Having booked a return flight to Birmingham airport with Thomas Cook airways in October 2009,my wife & I arrived at Heraklion airport at the required time only to discover that the plane had left 13 hours earlier & had returned to Manchester.
There was also another lady at the airport who was in the same situation as ourselves.We had to book a flight to Athens with an onward flight to Gatwick & then hire a car to get us all back to Birmingham. T.C. did say that they had sent an email to ourselves & the other lady involved to inform us of the change of Flight but neither of us received such.
After subsequent letters to Thomas Cook asking for a refund which they refused we put our claim into the Small Claims Court online resulting in Thomas Cook reimbursing us for our expenses(£690.99).
We have wondered whether the reason T.C. settled out of court was because:-
1. We had too good a case against them or
2. Because it was an individual against a Company the court hearing would have been held at our local Small Claims Court so T.C. would have to weigh up the cost of defending the Claim i.e.sending a Solicitor or settling out of Court.
We hope this information may help anyone else pursuing a similar claim.
Well done,it's time some of the tour operators were taken to task.T.
Well done from me too, thanks for letting us know. A good result.... 
Well done in recovering your money but you do raise a point worthy of serious consideration - "They sent you an email" - that pre supposes that you check them on at least a daily basis. That you are actually able to do so. System not down or you are away from home and no internet access.
Here on HT when people post with a problem we always advise that they should write and send recorded delivery/signed for service. The reason for that is emails can and do get lost. How do you prove they received it? Consider how many times you have found one in your s p a m folder that should not be there? At least sending recoded delivery enables you to track it and prove it was received. In my opinion the email excuse is just that.
fwh
Here on HT when people post with a problem we always advise that they should write and send recorded delivery/signed for service. The reason for that is emails can and do get lost. How do you prove they received it? Consider how many times you have found one in your s p a m folder that should not be there? At least sending recoded delivery enables you to track it and prove it was received. In my opinion the email excuse is just that.
fwh
Congratulations, I had a problem with MyTravel a few years ago and found that they disputed the claim right up until the court set a hearing date at which point they gave up bluffing and paid up. The on-line claim lodging service is very easy to use but so many people get put off anything that involves writing things out -especially if they have to use vowels and punctuation. But a tip for anyone thinking of having a go themselves - it helps if you make 3 "reasonable" attempts to negotiate with the company first, at least one of them should be a recorded delivery letter. And make sure you keep copies of everything in both directions.
FWH,
Thanks for your comments,we did suggest to T.C, that in future when emailing anybody in a similar situation that they request a receipt. As not everyone has access to a pc on holiday failure to receive such they can then try to make contacy via mobile phone.This is particularly important if people are on an independant holiday with no rep contact.
Thanks for your comments,we did suggest to T.C, that in future when emailing anybody in a similar situation that they request a receipt. As not everyone has access to a pc on holiday failure to receive such they can then try to make contacy via mobile phone.This is particularly important if people are on an independant holiday with no rep contact.
GOOD GOOD ...........But how rediculous to send emails when we're on holiday,as most of us either dont have access or really prefer to be away from the internet when on holiday.
TC are not getting a very good press lately,and as i,ve said on an earlier post i get denied from entering API......and not everyone has the internet,and their advice is to go to the local libriary...what a cheek.
...........But how rediculous to send emails when we're on holiday,as most of us either dont have access or really prefer to be away from the internet when on holiday.TC are not getting a very good press lately,and as i,ve said on an earlier post i get denied from entering API......and not everyone has the internet,and their advice is to go to the local libriary...what a cheek.
...and not everyone has the internet,and their advice is to go to the local library...what a cheek
Unfortunately even the government seems to think the same way with plans for everybody to use the internet and get rid of paper. The only time I advocate email is when you are on holiday and have a problem. Send them one telling them of your problem. I did that 10 years ago when in Turkey and the rep was not interested. It establishes an audit trail and can be important when you cannot find/contact the rep. A complaint often made here on HT.
The main thing is you did complain to the TO. Many have a moan but do not do anything about it. The more people complain the sooner the TOs will take their responsibility seriously.
fwh
But how rediculous to send emails when we're on holiday
"They sent you an email" - that pre supposes that you check them on at least a daily basis. That you are actually able to do so. System not down or you are away from home and no internet access.
I don't think creteskyblue confirmed that the TC email was sent whilst he/she was on holiday. I think someone jumped to that conclusion. It could well be that TC cancelled the flight in advance and emailed creteskyblue to notify of this flight amendment (well in advance?) and the email was not picked up for what ever reason by creteskyblue. If emailed during the holiday I agree it is not an acceptable form of notification. If prior to the holiday - I think it's acceptable (easyjet, Ryanair all do this). Perhaps commonsence would however have an acknowledgement of the change button in the email (Jetblue have this) and if no acknowledgement received from the Customer then try phoning.
To the orginal question asked by creteskyblue - I suspect answer 2 to be the one. TC didn't think the costs to attend court would be worth it and so just settled.
Traveller,
Thanks for your comments,when we accepted T.C.offer to settle out of court we did in fact suggest that in a similar situation to ours they should when sending an email ask for a receipt failure to receive such they should then try to contact by mobile phone,this information should already be in their records.
Another problem was that we were on an independent holiday with no contact with a holiday rep but again this would show in T.C's records.
The annoying part of it was that we would not have booked with T.C. if we had known that the flight was returning to Manchester as that is at least two & half hours min from where we live & Birmingham is only fifteen minutes max away.
Regards.
Thanks for your comments,when we accepted T.C.offer to settle out of court we did in fact suggest that in a similar situation to ours they should when sending an email ask for a receipt failure to receive such they should then try to contact by mobile phone,this information should already be in their records.
Another problem was that we were on an independent holiday with no contact with a holiday rep but again this would show in T.C's records.
The annoying part of it was that we would not have booked with T.C. if we had known that the flight was returning to Manchester as that is at least two & half hours min from where we live & Birmingham is only fifteen minutes max away.
Regards.
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