Thomas Cook

[denislawsbackheel]

Why I blame it on the consumer is this: move the argument sideways for a moment. Everyone is happy to book Ryan Air because they will get you to a European destination for £20 BUT when things go wrong the punter wants a hotel for the night and compensation and to be flown home the next day by a rival airline all at Ryan Airs cost. You cannot have cheap flights and all the benefits as well. TC, as you say were far too aggressive in their price cutting and then couldn't cope with the problems in Egypt and elsewhere, they over extended and seemed reluctant to reign it in.

It isn’t “what the punter wants.”
It’s EU law.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Tui is now the only full package tour operator in Britain (integrating their own planes in the package and getting discounts on block booking hotel rooms). Everyone else is just mixing and matching flights and hotels and putting ABTA/ATOL protection on it. In most cases it's cheaper DIY but without those protections - but you can still claim off credit cards.

Be careful.

Martin Lewis points out that;

“Refunds may not work if you booked via a third party agency, or via certain PayPal transactions, as that break in the direct transactional relationship can stop it working – we wait to see how widespread that problem will be.”

 

[jonmcity]

Im Sure Visa will be on the case to change the law ASAP.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Visa used to regularly deny refunds when PayPal transactions went tits up.

Their stance being that if you pay for something via PayPal your contract is with PayPal for the service they provide, not the retailer who Pay Pal were dealing with on your behalf.

This advice is from 2018.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/PayPal-Section75/

I do not know whether the subsequent Consumer Credit Act changed these conditions.

 

[Chippy_boy]

TC have been in trouble for years. I sold (software) to them in 2012 and not only could they not afford to pay for it, no-one would lend them the money either as their credit rating was down the toilet. This was 7 years ago and not much has changed since.

It would be naive to imagine that had we just thrown another £200m of our money (the state doesn't have any money, it's all our money) at them, the structural problems in their business would miraculously have cured themselves and everything would be fine. The £200m would have been swallowed up and we'd be in the same situation in another 6 months. Their business, sadly, is broken.

 

[Blue Mist]

It isn’t “what the punter wants.”
It’s EU law.

I am not going to derail the thread with my thoughts on the EU. My point is don't expect to watch City in some far flung European city or take the wife on a weekend break for £40 but then expect £2,000 in various forms of compensation because the French air traffic controllers have yet again gone on strike. We sit there over a keyboard trying to save £14.25 on a two week trip to Las Vegas never mind £4.50 on luggage fees and yet moan the government should bail them out when they go tits up.

 

[deano ou812]

What’s happening to those who have already paid for a holiday or break in the next few months,I only ask as my daughter and her boy had booked to go to Amsterdam for 3-4 nights with Thomas cook,will they be reimbursed or is it gone down the plug hole ...

 

[Vic]

What’s happening to those who have already paid for a holiday or break in the next few months,I only ask as my daughter and her boy had booked to go to Amsterdam for 3-4 nights with Thomas cook,will they be reimbursed or is it gone down the plug hole ...

TC didn't fly to Amsterdam (I don't think) so it sounds like TC was just acting as a travel agent. Check with airline if they still think the flight is booked - but if the hotel hasn't been paid then they may not honour the booking and you are looking to ATOL for compensation. What they do if your flight is still OK but not other parts of the package I'm not sure.

 

[Two Gun Bob]

Not impressed with Tui profiteering on the back of folks misery. Supply and demand and make a few bob more why yes but a more or less doubling of prices overnight is shameful..Feeding frenzy in motion and a rising of prices across the board.

 

[prestonibbo_mcfc]

Not impressed with Tui profiteering on the back of folks misery. Supply and demand and make a few bob more why yes but a more or less doubling of prices overnight is shameful..Feeding frenzy in motion and a rising of prices across the board.

Expensive holidays in other people's misery ?