Thomas Cook-reviews 

I recently booked and paid in full for a holiday for me and my daughter to go to Kefalonia for a week. Not long after this my younger brother signed a contract for his first season working abroad on Zante. I attempted to change my destination for us to go and see him the same dates and what not. I expected to pay a charge because thats just what companies like this do however the charge was ridiculous. On top of this, i wanted to put my mother on the same holiday but they just kept coming up with charges and astronomical figures. Bare in mind i dont fly until the 1st july in 12WEEKS! the holiday is paid in full. They wanted £150 each for me and my daughter PLUS the full cost of adding my mam to the booking as well as the difference in us going from a modest studio to a bigger hotel. There was no budge and although me and my little girl will still have a ball in kefalonia, i wont be and i will be telling everyone to avoid this company in future. They already have terrible reviews so iwill be doing all i can to influence this further.
Terrible company! terrible service! Over priced!

Update: Having taken these issues to the very top at Thomas Cook I am pleased to say that my concerns have finally been taken seriously and dealt with immediately. I have received due and satisfactory compensation for the numerous errors made by Thomas Cook staff and the stress and additional costs incurred. It has restored my faith in the leadership and management of TC to take customers complaints seriously, however to now restore full faith in the company they need to address the obvious operational issues at ground level, which the director's office have advised will happen. Time will tell if these major operational errors get resolved.

Do not touch this so called travel agents! As seasoned travellers who have both travelled independently making all our own arrangements and with a range of cheap to expensive travel companies on package holidays I had no idea of the problems I would incur with Thomas Cook. I have never experienced anything like it in all the 25 years of traveling on holiday. Its hard to know where to start as the process of trying to actually get on our holiday has been incredibly stressful with errors, lies and fobbing off all along the way. Initially I booked our family of 4 to travel on Saturday 27th May from Birmingham (I'm a teacher and have two children so have to travel on the weekend of half term). Confirmation came through as Friday 26th - phoned to explain that we can't travel on Friday - need to travel on Saturday and Sunday.Get rescheduled flying from Manchester on Sunday 28th - have to book to stay overnight there and book car parking as too far from home. Confirmation comes through with accommodation still set at original date 27th and flight set at 28th - phone to get this changed (this never gets changed but thought I'd deal with again nearer holiday date as phone calls to TC take forever to get through). A month ago I get confirmation still saying 28th May and that I can book seats on plane - unable to do so on link provided (again leave and think I'll query nearer time). This last week I get my 4th confirmation stating we are flying on Monday 29th from Birmingham (we can't do as one week on the kids and I need to be back in school). Phone again to complain and they state they can't get me on any weekend flight. I ask for full refund but suddenly they come back saying they can get me flight on Saturday 27th from Manchester ) i comment that this has same times as original Sunday flight but she just says 'oh yes' and that they can't guarantee my accommodation due to fact that we are now arriving two days earlier than original (no we are not - these are dates TC have changed) but that shell come back to me with confirmation about accommodation. When the 5 th confirmation comes through surprise surprise it doesn't state Saturday 27th but instead Sunday 28th which was a flight two hours before I had been told and been cancelled and wasn't running (not TC fault but the airlines - oh wait its Thomas Cook airlines). Then an hour later I get a change to your holiday - back at square one with flights on Monday 29th (remember i can't do these flights - are you keeping track). I therefore phone again the next evening to ask for full refund shaving researched that TC have no flights out of Manchester or Birmingham to Minorca that weekend -s o its all been a big scam to keep me with a booking on dates that suit them and dates we can't do. They have no where to go at this point so after my 4th hour long call I'm promised a refund but no compensation for my £55 meet and greet at Manchester airport or for two sleepless nights or for 4 hours of phonically and wasted time or the fact that we have had to book holiday at last minute costing £500 more than the original (please note it was my fault that Id booked a holiday so far in advance and the fact that I wouldn't consider another destination!). I can not express how disappointed and upset I am - I spent many an evening looking for the perfect holiday (the first time my step daughter has flown even though we have travelled a lot in the past and Id booked 5 star in a great resort having checked reviews etc. I unfortunately didn't check Thomas Cook reviews as thought they were a reputable company alongside the like of Thomson etc, we have a TC shop in our town. I will never book with this company again - will be trying to seek compensation for the fact Im out of pocket by £555 in total and advise you not to either!!! I also resent the 5 star review on here that states that those of us giving bad reviews are just being awkward moaning people and we should be able to deal with a flight change etc - no Im a seasoned traveller who has done a large range of travel experiences and have children and myself who don't have the luxury of traveling t any old time or from any old airport - lucky you if you can drop everything at the drop of a hat and change yours schedule - any of us don't have that luxury and already pay over the odds to travel in school holidays ( another scam by travel companies). Note the confirmation emails only talk about small flight changes of up to 3 hours not changes to airports or by full days! Id give zero stars if I could.

