A GROUP from Rubery are losing out on their holiday to Cyprus following the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Roy Watton, Helen Bourke and Ian Kimberley-Ryan were due to head out there next month from Birmingham International Airport and had hotel accommodation booked but that will now not be going ahead.
The trio paid £700 each for the break and were due to put down the final £100 payment when the news of the firm’s demise came through on Monday.
Mr Watton said: “We booked it back in February and never expected anything like this to happen.
“Even on Sunday morning, just hours before the collapse happened I was speaking to someone who worked for Thomas Cook and they still thought everything would be okay.”
The three have now booked another holiday to Rhodes instead.
Mr Watton added: “We are lucky in that we recently came into some money so could afford to do that while we wait to get the funds back for the trip to Cyprus which could take months.
“But there will be a lot of people who wouldn’t be able to afford to do that.
“We decided to do it because my wife works in education and I am self-employed and we are at the stage now when we really need a holiday – we haven’t had one at all this year.
He said he was also staggered by how quickly the prices of holidays offered by other tour operators increased.
“We had looked at the holiday to Rhodes as soon as we found out what was happening and a few hours later it had increased by £118 per person.
“A friend of ours was booking a trip to Mexico to replace the Thomas Cook break he had lost.
“He found the holiday he wanted online but by the time he had entered his details the price had gone up by £435.”
Thomas Cook had branches in Bromsgrove, Longbridge and Northfield which has led to job losses in those areas.
For more information on the situation surrounding Thomas Cook, visit thomascook.caa.co.uk.
