HOLS HELL 2 Thomas Cook victims rebook – then trips are axed again
THOMAS Cook victims who booked new trips after it crashed have been left in despair again.
They paid for replacement breaks with online travel agent Love Holidays, only for it to then cancel them, blaming “unprecedented demand”.
In some cases it will take several days before customers are refunded in full.
Holidaymakers say Love Holidays should not have advertised ised the trips if it suspected they would not be available.
Firms have also been een accused of cashing in on Thomas Cook’s collapse e by hiking prices. One traveller eller said: “Love Holidays took ook
£8,000 of my group’s money oney and then took over 24 hours to tell us it hadn’t got our holiday after the Thomas Cook failure.”
Another told the firm: “You’re quick enough to t take full payment. If you can’t con confirm bookings, don’t put holidays holiday out online.”
Care worker Jayne Gray, 56, had bo booked a week-long £730 trip w with Thomas Cook to attend a family wedding in Turkey n next month.
When t the firm collapsed on Monday Monday, she booked a £ 847 pa package deal through L Love Holidays. She said: “We got confirmation IT’S The Capture star Holliday Grainger’s turn to be captured – as she films the TV adaptation of a crime novel by J. K. Rowling.
Holliday, who plays DI Rachel Carey in BBC One conspiracy thriller The Capture, is hustled into a canal barge by a kidnapper.
The 31-year-old star was snapped as rookie detective Robin Ellacott from Lethal White by Robert Galbraith, aka Harry Potter author Rowling.
Holliday’s first outing as Robin in 2017 drew five million viewers. The canal episode will lock in more... the trip was booked and a second email to say it was pending, then a third saying it was cancelled. Why was Love Holidays taking our money knowing it couldn’t honour our booking?”
Jayne, of Huddersfield, rebooked for £1,050 with Jet2holidays before getting her cash back from Love Holidays on Friday.
She said: “Fortunately I had enough savings to rebook again. But there are lots of people who don’t have that option and have lost out for a second time.”
Love Holidays said the market is struggling to cope with an eleventh hour rush of bookings after Thomas Cook’s crash. A spokeswoman said: “We say in our terms and conditions that a booking request can take 72 hours to process. Capacity in the markets has been severely reduced.
“It’s hugely frustrating because we want to fulfil every holiday request. But we’re saying if the booking is rejected, we will refund you.”
Dozens of people have lost their money after booking with Around the World Travel, a BBC Inside Out South probe alleges. It claims boss Hayley King used their money to fund others’ trips.
The Met Police said they were investigating a fraud allegation. Ms King did not comment.