Thomas C(R)Ook.....

[lilypoppyfre]

Last January, my son and daughter booked a holiday to New Zealand. It was to be the holiday of a lifetime and they chose the dates very carefully as both work in places where some time off must be taken regularly...they were to travel from october 18 to november 9......the deposit was paid in January and the balance was paid last week on wednesday. On friday, coming back home from work, there was a message from Thomas Cook asking my daughter to get in touch with them , which she did on saturday . She was told that the holiday was off. She was so upset that she doesn't remember the reasons why, if any. Her brother is away at the moment and she won't be able to visit the travel agent before thursday, her day off.( she doesn't come home before 7 PM and leaves before 7 AM ...)
On her behalf, I am furious that the cancellation happened 2 days after the final payment was made ....I suppose that the money will eventually be paid back ( over £ 7 thousand pounds ) but , in the meantime, there is the headache of finding and funding another holiday at the same ( give or take 1 day either way ) dates.
I am also worried that Thomas Cook will try to sell ? them another holiday. At the moment, she wants nothing to do with them but I wonder if doing so she jeopardise her position to claim compensation.
What, exactly, are her rights, if any....The remit was simple : new Zealand tour during the dates mentioned..
Today, at work, she heard of other travellers ' tales....it seems that Thomas Cook promises a lot but , when things go wrong, do precious little to help....
I would appreciate some input...perhaps from people who have use a more reputable and reliable agency or have made their own arrangements...
Many thanks in advance.

[factor-fiction]

I can understand the massive disappointment.
I've always found Thomas Cook to be reliable and deal with customers in a reasonable way, so I don't regard them as 'crooked'
She needs to read her contract- it may cover their rights to cancel and her entitlements in such circumstances. She also needs to sit down with them, ask for an explanation and establish the options. I think they want her money and want her to retain her customer loyalty so will try to help her.
I wish her luck

[VHG]

>>She was so upset that she doesn't remember the reasons why,

Somebody cancels your £7,000 holiday and they "forget" why? Rather strange.

btw They have had an earthquake in NZ so that may be it.

[boxtops]

I find this extraordinary - the first thing I'd write down is why the holiday is cancelled, and ask for it in writing - you don't deal with things like this solely by phone.... is she sure that it WAS Thomas Cook, and not one of her friends cruelly messing about?

Her reaction does seem extreme if it is genuine, it may not be Thos Cook's fault at all if the resort is dangerous or travel is not recommended due to the earthquake.

Thos Cook have a website, they have email address, why does she need to wait until Thursday to visit the travel agent? - they have phones and emails too.

She needs to look also at her travel insurance (I hope she has this in place) as this may cover cancellation by the agent, so she could get (some of) her money back that way.

[Dee Sa]

get them to contact Gill Charlton from Sat Telegraph Travel her e mail is
[email protected] she has always been most helpful to me and you usually get a fast answer, state you are willing for her to act on your behalf and are willing for her to print your story. She will definitely get to the bottom of this. Pls let me know the outcome.

[lilylilymort]

I cannot say about New Zealand as I have not been there but I do know that there are 6 of us, three different families who all travelled under my name and we will NEVER use Thomas Cook again. It is a very long, boring story but we were awarded a fairly small (everyone says) amount in comparison to what we went through.
Once they have your hard earned money for your holiday, they couldn't care less about you. I am still fuming with them and still have not received my compensation even though they have told me that it's in the bank. I could not even get them to answer me by email at Customer Relations and I also wrote to the department and received a standard 'we'll look into it '