Thomas Cook - what you need to know - MSE News

ianajonesy wrote: »

Anyone in the same position as US relatives who booked flights only from US to UK return in December and therefore have no ATOL protection, no insurance cover and whilst US credit cards offer refunds there is a 120 day time limit? Any hope at all?

Your post implies there is a US equivalent to S75. Why do you think that would not apply? Thomas Cook is in liquidation. They won't be flying any planes anywhere.

Hi guys, excellent thread this thanks to all of the contributors however I wonder if someone could clear this up for me please?

I booked two return flights £289 total and extras ( meals, seats etc circa £177) with TC via their website back in January the flights were to Feurteventura for 27th November-8 December traveling from Glasgow obviously those flights are now gone and I'm in the process of claiming a section 75 refund via Marks & Spencer bank as we booked and paid for the flights with my wife's M&S CC however alternative flight prices for those dates have almost quadrupled and we have an apartment booked for those dates which we've paid a £300 deposit for with balance of £800 due in October.

We're now in a bit of a quandary regarding paying the additional cost of flights or just lose the deposit on the apartment and maybe try to get that back from the CC company or travel insurance (Clydesdale Bank via current account).

The questions are can we claim the CC company for the additional cost of the flights which is currently approximately £750 or can we claim them for the deposit/full cost of the apartment (if we're liable for the full amount) in the event that we're not covered with the travel insurance?

Thanks for any replies in advance.

Tony

Hi guys, I've had a word with the agent we booked the apartment with and advised her that it is likely that we'll cancel so she said if I let her know quickly (next week) and she manages to re-book the apartment then she might be able to do something about our deposit.

Probably not likely that she'll be able to rebook unless it's to someone in Spain but I thought it was decent of her to consider doing something about the deposit if she can.

Twotone2 wrote: »

Hi guys, excellent thread this thanks to all of the contributors however I wonder if someone could clear this up for me please?

I booked two return flights £289 total and extras ( meals, seats etc circa £177) with TC via their website back in January the flights were to Feurteventura for 27th November-8 December traveling from Glasgow obviously those flights are now gone and I'm in the process of claiming a section 75 refund via Marks & Spencer bank as we booked and paid for the flights with my wife's M&S CC however alternative flight prices for those dates have almost quadrupled and we have an apartment booked for those dates which we've paid a £300 deposit for with balance of £800 due in October.

We're now in a bit of a quandary regarding paying the additional cost of flights or just lose the deposit on the apartment and maybe try to get that back from the CC company or travel insurance (Clydesdale Bank via current account).

The questions are can we claim the CC company for the additional cost of the flights which is currently approximately £750 or can we claim them for the deposit/full cost of the apartment (if we're liable for the full amount) in the event that we're not covered with the travel insurance?

Thanks for any replies in advance.

Tony

It might be worth you reading through the MSE report as some good advice within the report. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/09/thomas-cook-seeking-p200m-extra-funding-/?_ga=2.124488140.732183897.1569401710-1059820991.1557318334

This an extract which covers your predicament and question -

"What about separate hotel bookings, car hire etc – are they protected?
- If you're affected by Thomas Cook's collapse, it's possible you could also be set to lose out if you've separately booked extra accommodation or activities that you're now unable to use. This also includes expenses in the UK, such as airport parking and travel to the airport.
- If you're in this position, your first step should be to get in touch with the supplier of the service and see if you can change your booking or get a refund – even if it's officially not allowed, it's worth explaining the situation and seeing if the firm will make an exception.
- Also check if your travel insurance covers you, as some more comprehensive policies may give you 'abandonment protection' for consequential losses.
- Occasionally, we've heard of people trying Section 75 to claim for consequential losses, so there's a chance you can try this too – but success is far from guaranteed."

This last part is I think what you were asking about.

Thanks guys, I've just checked the booking conditions for the apartment, we have to cancel the booking probably next week or at the outside eight weeks before departure or pay the balance six weeks before departure which is the 16th October however cancellation means we will lose the deposit of £300.

We could 'wait and see' what happens with the flight prices and hang off booking flights until nearer the time and they 'might' get back to more reasonable levels or they might double or even more, who knows? but we would have to pay the balance for the accommodation and take a chance but I'm not going to do that so I'm intending to contact Clydesdale travel insurance tomorrow to see if they'll cover the accommodation deposit and if not then I'll ask M&S bank if they'll cover it and, again, if not then I'll cancel the accommodation and take the hit on the deposit.

In the meantime I'll see if traveling via another airport makes much of a difference cost wise (thanks for the suggestion BTW).

I'll update the post when I have more information.

Thanks again guys, much appreciated.

Tony