[Travel] Thomas Cook

[pasty]

It's all a bit ambiguous I suspect because the CAA have to set up and train a Call Centre to deal with 800,000 forward bookings, so that isn't fully up to speed yet and they need to qualify what is covered as Cooks sold more than just their own package holidays.

From my understanding of your situation, if Easyjet have confirmed your flights are ok (they should be, Cooks should have paid them immediately on booking) then you need to ascertain whether your Hotel is still accepting your booking. If not and you still want to go, you would need to source and pay for a new Hotel and then make a claim to the CAA for that expense - with the caveat that the claim cannot exceed the total cost of the package you originally paid. Also, your revised arrangements are no longer covered under package protection.

Your other option is don't go and apply for a refund for the full amount from the CAA......

Cheers [MENTION=28268]Balders[/MENTION]. I've managed to find an email address for the hotel and I've written to them asking about my booking.

 

[pasty]

It's all a bit ambiguous I suspect because the CAA have to set up and train a Call Centre to deal with 800,000 forward bookings, so that isn't fully up to speed yet and they need to qualify what is covered as Cooks sold more than just their own package holidays.

From my understanding of your situation, if Easyjet have confirmed your flights are ok (they should be, Cooks should have paid them immediately on booking) then you need to ascertain whether your Hotel is still accepting your booking. If not and you still want to go, you would need to source and pay for a new Hotel and then make a claim to the CAA for that expense - with the caveat that the claim cannot exceed the total cost of the package you originally paid. Also, your revised arrangements are no longer covered under package protection.

Your other option is don't go and apply for a refund for the full amount from the CAA......

Cheers [MENTION=28268]Balders[/MENTION]. I've managed to find an email address for the hotel and I've written to them asking about my booking.

 

[*Gullsworth*]

Yup, I'd read that, but there's still some ambiguity about it. I've not been informed, officially or otherwise, if my trip has been cancelled or not. My flights appear to be ok, and that website does state "I'm not obliged to take them", but I still don't know the status of hotel booking. If that is also ok like my flights, there should be no reason we can't go

I am in the same boat as you. Purchased a three day trip to Rome in two weeks time for my wife's birthday present with Thomas Cook online. I keep getting messages from my bank, Nat West, saying they can tell I booked with Thomas Cook and I should follow the ATOL advice and claim from 30th September. I keep getting emails from easy jet requesting information about my travel documents and all seems fine with them. I have read as you have that I am not obliged to take the flights as the holiday was sold as a package by Thomas Cook, I have however not received any information about the hotel accommodation.
I am going to apply for a full refund because as far as I am concerned the hotel situation has put me in a situation where I would have to book alternative accommodation to tie in with the flights that seems to be at this moment valid. I do not want this, I booked a package and accomadation may be more difficult and expensive to find., in my opinion I am not getting what I booked so would prefer to have a full refund so I can book another package with another company.
Maybe you were staying at the same hotel? Mine had a terrace on the roof in the centre of Rome.

 

[*Gullsworth*]

Yup, I'd read that, but there's still some ambiguity about it. I've not been informed, officially or otherwise, if my trip has been cancelled or not. My flights appear to be ok, and that website does state "I'm not obliged to take them", but I still don't know the status of hotel booking. If that is also ok like my flights, there should be no reason we can't go

Double post sorry

 

[pasty]

I am in the same boat as you. Purchased a three day trip to Rome in two weeks time for my wife's birthday present with Thomas Cook online. I keep getting messages from my bank, Nat West, saying they can tell I booked with Thomas Cook and I should follow the ATOL advice and claim from 30th September. I keep getting emails from easy jet requesting information about my travel documents and all seems fine with them. I have read as you have that I am not obliged to take the flights as the holiday was sold as a package by Thomas Cook, I have however not received any information about the hotel accommodation.
I am going to apply for a full refund because as far as I am concerned the hotel situation has put me in a situation where I would have to book alternative accommodation to tie in with the flights that seems to be at this moment valid. I do not want this, I booked a package and accomadation may be more difficult and expensive to find., in my opinion I am not getting what I booked so would prefer to have a full refund so I can book another package with another company.
Maybe you were staying at the same hotel? Mine had a terrace on the roof in the centre of Rome.

WOW! Spooky similarities, wife's birthday, Rome, Thomas Cook and around the same time!

We were due to stay at the Grand Hotel Olympic about 10 mins walk from The Vatican. We normally book city breaks independently, but this came up on the TC website a few months back at a seriously cheap price, so jumped at it.

 

[WATFORD zero]

I am in the same boat as you. Purchased a three day trip to Rome in two weeks time for my wife's birthday present with Thomas Cook online. I keep getting messages from my bank, Nat West, saying they can tell I booked with Thomas Cook and I should follow the ATOL advice and claim from 30th September. I keep getting emails from easy jet requesting information about my travel documents and all seems fine with them. I have read as you have that I am not obliged to take the flights as the holiday was sold as a package by Thomas Cook, I have however not received any information about the hotel accommodation.
I am going to apply for a full refund because as far as I am concerned the hotel situation has put me in a situation where I would have to book alternative accommodation to tie in with the flights that seems to be at this moment valid. I do not want this, I booked a package and accomadation may be more difficult and expensive to find., in my opinion I am not getting what I booked so would prefer to have a full refund so I can book another package with another company.
Maybe you were staying at the same hotel? Mine had a terrace on the roof in the centre of Rome.

Is it not worth seeing what availability/prices of hotels are ?

Because, if I've understood correctly, you can take the flights and still spend up to the full amount of the package on the hotel and claim it back ?

*edit*

Plus won't there be a lot of hotel rooms going free now and with some Hotels offering flexible pricing on availability, there may be some bargains

 

[*Gullsworth*]

WOW! Spooky similarities, wife's birthday, Rome, Thomas Cook and around the same time!

