Barclaycard not refunding thomas cook payment

Tpinne · 14 October 2019 at 4:44PM

I submitted a refund request from my Barclaycard credit card and after 3 weeks they have replied stating that as my booking is ATOL protected I need to contact the CAA for the refund.

This can take up to 60 days and I am unhappy with Barclaycard. I have responded and pointed out that under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act they are jointly liable and I require a refund from them. If this is not forthcoming I will go to the Financial Ombudsman.

Can they ignore my request and does the fact that I can get a refund via the CAA mitigate their liability under the Consumer Credit Act?

[Deleted User] · 14 October 2019 at 5:22PM

Yes they can.

You can try requesting a chargeback instead, or just do as they have advised.

antrobus · 14 October 2019 at 5:44PM

MSE advice is here;
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/09/thomas-cook-seeking-p200m-extra-funding-/

You claim an ATOL refund.

Ben8282 · 14 October 2019 at 6:24PM

If your claim is covered by ATOL then in all fairness to the credit card company you really should be claiming on the ATOL protection and not from them.

eskbanker · 14 October 2019 at 6:29PM

I'm not sure of the legal basis on which they can reject a s75 claim relating to an event for which you're separately insured, but in the real world it would be difficult to prevent people from claiming from both ATOL and their card company so I can why this would be problematic....

Terry_Towelling · 14 October 2019 at 8:41PM

In the old days (things may have changed since) where a booking was covered by a travel bond (such as ATOL) a Chargeback could only be done in this sort of situation if there was Bond insufficiency or if the Bonding Authority specifically stated they would not pay the claim.

You may have the right to pursue a claim against your card issuer under S75 (and you are free to take them to court if you so desire) but (I believe) any claim for breach of contract, requires the claimant to mitigate their losses. Barclays (and all other card companies for that matter) will take the view that your eligibility for a pay-out from a travel bond must be explored, or they may say you have failed to mitigate your losses before making your claim for breach of contract.

Tpinne · 14 October 2019 at 9:09PM

Thank you for your replies. The annoying thing here is that Barclaycard texted me on the day Thomas Cook went under pointing me to complete one of their forms to claim the money back. Then 3 weeks later they inform me I need to claim via CAA. Now I to wait for for who knows how long and I will back of the queue.
Feel I have been mislead.

Terry_Towelling · 14 October 2019 at 9:31PM

On the day TC went down, it will not necessarily have been known whether there was sufficient Bond funding to meet claims and Barclaycard may have decided to process all potential claims (at that point) by sending out a standard claim form.

If you go back 15 years (and more - not that this helps you, but others may find the history interesting) no UK bonding authority would pay any Barclaycard holder's claim. Neither would they provide any documentation that specifically said they were not prepared to pay, or that the bond was insufficient. They simply directed customers back to Barclays for assistance in accordance with Barclays voluntary travel policy.

This meant that all Barclaycard customers had to claim directly from Barclaycard, and, because Barclaycard was denied access to the Chargeback mechanism by dint of the craftily worded letters from the bonding authorities, all claims had to meet out of Barclaycard's own pocket.

I understand the reason for the bonding authorities animosity towards Barclaycard stemmed back to the 1970s when Laker Airways ceased trading and Barclays refused to take part in any 'rescue' package (I think).

Ben8282 · 14 October 2019 at 9:43PM

Interesting although the 70's would have been Clarksons/Court Line. Laker was 80's.
I do recall after the Clarksons/Court Line collapse an air travel reserve fund being set up and a levy being made on the purchasers of charter flights/package holidays.No idea what happened to that fund though.

System · 14 October 2019 at 10:59PM

Terry_Towelling wrote: »

On the day TC went down, it will not necessarily have been known whether there was sufficient Bond funding to meet claims and Barclaycard may have decided to process all potential claims (at that point) by sending out a standard claim form.

If you go back 15 years (and more - not that this helps you, but others may find the history interesting) no UK bonding authority would pay any Barclaycard holder's claim. Neither would they provide any documentation that specifically said they were not prepared to pay, or that the bond was insufficient. They simply directed customers back to Barclays for assistance in accordance with Barclays voluntary travel policy.

This meant that all Barclaycard customers had to claim directly from Barclaycard, and, because Barclaycard was denied access to the Chargeback mechanism by dint of the craftily worded letters from the bonding authorities, all claims had to meet out of Barclaycard's own pocket.

I understand the reason for the bonding authorities animosity towards Barclaycard stemmed back to the 1970s when Laker Airways ceased trading and Barclays refused to take part in any 'rescue' package (I think).

Chargebacks are met by the merchant's bank not the card issuer- so unless Thomas Cook also banked with Barclays then Barclays wouldn't take the hit.

boo_star · 15 October 2019 at 12:28AM

What's the point in complaining to the FOS here? You'll get your refund in 60 days which, as far as I'm aware, is a lot faster than the FOS would deal with your complaint.

Bear in mind you only have the same rights as you would against the retailer, which is a refund via ATOL...

Barclaycard not refunding thomas cook payment

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