4 weeks ago I wanted to reload my card before travelling to Australia. I called the helpline in the UK because I seemed to be blocked from doing so. I was told specific information to send and advised it was a 4 hour process. Nearly 4 weeks later, I am still trying. Three times I have submitted copies of stuff, only to be told it's either not clear enough or they want something else. As a pensioner on holiday, I am only relieved I have other resources or my visit would be ruined. Not good enough!

Long story short - Unable to check in despite arriving 2 hours before the flight. Missed the flight and had to pay for additional flights with another airline (some 8 hours later). Thomas Cook refused responsibility but offered £50 'good will' payment which they then never paid. For the last 2 months they have ignored my 4 emails regarding this matter. Shocking in this day and age that a big company like this can get away with such appalling treatment of paying customers. We are approx £600 down as a result of Thomas Cook. Never fly Thomas Cook, not worth it ...

Due to my father passing away I decided to book a holiday for the new year to help my mum over such a family orientated time. She hadn't had a beach holiday in years due to my father being confined to a wheelchair in his last years. I paid over £6000,00 for this holiday as was so excited that I would be able to see Mum swim in the sea again and in general just relax.
Can you imagine the disappointment when we arrived at our resort in Mexico the find the you could not swim in the sea because it had been roped off. This was not a recent event as the ropes were green with algae.
You could paddle up to your waist if you were lucky. The photos did not show these ropes at all and no where is it mentioned this is the case.
After sending them photos to the CEO of Thomas Cook included in my emails they said they were sorry for the lose of my father but the ropes in sea were not their problem as it is a public beach not private and therefore it wasn't their responsibility.
IT IS TOTALLY THEIR responsibility to advertise a holiday with the correct information.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for wasting my entire 3 years savings which my not be much money to PETER FANKHAUSER the CEO of Thomas Cook but is was years worth of savings to me. In trying to help my mum come to terms with her lose and also mine I feel totally ripped off. They then said they could offer me £100.00 pounds as a good will gesture for giving them feedback. WELL I HOPE NO ONE EVER TREATS YOUR OR FAMILY IN THIS WAY WHEN YOU ARE GREIVING AND TOTALLY WIPES OUT YOUR ENTIRE SAVINGS ON FALSE ADVERTISING.

I've read the reviews for Thomas CROOK , Maybe they should! , Could'nt agree more. " Enough said "

Visited Malta for what was quite an expensive holiday but first two nights shipped out to another hotel of a far lesser standard in the middle of nowhere.

Contacted Thomas Cook who were not interested and when we arrived home asked for some compensation for our inconvenience. Again a paltry compensation offer made in Thomas Cook vouchers so took them to ABTA, what a job form filling but managed to get an acceptable cash offer in the end.

Moral of the story, don't believe any hype from Thomas Cook regarding looking after their customers, they could not care less!

