Thomas Cook bankruptcy: Bund comes off cheaper than expected


Thomas Cook bankruptcy
Bund is getting off cheaper than expected

The collapse of Thomas Cook throws the travel industry into chaos in autumn 2019. The insured sum of the group is not enough to fully compensate all hundreds of thousands of vacationers. The federal government steps in. It is thanks to the customers that in the end he pays less than expected.

The compensation for customers of the insolvent tour operator Thomas Cook is costing the state significantly less than expected. Instead of the 225 million euros estimated by Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), the Thomas Cook federal portal, which is responsible for the disbursement of state funds, has so far only transferred 130.5 million euros to the victims of the bankruptcy, a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Justice told the “Tagesspiegel” “. So far, 95,600 cases, or 91 percent of the registrations, have been dealt with.

The collapse of Thomas Cook had plunged hundreds of thousands of travelers into chaos in the fall of 2019. Although the then second largest travel company after Tui had taken out insurance in the event of bankruptcy, the sum insured of 110 million euros was not enough to fully compensate all customers.

Those affected received a rate of just 26.83 percent. The federal government then stepped in and agreed to compensate for the remaining damage on a voluntary basis.

According to the Federal Ministry of Justice, the state is now getting away with it cheaper than expected. Those who paid for the canceled trip with a credit card could often get their money back through the credit card provider.

The same applies to direct debits, which many customers were able to return in good time that they did not get stuck on the travel price.

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