Thomas Cook

[Eddie Hitler]

2 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Likewise, as someone that works in property, has previously worked for a local authority, and still has close contacts in the upper echelons of local authorities! 

Ha - snap!

If you were in my area I'd probably know you but I'm nowhere near Bristol.

[Up The City!]

11 hours ago, Eddie Hitler said:

As an interesting factoid that wasn't mentioned when there was a push for a £200m bailout by the British government: Thomas Cook is German-owned.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cook_%26_Son

Im delighted the government didn't step in and help out. Thomas Cook is a foreign owned British brand and id have been deeply uncomfortable with us bailing them out so the Chinese Wolves owners could profit from it when they themselves have access to huge amounts of funds, why weren't they willing to put the 200 million up to save them? If they wasn't willing to risk their own money then I'm delighted tax payers money isn't being gambled.

What no one has mentioned so far is how well the repatriation scheme has gone so far, yes of course there is and will be stories of those who have been massively inconvenienced but with everything considered, with them effectively setting up a air line to fly everyone home, it's been a big success.

Going off topic slightly but I absolutely detest that so many well know British brands are now foreign owned, all that money leaving our shores.

[Up The City!]

12 hours ago, Eddie Hitler said:

People keep saying that but it's currently 1 euro buys 88p.

Here is the exchange rate history (high = weak sterling).  It was weaker than the current level through most of 2008 -11 and only consistently stronger in 2013 - 15.

The current level is absolutely typical for most of the last ten years; companies using weak sterling as an excuse are lying.

Though they can certainly blame uncertainty around Brexit for major pruchasing decisions; though I doubt a package holiday falls under that label.

If anything, the amount of people taking Staycations in the UK has risen year on year since the referendum I believe?

Inbound tourism is down from a record high in 2018 but this is likely down to the constant uncertainty surrounding Brexit, tourists not wanting to book to far ahead when they don't know what Brexit is going to look like when their trip comes around. I'm guessing, and this is only a guess that whilst inbound tourism may be down, this is balanced out by those choosing to stay at home and vacation? 

[Red-Robbo]

11 hours ago, Up The City! said:

If anything, the amount of people taking Staycations in the UK has risen year on year since the referendum I believe?

Inbound tourism is down from a record high in 2018 but this is likely down to the constant uncertainty surrounding Brexit, tourists not wanting to book to far ahead when they don't know what Brexit is going to look like when their trip comes around. I'm guessing, and this is only a guess that whilst inbound tourism may be down, this is balanced out by those choosing to stay at home and vacation? 

I think that's right UTC.

No one would claim that Brexit caused Thomas Cook's downfall. As I noted, it had an outdated, expensive sales strategy.

However the weak pound and uncertainty over certain aspects of what travelling to Europe post-Brexit might involve, and general uncertainty about jobs and incomes, cannot have helped an already ailing company.

Nor did the executives taking £21m in bonuses out of a firm that was continually losing money.

I'd like to see that reclaimed by the state to in part defray the massive cost to taxpayers of chartering planes to fly 150,000 people home.

[Selred]

On 23/09/2019 at 09:39, Red-Robbo said:

Always an outdated concept. I haven't booked through a high street travel agent since the mid-90s.

 

They had some great deals at times. Last minute especially.

[Red-Robbo]

26 minutes ago, Selred said:

They had some great deals at times. Last minute especially.

I expect they did. But so do travel firms on the internet, and you don't have to schlep into town to take advantage.

It's sad to see a firm started in 1871 vanish. Thomas Cook invented the profession of being a travel agent. No one had done it before him.

End of the day, they had too many expensive but small premises on the high street, and just seemed a little old-fashioned.

[Monkeh]

just like many other high street names, they failed to adapt to the internet age, and have been wiped out because of it,

Move with the times or get left in the past, thats what happened here, that and the greed of the board and shareholders of course, which seems to be a all to common theme in these sort of things

[Selred]

1 hour ago, Red-Robbo said:

I expect they did. But so do travel firms on the internet, and you don't have to schlep into town to take advantage.

 

Thomas Cook was online, that's where I looked at deals from the likes of them and other package holidays.

[Red-Robbo]

4 minutes ago, Selred said:

Thomas Cook was online, that's where I looked at deals from the likes of them and other package holidays.

I know, but they maintained an extensive and expensive high street presence and paying for that is what commentators say made them unprofitable.

[wayne allisons tongues]

Wasn’t there business model to buy up deals cheap and then sell them off at a profit.

When problems arose in Egypt, Tunisia they had loads of holidays but no one to take them.

They did this all over the world but with the internet meaning you can book hotels flights yourself no one was prepared to pay over the odds for the same holiday you could book for cheaper yourself.