We were due to stay at the Grand Hotel Olympic about 10 mins walk from The Vatican. We normally book city breaks independently, but this came up on the TC website a few months back at a seriously cheap price, so jumped at it.

Very spooky.......you are not my other account are you? seriously though we are obviously fed up with the situation but realise it's only a short break at risk and not our livelihood. I don't want to risk going on the trip now after hearing stories of hotels charging customers again after already been paid. Sorry but I am bit of a wuss and would rather go for a full refund and spend the money on another package. The Mrs is singing the same song thankfully. I was going to book the attractions beforehand so we didn't have to queue. Thank goodness I never.
Good luck with your trip if you go ahead, we will go eventually but for now we just want our money back.

 

[*Gullsworth*]

Is it not worth seeing what availability/prices of hotels are ?

Because, if I've understood correctly, you can take the flights and still spend up to the full amount of the package on the hotel and claim it back ?

*edit*

Plus won't there be a lot of hotel rooms going free now and with some Hotels offering flexible pricing on availability, there may be some bargains

Yes I agree with you, we just want a refund and start again to be honest. Not sure about a lot of hotel rooms being cheaper, maybe they will but I know package holidays have been going up tremendously since TC went bust not sure if hotels might try a bit of profiteering. To sum it up.......i am lazy

 

[pasty]

Very spooky.......you are not my other account are you? seriously though we are obviously fed up with the situation but realise it's only a short break at risk and not our livelihood. I don't want to risk going on the trip now after hearing stories of hotels charging customers again after already been paid. Sorry but I am bit of a wuss and would rather go for a full refund and spend the money on another package. The Mrs is singing the same song thankfully. I was going to book the attractions beforehand so we didn't have to queue. Thank goodness I never.
Good luck with your trip if you go ahead, we will go eventually but for now we just want our money back.

Pretty much feel the same.. Almost certainly won't be going, and we've already discussed maybe doing a Christmas Market trip later in the year instead. And as I mentioned, there is the added bonus I won't now miss Spurs at home

 

[*Gullsworth*]

Pretty much feel the same.. Almost certainly won't be going, and we've already discussed maybe doing a Christmas Market trip later in the year instead. And as I mentioned, there is the added bonus I won't now miss Spurs at home

Tell when and where you are going at Christmas and I can do likewise (stalker alert)

 

[Gazwag]

We never book a package and always book flights, accommodation, transfers etc individually ourselves as if 1 goes under you still have the other to fall back on and can cover the one that fails. That is not ignoring the fact that it is cheaper or so we have found.

Depends where and what sort of holidays you go on really.

My daughter and a group of friends went to Vegas back in January. They booked it at a Tui shop almost a year earlier. One of the group had to pull out around October time and they went to the Tui shop to sort that out only to find out that Virgin had decided to cancel the flight they were booked on and they had been put on a flight the day before. Virgin didn't think it was important enough to tell anybody so the travel agent sorted it out and for an extra £1 each they all got an extra night in Vegas.

Had they booked the flights and accommodation separately they would have had to pay £100's extra each to get an extra night at the hotel sorted.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Your average Joe certainly doesn’t but wealthy people doing top end holidays appreciate that knowledge and service is probably more important than saving a few quid. The last BA strike being a case in point. You had no chance of getting BA to answer phones and sort it, without numerous and lengthy phone calls. An IATA agent could sort it in a few minutes of an email or phone call as they have access to the BA systems and have the staff to deal with a crisis, BA with all their cost cutting don’t. Most people are driven by getting “a bargain” and it works most of the time but don’t expect any help when it all goes wrong if you book via the internet.

Niche travel agents definitely still have a future, high street ones probably not so much as they are just brochure collection points and a price comparison start. Most people have no problem with expecting a travel agent to do the work and then go off and try and better the price on line once they have the recommendations.

We had guests in Miami who had been affected by the BA strike.

They had a flight back to LHR with VA and a connecting flight up to GLA with BA.

BA could only put them on a flight 3 days later so we paid for the train for them the day they arrived as part of the protection they had.

It’s not ideal, but imagine if they had booked flight only?

 

[Chicken Run]

I certainly appreciate the angst people people must have gone through with the worry, I went to LA/Vegas on the 14th Sep, having booked 9 months ago, we were first worried about the strikes but got away with that as the pilots weren’t striking that day then a week before Pause Heathrow announces the drone launches which thankfully didn’t affect anything.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Seems the German government has bailed out the German arm of Thomas Cook. Seems there is some hope for the business.

 

[Beach Hut]

Some good news all the travel agents shops purchased by Hayes Travel

 

[Triggaaar]

Some good news all the travel agents shops purchased by Hayes Travel

Sounds good, but I can't imagine they'll be keeping them all open.

PS - Hays Travel

 

[Chicken Run]

Sounds good, but I can't imagine they'll be keeping them all open.

PS - Hays Travel

Apparently Hays own the freehold to the Old TC building in Church Road.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Bold move to increase your outlets 5 fold overnight. Hope it works!

 

[pasty]

Has anyone who made a claim received anything yet? I made a claim over two months ago but not had anything back yet, despite the website stating claims should be processed within 60 days. Trying to ring them, but as I type I've been on hold for 28 minutes

 

[Driver8]

Has anyone who made a claim received anything yet? I made a claim over two months ago but not had anything back yet, despite the website stating claims should be processed within 60 days. Trying to ring them, but as I type I've been on hold for 28 minutes

Nope. I have been in contact on Twitter via DM which appears the quickest way of getting hold of them. Have been told that I should either have received the refund or be contacted for more information by the end of the weekend and if not to get back in touch Monday.

I made my claim the first day.