50,000 Thomas Cook Customers Still Awaiting Refunds

Following the collapse of one of the UK's most recognisable travel brands in September 2019, thousands of customers were left without a holiday, or the means to pay for a new one.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is required to refund all ATOL customers, and on 7th October launched a refund scheme which promised to refund these customers within 60 days, but with the deadline for these refunds looming 50,000 customers are still without a refund.

The CAA has defended the delays saying that they are due to the volume of applications, and because of the potential for fraudulent claims, additional measures were introduced to ensure that the correct payments went to the correct customers.

It has stated that 60% of all customers who have claimed through the programme have already received a full refund, this is inclusive of Direct Debit customers who received their money in October, and that any outstanding refunds are due to incomplete information received, either form the claimant or Thomas Cook systems.

Customers who haven't heard from the CAA by this weekend, are urged to check their spam and junk mail folders as contact should have been made.

Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive of the CAA has said:

"We thank consumers for their ongoing patience as we continue to do all that we can to work through the UK travel industry's largest ever refunds programme. I appreciate that this is a concerning time for Thomas Cook customers who are waiting for their refunds, particularly at this time of the year.

We will have already paid out more than £160 million by this weekend and will continue to pay claims as soon as possible."

According to the CAA, there are approximately 40,000 bookings left unaccounted for. Customers who have not yet made a claim are encouraged to do so as soon as possible, although the right to claim is protected until September 2020.

Customers are warned not to give out any information to companies claiming to be from Thomas Cook or the CAA, claims can only be made via a dedicated page on the Civil Aviation Authority website.