[Lanterne Rouge]

4 hours ago, Red-Robbo said:

I know, but they maintained an extensive and expensive high street presence and paying for that is what commentators say made them unprofitable.

A lot of estate agents are finding the same thing out judging by what I`m hearing. Most of them only maintain offices on the High Street because that`s what they`ve always done. One down here that has been established for well over a century (they started out as auctioneers and land agents) are seriously considering closing their half a dozen or so branches and moving purely online. It`s really only the fact that they tend to have a more `senior` customer base that like the face-to-face service that`s stopping them. It really is eye-watering what it costs to have an office in a high end town centre.

[WhistleHappy]

7 hours ago, Red-Robbo said:

I expect they did. But so do travel firms on the internet, and you don't have to schlep into town to take advantage.

It's sad to see a firm started in 1871 vanish. Thomas Cook invented the profession of being a travel agent. No one had done it before him.

End of the day, they had too many expensive but small premises on the high street, and just seemed a little old-fashioned.

Re: Schlep .. never heard that word before.. googled it, its real, now know what it means, learn something new everyday! 

[Red-Robbo]

2 hours ago, WhistleHappy said:

Re: Schlep .. never heard that word before.. googled it, its real, now know what it means, learn something new everyday! 

My Yiddishe missus!

Oi vey!  etc etc

[northsomersetred]

[phantom]

Not sure if this is of any use to anyone?

If you have booked a package holiday with Thomas Cook: As Thomas Cook Package Holiday customers are protected by ATOL, you will not be left out of pocket. You will be eligible for a refund or a replacement holiday of the same value. Customers are advised to contact Thomas Cook directly for more information on this.  You can get more advice on how to make an ATOL claim by clicking here.

If you have purchased a flight only through Thomas Cook Airlines which does not form part of a Package Holiday, there are two options you can try: If you booked directly with Thomas Cook, you might still have some protection under the ATOL scheme. If you booked your flight with another travel agent or tour operator you should contact them for assistance. If you have paid on a credit card and the booking cost more than £100, try Section 75. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, if you pay on your credit card for an individual item costing more than £100, the card company is equally liable if something occurs (goes wrong). Please click here for more information. If you have paid on a debit card or charge card and the booking cost less than £100, try chargeback. The chargeback scheme isn't a legal requirement, it is just a customer service promise, but it is worth trying. Please click here for more information.  If you are unable to recover the cost of your flight tickets from any of the above, then you may be able to make a claim on your travel insurance policy. If you bought your policy before 30th April 2019, and you purchased the optional End Supplier Failure extension. End Supplier Failure does cover the failure of a scheduled airline (not a tour operator) if you have confirmation that you have been unable to recover your flight costs from anywhere else, you will need to contact the MGA on claims@affirmainsurance.com or call them on +44 (0) 20 3540 4422.

[Super]

GOOD NEWS

Up to 2,500 jobs could be saved following the sale of Thomas Cook’s chain of 555 UK travel agencies to Hays Travel

[Lanterne Rouge]

On ‎02‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 10:33, phantom said:

Not sure if this is of any use to anyone?

If you have booked a package holiday with Thomas Cook: As Thomas Cook Package Holiday customers are protected by ATOL, you will not be left out of pocket. You will be eligible for a refund or a replacement holiday of the same value. Customers are advised to contact Thomas Cook directly for more information on this.  You can get more advice on how to make an ATOL claim by clicking here.

If you have purchased a flight only through Thomas Cook Airlines which does not form part of a Package Holiday, there are two options you can try: If you booked directly with Thomas Cook, you might still have some protection under the ATOL scheme. If you booked your flight with another travel agent or tour operator you should contact them for assistance. If you have paid on a credit card and the booking cost more than £100, try Section 75. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, if you pay on your credit card for an individual item costing more than £100, the card company is equally liable if something occurs (goes wrong). Please click here for more information. If you have paid on a debit card or charge card and the booking cost less than £100, try chargeback. The chargeback scheme isn't a legal requirement, it is just a customer service promise, but it is worth trying. Please click here for more information.  If you are unable to recover the cost of your flight tickets from any of the above, then you may be able to make a claim on your travel insurance policy. If you bought your policy before 30th April 2019, and you purchased the optional End Supplier Failure extension. End Supplier Failure does cover the failure of a scheduled airline (not a tour operator) if you have confirmation that you have been unable to recover your flight costs from anywhere else, you will need to contact the MGA on claims@affirmainsurance.com or call them on +44 (0) 20 3540 4422.

I see some scummy bastards have tried to hack into the refund site to try and get hold of people`s bank details.