This morning, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that Thomas Cook has "ceased trading with immediate effect", after last-minute negotiations to save the holiday company failed to reach a deal.
We know this is a worrying situation for a lot of people using Monzo, especially anyone currently abroad, so here's what you can do to get home safely, and get your money back.
If you're currently on holiday, the CAA will help to bring you home
The guidance at the moment is to not cut your holiday short, or head to the airport without checking your flight information. Any hotel-owners should receive compensation via ATOL, so holidaymakers shouldn't be asked to cover any owed money themselves.
The CAA is organising flights for stranded holidaymakers over the next two weeks. They'll try to organise flights close to your original date and time, but you should expect disruption and delays.
After Sunday 6th, you'll need to organise your own flights back home.
If you booked a package Thomas Cook holiday, your money is protected
ATOL is the scheme provided by the CAA for these kind of situations, to make sure holidaymakers aren't left out of pocket. So if you've got both flights and a hotel booked, you should be able to get your money back.
You should have been given an ATOL certification as part of your original booking. But you can also check on the CAA site here.
You'll be able to start making refund claims from the 30th September, through the CAA. They've set up a dedicated site for Thomas Cook here.
If you only had flights booked, you might not be eligible for a refund
Because the ATOL scheme only covers package holidays, flight-only deals don't have the same protection. Instead, you can try to make a claim through your travel insurance (if you have any), or through your credit card provider, if you booked using one. So this doesn't apply if you paid using your Monzo card.
If you're not ATOL-protected, and you don't have travel insurance we can initiate a chargeback
A chargeback is a process where we dispute a transaction you made on your Monzo card. We’ll raise this on your behalf with Thomas Cook, and hopefully help you get your money back. Just drop us a message through the in-app chat.
We’ll need you to confirm what date you made the transaction with Thomas Cook so we can start this process, please send over a screenshot of your booking receipt/confirmation when you can.
But chargebacks aren't a guaranteed way to get your money back, and it can be several weeks before you hear back. We also won't be able to do this if you were paying Thomas Cook via Direct Debit.
It's not clear what will happen with Thomas Cook gift cards
It's likely they'll simply be worthless now. But we can try to raise a chargeback for you.
For more information, you can:
Follow the CAA on Twitter for updates
Call the CAA's dedicated Thomas Cook contact centre (expect lines to be busy) on 0300 303 2800 (if you're phoning from the UK), or +44 1753 330 330 (if you're overseas)