News from the Wire

New portal to manage and resolve claims of Thomas Cook affected consumers

Monday, November 11, 2019 — 13:41:39 (EST)

London, UK. 11th November 2019: eConsumer Services – the consumer-facing division of Chargebacks911, Europe’s first dispute management company – has announced a bespoke Complaint Processing Centre for claims related to the Thomas Cook collapse.

eConsumer Services has been contracted by Concardis, one of the acquirers of Thomas Cook, to assist in claim management and dispute processing after the travel group went into compulsory liquidation on 23 September 2019.

The new portal acts as a dedicated complaint centre for Thomas Cook customers and their issuing bank, giving them quick responses and information about the status of the claim. Historically, customers seeking a refund after an airline collapse wait for several months to have their claims answered. Statistically this behaviour has led to duplicative efforts, invalid claim entries, increased overhead costs and frustration for consumers and their banks.

Tracy Cray, Director of Card Scheme Compliance at Chargebacks911 and Chair of the UK Experts Issuing Group, commented, “One of the challenges we hope to solve with the Complaint Processing Centre is the lack of standardisation in how claims are processed. Consumers turn to multiple parties and face excessive delays before complaints are resolved, particularly for a collapse of this scale.

“The purpose of a dedicated complaint portal is to simplify and standardise the dispute process for related customer claims, allowing for a faster resolution for everyone involved. With a standardised approach, everyone benefits – it’s a win-win for issuers and their customers.”

Disputes submitted to the portal are expected to be processed and refunds made to customers who have valid claims within 30 days.

Issuers can submit a claim to the portal here: thomascook.econsumerservices.com.

eConsumer Services wants the news of Thomas Cook’s collapse to motivate other financial institutions to put crucial dispute management systems in place. This will help safeguard the industry against future liquidations.

Cray stated, “Thomas Cook’s liquidation has exposed exactly how damaging the lack of proper refund and complaint management processes can be.”

“Not only do genuine consumers scramble to make multiple panicked claims through any source they can – in this case, we’ve seen consumers go to CAA, ATOL, ABTA and their bank – fraudsters who haven’t even transacted with the company try to make fake claims as a way to benefit from the chaos.”

Typically around 30% of claims made against a business after it has gone into administration are not authorised or processed outside of valid rules. This results in disrupted dispute processes and longer refund times for consumers while banks and third parties attempt to identify genuine claims.

The portal is expected to resolve many of the issues that have arose since the airline ceased trading. It will operate in accordance with the recognised dispute claim guidelines, but with reduced costs and increased speed.

Cray concluded, “The primary goal of the eConsumer Services portal is to provide clarity for the consumer and standardise the dispute approach during such an event – alleviating the burden on the organisations involved.”

The news of the Thomas Cook dispute management portal will come as a relief to consumers who have been waiting for weeks to hear back on their claim.

Claim entry is limited to the UK only. Access the UK Thomas Cook Complaint Processing Centre here: thomascook.econsumerservices.com. Issuers who would like more information can contact Tracy Cray at t.cray@chargebacks911.com .

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Source: Company press release.