Thomas Cook Bankruptcy: Apparently they didn't pay for their clients' travel arrangements...

[brooklynite]

Several people have contacted the UK Embassy in Cuba, saying they or their parents are holidaying with Thomas Cook -- and have been ordered to pay massive bills, running into thousands of pounds in some cases.

The embassy says it is aware of the problem, and confirmed that hotels should get the money they’re owed through the ATOL protection scheme - not from individual holidaymakers.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2019/sep/24/thomas-cook-collapse-pay-row-repatriation-holidaymakers-caa-business-live?page=with:block-5d8a60458f081108db9bc0af#block-5d8a60458f081108db9bc0af

[gratuitous]

1. I saw reporting yesterday

Apparently part of the price of a holiday package is insurance against just this sort of thing, the tour company going out of business in the middle of everything. I'm not sure what the mechanism is for submitting a claim or getting it paid, but there will certainly be resorts and tour companies looking to gouge the UK for every last ha'penny they can get.

[brooklynite]

2. Not sure "gouging" is the right word if they provided the rooms/meals/tours/travel

[gratuitous]

3. We'll see

When ordinary rooms are suddenly billed at deluxe rates, or a passenger seat becomes a first class seat, or a group discount rate morphs into a higher individual rate, each bill submitted for payment is going to need to be checked against what Cook reserved and what the resort is charging.