday by combining flights with hotel bookings.  They act only as your agent and your contracts will be with the airline and the accommodation provider.  Essentially you make a booking request and behind the scenes they make the bookings with the suppliers.  This is usually automated and instant but it can go wrong, if there's a glitch or they didn't have live pricing etc

In the law though it is a package and you get ATOL protection, as well as Thomas Cook having responsibilities under the Package and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.  This is good news for you, because as the T&Cs state you can reject this price rise, cancel the booking and receive a full refund.

mamajo_2

Thanks for the advice - definitely not paying a further £900. 
We will contact them in the morning to reject - thanks for sharing the T&C's 

Westin

Make sure you pick your wording carefully.  Emphasis that you are rejecting the revised pricing and no longer wish to proceed.  Don’t say you wish to ‘cancel’ the holiday.

NoodleDoodleMan

"The reason for this is that the Thomas Cook of today isn't an actual tour operator like the old Thomas Cook was (or for example TUI and Jet2Holidays are)."

Well explained - just another OTA - and using Ryanair as the carrier.

Doshwaster

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"The reason for this is that the Thomas Cook of today isn't an actual tour operator like the old Thomas Cook was (or for example TUI and Jet2Holidays are)."

Well explained - just another OTA - and using Ryanair as the carrier.

Yup - the Thomas Cook brand was bought by a Chinese online-only travel agency
https://news.sky.com/story/chinese-leisure-giant-fosun-puts-thomas-cook-in-departure-lounge-12823793

I wonder how many people would book a holiday to Tenerife with flights on Ryanair on a website that they had never heard of. That's the power of branding.