MARTIN Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert has urged former Thomas Cook customers to claim refunds for holidays they may have lost out on when the company went under.
Thomas Cook went bust in 2019 and thousands of vacations were ruined and flights cancelled – taking customers’ money with it.
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But plenty of holidaymakers who could be entitled to their money back, are yet to claim – so the money saving team has revealed exactly how they can kick start the process.
There’s no deadline to submit a new claim, but you should do it sooner rather than later if you want to get your hands back on your cash.
There’s a portal that you can visit, set up by the government, so former customers can easily submit their refund requests.
That came to be late last year – but so far, thousands still haven’t taken any action, says MoneySavingExpert.
100,000s lost holidays at the time the travel giant ceased trading, and 1,000s of members of staff were met with redundancy too.
Plenty were stuck abroad when the news hit too, and it was a scramble to get passengers back home again.
But consumers who had booked with Thomas Cook Airlines, Group Treasury, Group Tour Operations, Money, or MyTravel, as well as Thomas Cook UK Limited could be in line for a full or partial refund.
If you’ve still got your ticket or booking confirmation from the time then you can check it against the brands to see if you’re entitled.
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Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert explained what to do next.
How to get your money back
You have to complete the online form to get started.
On the portal you can claim for disrupted flights, package holidays and much more.
You might have to produce your booking reference from the time or evidence of payment made to the company – so make sure you have these to hand.
Once your claim has been registered, you’ll get a letter sent to you that contains new log in details.
Those you can use to access your refund if the brand that owes you money has the funds to pay you back.
You’ll be able to choose whether your money returns via a bank transfer or cheque – but you have to make sure you pop in all the right details or your refund could go awry.
You could get rejected as well of course, but there’s 21 days to appeal if that’s the case.
It all depends on how much cash is available once the companies have gone through the liquidation process.
That means you might not get all your money back but a partial refund could still come your way.
And if you’ve made a claim but haven’t had a refund, you might want to consider a Section 75 complaint.
This is a way of claiming to your credit card provider instead – so long as that’s how you paid for your trip in the first place.
There are a few caveats to the legal protection – the purchase you made must have cost between £100 and £30,000 and it’s important to remember that it only applies to credit cards.
If you booked via a travel agent though, it’s likely it won’t work.
But the Financial Ombudsman Service had explained to MoneySavingExpert that it would vary on circumstances.
It’s not the only urgent appeal the money saving team has put out in recent days – in its latest newsletter MoneySavingExpert explained how to get £150 for free.
And there were tips on how to pinch the pennies on train fares after the Great British Rail Sale launched too.
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