Booked a much anticipated All Inclusive break to Lanzarote for Christmas 2016 at a cost of £971. Was due to fly on 19th December. My dog was taken ill just beforehand and required urgent veterinary treatment. I rang Thomas Cook 'customer service' to see if I could postpone/move the holiday to a later date - not interested. Said I would take a holiday of a lesser value - not interested. Got a phone call the day after I should have flown (20th December) from 'customer service' asking if I intended travelling (obviously not as I hadn't even boarded the flight!) as they wanted to re-let the room! Very nice for them - double the money. Whilst I was £971 out of pocket and they didn't care. Rang today to ask for a confirmation email that I didn't travel (to try and recoup some of the money through travel insurance) and was told it would take 28 days! Are they having a laugh? 28 days to type a one line email saying I didn't travel ? When I asked to speak to a manager, as this was unacceptable, I was told no manager was free to speak to me. The girl I spoke to consistently called me by my first name, even though I told her I had not given her permission to do so. The best I got was the promise of a phone call back, which I don't expect to receive. Quite disgraceful 'service' ( I use the term loosely). They had my money, so presumably don't care whether I am satisfied or not. This was my first trip abroad for a long time and I was so excited. It was bad enough my dog being taken ill and preventing me from flying; Thomas Cook's terrible attitude is just as bad as the disappointment of not being able to go.

Booked a Thomas Cook holiday to Mexico through a company called Love Holidays. We went in August 2016. We tried to check in for our flights as you can from 24 hours before departure. Thought all was well until we got to the airport to be told we had not been allocated any seats and were put on standby! The staff at the airport did not know why. Fortunately, they were able to check us in for the flight at the desk, however that meant we were sat separate on the flight. The flight was too cramped, had to pay for headsets and not all drinks and snacks were complementary! We stayed in a resort in Riviera Maya and we all came out in an all over body rash and had D&V for a few days too. There were lots on people at the resort with the same rash and had D&V too. On the way back, we checked in online and this was fine, we were all sat together so cannot understand what the issue was with checking in for flight out. When we came back we sent a complaint to Love Holidays and Thomas Cook. We asked why we were put on standby and told them about the illness we had on holiday. Whilst we were waiting for a response, which they said would be within 28 days. We looked on the gov.uk public health warning website. There was a Cyclospora outbreak in the Riviera Maya area of Mexico at the time we were there! So this was what we had. I waited 3 months for a response and they did not answer any of the questions I had emailed them. I will never use them again and no doubt they will go bust soon, looking at all the other bad reviews!

not good enough

Don't just take my word for it. Look at how bad the reviews are. We booked to Mexcio the place we stayed in was perfect. The flights, well lets say thats where it all went wrong. They serve the chargeable drinks first, then come round with the complimentary, so you've waited ages to get on the flight and rather than provide you with your complimentary drink, you get charged.
The flight home was delayed over 3 hours, they have argued that its under 2hrs and 58mins delayed so they do not need to compensate. But I was there and it was longer than 3 hours. I even emailed them as proof when the delay hit three hours as I had feeling they would lie. Now being ignored when I complained. They also forgot to send our transfer and the rep wasn't there. Funny that a three hour delay and everyone disappears. We managed to get onto a coach but done that ourselves. The airline says sorry gives your money back for the transfer but doesn't actually care. Please please book with another airline you will be thankful.

Got to be honest this is the worst airline I have flown with and it will be the last time I fly with them .waited 4 hrs for a drink and ran out of meal choices. Staff were the most missable staff i have ever come across more interested in selling duty-free must get more commission on this .looks like they have cut down on staff like they have in there stores .Got to admit I feel sorry for there staff in store is booked 2 staff which one was a trainne who did not know what she was doing will book Thomson next time I just feel more confident with them.

We are going to Egypt in November and sorted & paid for our extra leg room seat for the 4 of us months ago. Our friends were over this weekend so we checked everything only to find the plane had been changed and our seats moved and normal seats and not all of sitting together. Where they ever gonna let us know or wait till we got the airport before finding out, that would have been a great start to our holiday! I rang them and spoke to a very helpful person who sorted it the best she could. Terrible communication Thomas Cook, get your act together.

DO NOT use Thomas Cook's cash passport.
It only let me draw out €400 of the €500 euros that I loaded onto the card, their helpline didn't want to help, kept fobbing me off with different excuses.
Then said that they would refund me
And the funds would be available immediately, still waiting a month later with no contact from their end.
Very poor customer service, rang over 20 times and still no closer to getting my money back.
Every time I ring up someone tells me something different!
AVOID!!!

