Travlaw Big Tent 2020: The failure of Thomas Cook dominated the travel law Continued from page 104
we don’t want is for people to be surprised.” Bunce suggested: “A big issue
is that UK tour operators can sell [Atol-protected] packages across Europe currently. Unless something surprising happens, companies not registered in the EU will have to make arrangements to offer protection in each jurisdiction next year.” Travlaw senior partner Matt
Gatenby agreed, saying: “That is a big change. However, if you’re established in an EU state that allows you to sell across the EU.” Gatenby said: “We have
this breathing space, but we’re not seeing information from the government and we need to look at things now. We have clients saying ‘What is the Interbus Agreement going to mean? What is going to happen with posted workers?’” The UK intends to join the
existing EU Interbus Agreement as an independent member post-Brexit, enabling UK operators to continue to offer coach holidays and tours. Advantage Travel
Partnership leisure director Kelly Cookes said: “We see the light at the end of the Brexit tunnel. The peaks market is buoyant and we’re seeing double-digit growth. The key thing will be to get information out to customers when someone tells us something specific.” Journalist Simon Calder
warned: “When Boris Johnson says ‘Let’s get Brexit done’ he means ‘Let’s get Brexit started’. For the rest of 2020, nothing changes. After the end of 2020, we know nothing. “I imagine we’ll get some
uncertainty in the market from about the midpoint of the year.”
‘Operators are aiming to tighten agency contracts’
Tour operators have questioned agents’ handling of clients’ money in the wake of Thomas Cook’s collapse and looked to tighten agency agreements. Atol-holders sought to act after it
emerged Cook encouraged its agents to boost its cashflow by taking full payment for holidays ahead of the date balances were due. Travlaw senior partner Matt
Gatenby said: “One of the questions we’ve been asked [by operators] is ‘Can I tighten my agency agreements to control what agents do with clients’ money?’”
He told the industry audience:
“You can change the terms of agency agreements, but there is not an easy answer. A company is not there if it has gone bust.” Abta head of legal services Simon
Bunce confirmed: “The retailer can take the money when they want, subject to agency agreements. “Agents giving discounts in return
for early payment is common across the industry.” He added: “Operators can’t stop
agents giving discounts – there is a law to allow that.” Bunce insisted: “There wasn’t
anything fundamental wrong.” But he agreed there are “all sorts
of issues for the industry” following the collapse. Bunce highlighted the fact that many tour operators had extended credit to Thomas Cook, allowing the group to delay passing on customers’ payments. Bunce said: “The big issue
with our tour operator members was credit.” He noted: “If you’re the weaker party in a commercial relationship, whether you give credit may not be up to you.” But he said: “[Abta] pipeline
bonding does not apply if operators give credit. If it did, we would be underwriting the whole industry.” Gatenby agreed, saying: “That is
the way the system is set up.” Kelly Cookes, leisure director at
Simon Bunce (left) and Matt Gatenby
Cookes laments loss of business for Freedom agencies
Many people affected by Thomas Cook’s collapse have been forgotten despite the “fantastic” response of the industry, according to Kelly Cookes, former Freedom Travel Group general manager and Thomas Cook head of commercial partnerships. Cookes, now leisure director at The Advantage Travel Partnership,
102 30 JANUARY 2020
said: “Lots of people were impacted who we don’t talk about. “Freedom members lost
businesses they had spent years building up. The effects were much wider than generally talked about. “The industry response was
fantastic. But the loss of that iconic brand was devastating on the inside and outside.” She recalled: “In the week leading
up to that Sunday [September 23], there was still a lot of positivity in the business. There was a lot of faith Thomas Cook could pull through. “I got into the office early that
day and the liquidators were already in.” Cookes said she was lucky, adding: “I was unemployed eight or nine days, but there are a lot of people still looking for jobs.”
travelweekly.co.uk
The Advantage Travel Partnership, pointed out the failure also raised questions for third-party agents. She said: “I would ask questions as an agent when I pass over money – what protection does my customer get and what protection does my business get?”
Kelly Cookes
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