These last few months it has been a real disaster for tour operators and airlines with serial bankruptcies: Wow Air, Aigle Azur, Thomas Cook, XL Airways... But how can you get a refund if you booked your trip with one of these companies that no longer exist? A puzzle for which there are still some solutions here...

The Chargeback

This procedure is offered by bank cards such as Visa or MasterCard. It is possible to use Chargeback, or chargeback in French, when you are a victim of fraud, a victim of a commercial dispute, or in the event of a company's bankruptcy. This procedure has the advantage of being free of charge

To start, you should first inform your financial advisor to check if your credit card offers chargeback. There is a detailed fact sheet on the subject of the Ministry of Economy that your advisor can easily consult online if he or she is not familiar with this procedure.

Please note: your banker may argue that this procedure only works with foreign sellers, but it does work for any online purchase, or in store, with your credit card everywhere, including in France.

However, it is recommended to start the procedure within 30 days after purchase and at the latest within 90 days otherwise the credit card companies may refuse to pay

If the bank does not support you in the procedure, simply contact your credit card customer service and tell them about your misadventure, they will tell you what to do. In many cases, you will need to fill out a form, write an explanatory letter and attach supporting documents for your trip not completed

The declaration of claims against judicial agents

This is what Aigle Azur offered to passengers to get reimbursed. In practice, this involves completing an online form indicating the amounts spent on trips that could not be taken. These forms are then sent to the judicial agents who are theoretically responsible for making the refunds. In reality, this procedure is unlikely to succeed, as the judicial agents focus primarily on other claims concerning the airline's employees or the State. Passengers are at the end of the chain and are really the last wheel of the coach. They are therefore very rarely reimbursed in this way

The special case of the bankruptcy of tour operators

When a tour operator goes bankrupt, such as Thomas Cook recently, European regulations protect travellers who have purchased a package tour. Indeed, tour operators are required to have a guarantee fund that will cover their defaults in the event of bankruptcy. In the end, you are better protected when you have booked your stay directly with a tour operator. However, if you need to be reimbursed for an air-only flight booked with the agency, the guarantee fund cannot be used, as it only works in the case of package travel

In the case of Thomas Cook, if you had to advance travel expenses, you must contact the Thomas Cook Guarantee Fund before December 27, 2019 and attach a letter requesting reimbursement and invoices to the following address: APST 15 avenue Carnot 75017 Paris

If you had booked a trip with Thomas Cook and were to leave before November 30, you can request cancellation of your trip free of charge by sending an email to [email protected] It will then be necessary to request reimbursement of the trip by writing to the APST

If you were to leave with Thomas Cook from 1 December, you can choose to wait and see if the tour operator finds a buyer, but it is also possible to request an online cancellation and refund from APST right now

If you booked your package tour with one of the 250 franchised travel agencies that sold Thomas Cook holidays, it is up to the agency to find a solution, as these structures are legally independent of Thomas Cook. She must find you replacement services or refund you if this is not possible

If you have booked your flight or trip with Thomas Cook directly by paying with your credit card, you can still use the "chargeback" procedure mentioned above to get a refund