We were kept waiting in the queue at the airport and then when we got to the check in they told us we were 5 minutes late and the gates were closed.We could not board the plane and had to spend £600 to get an alternative flight.
Spoke to the customer service several times and I was promised a call back back but heard nothing.
In fact it was so bad that I wrote to the CEO and got no reply! That tells you everything about the company!
Pay a bit more and use a better company.

I purposely booked early morning flights to Crete a year in advance for me and my 8 year old daughter as she has a fear of flying at night, 2 weeks later they withdrew the flights and put me on evening flights which defeats the object, now they are saying if I cancel not only will I lose my deposit but they whole amount will still be payable, this company are a bunch of robbers who don't care about children, don't book with them!

We had booked a holiday through Low Cost Holidays which as everyone knows went bust in July this year. As per the recommendations we contacted our hotel, transfers and flight provider (Thomas Cook) to check what had been paid for by Low Cost since we had paid them in full. We phoned TC who told us it was too soon to tell to contact them again after the weekend. Fair enough, we did so and were advised by the man on the phone not to worry our flights were all paid for and booked. If we logged onto to our manage our booking.com we would be able to print out all the details,- which we did. Great, so we rebooked our hotel and transfers which had not been paid and proceeded to advise our credit card company that we would not be seeking to claim for the flights only the hotel etc. We logged onto TC website to fill in the API form to be advised that there was a problem with filling this on online and if we were travelling within 7 days to contact the office and they would do it manually, we weren't travelling for 2 months so left it. On the 8th Sept, we decided to try and complete the API again but for some reason it would not accept either the reference or flight number so we contacted the online chat and were advised ''not to worry you can do it at the airport''. Not happy in case something went wrong we decided to phone TC and find out why we could not enter our information. We were then told that they could not find our details on the system and could we forward the print out and information we had to them by email, which we did. Having heard nothing for a few hours we called again and got a very helpfull young man called Callum who said that he would try and help (the only helpful person at TC) but again he could not find any information but there was a back system which he did not have access to and he would get this checked and call us tomorrow. Then we received an email from TC telling us that the flights had been cancelled because Low Cost Holidays had not asked for the flights to be ticketed by the deadline of the 1st Aug. When I said but they went bust in July so how could they contact you on the 1st Aug I was repeatedly told ITS NOT OUR FAULT. I then asked why we had not been contacted on the 1st Aug since they had our information and been advised that there was an issue and TC said they couldnt do that because it was an automated system. I said but surely in the circumstances of a company going bust then someone should be saying wait a minute these tickets - which we had been told TC had been paid for - will not be ticketed as they call it and we need to contact people to see if they still want the flights. Again I got no response other than its not our fault, sorry you need to claim your insurance. I pointed out that the issue was that I had rebooked our hotel etc on the confirmation that TC had said the flights were ok and that we could now not get flights from Glasgow and would need to go via London with a connection flight involved which meant that we would have a 6 hour wait at Gatwick with a 7 year old. Absolutely not interested. Since it was now 9pm at night I said that I would call tomorrow to make a complaint, I was given a number which when I tried the following morning kept putting me through a menu system which ended up with a message and cut me off at the end. I got another number online which directed me again to the same message. I eventually started pressing all the options to speak to someone and got a lady called Mary who said that I needed to speak to the Airline side and she would put me through. However the Airline side said nothing we can to you need to speak to customer relations but they wont speak to you till you come back your holiday.!!! I again explained - extremely annoyed by now - that I wanted to speak to someone in complaints and he told me to press the option that I had already been on holiday to get through to someone - SOME CUSTOMER SERVICE!!. I tried this and got to speak to someone called Robin who was just a waste of time and put me on hold 3 times with no music so I didnt know if I was just hanging on or had been cut off for over an hour, eventually someone else came on the line and I had to go through providing the same information yet again. I have been promised a call back today but I am not holding my breath they just wanted me off the phone and quite frankly after 2 hours of trying to speak to someone so did I. Had we been told at the beginning that the flights had not been paid for we would have just booked somewhere else that we could fly from Glasgow which was our one criteria for the holiday. I am so disgusted that a company can treat people like this and not give a damn all they are interested in is getting your money. Companies like this are absolutely shocking and their customer service is non existant. AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS - THEY DO NOT CARE.

I hired a car through Thomas cook rep using a Thomas cook pre paid euro card
I was told by the rep this would cost 210 for 5 days and no deposit required so I booked this for Thursday morning . When the car was delivered I was told this would be 210 euros and decided to use my euro card . I signed the forms which in my mind authorised them to take 210 euros. I then used the car to visit places on the island. When I got back to the hotel Thursday evening I checked my euro card to see my balance only to find 552.94 euros has been blocked on my card from the car hire company which is not what I had signed for or agreed in any way. I managed to catch the rep at my hotel and raised this with her as this blocking my allocated spending money, the rep tried to call europcar 4 times and each time they hung up on her after keeping her on hold, at this point the hotel receptionist took over the call and spoke to them in Spanish , after the call she remarked on how rude europcar had been to her .
I asked my rep to raise this as an official complaint with Thomas cook as europcar is there preferred hire car company who are surpassed to be one of the better company's that do not rip you off with hidden charges
The rep agreed to take this up with her manager on Friday morning and get back to me at 12:00 ( her next time at hotel). When she got back to me I was told this was a holding figure in case of damage to the car. She advised me going to the office of europcar and seeing what could be done to release the funds
I went to the office and spoke to them and explained that they had held up all my spending money for my holiday without my consent and I needed it returned to the euro card after a discussion I was told this if she ended the contract with one days hire and opened a new contract for three days on a different card this would release the funds back to my card instantly so I agreed to takeout a new contract for 119 euros for three days hire.
By Saturday evening the funds where still not back on my card so I returned to the office To enquire as to why this had not happened only to bet told this can take upto a month to be returned to my card and not instantly like I was told . I was informed that this was the manager who served me so I can only assume she lied to me in order to get more money out of me as now they had blocked 1000 euros over two contracts and charged me a lot more for the car than original agreed . At this point I was so livid I handed the keys back and ended the 2nd contract after a day and a half . All this from booking a car through Thomas cook . When I returned back to my hotel and cooling down I looked over the paper work I had been given to end my second contract for 119 euros for three days I noticed I had been ripped off again as the have charged me 174 euros for two day as they had added extra hidden costs that I was not informed about. At this point I have handed this over to the Thomas cook rep to sortout as this is day 4 of my holiday ruined with the stress of tying to sort this mess out
As for the Thomas cook pre paid card I tried three times to get through to them only to be put on hold as they are experiencing a large number of calls which in my book means not enough staff , in total 45 mins from Spain to uk trying to get my money released and still no resolution.
So I though I would load more money onto my card online to get me through the remainder of my holiday only to find this option is not available for my card.
Now I am getting more angry by the hour as my funds are running low daily and no resolution to getting my money released.
Lucky I have a credit card for such emergences, this is the card I used for the second contract as it would not matter if a figure was on hold as its not so time critical
I went to a cash machine to withdraw euros only to be rejected . Back to hotel to phone my credit card company in uk to find out why it's blocked only to be told this card has been cancelled due to fraudulent acitivy. I have used this card twice , once at hotel for security and second time for car hire. Now I am livid as my euros are tied up and my emergency credit card is cancelled and a new card is in uk.
All this because europcar lied to me from the start and each time I complained to them the ripped me off even more with extra charges and hidden costs all of which I was told they don't do as they are the preferred car hire company recommended by Thomas cook
I am now stuck in the town as I have limited funds to draw on and no way of hiring a care as my credit card has been cancelled . Not what I had in mind when I booked my holiday ......
This was back in May and it's now Aug and both Thomas cook and europcar are still blaming each other

We see the same travel agent each time we visit the branch. She usually has a que of people waiting to see her as she really does go the extra mile to ensure we get the holiday we want at the best possible price. she is an absolute credit to the company. We used her with her old company years ago, and followed her to TC ha!

lying cheating thieves not to be trusted with your hard earned money they should not be allowed to get away with this , worst company ever put us all through hell and back and not even a sorry ,