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Operator urges agents to spell check
Thomas Cook is reminding agents to check with their clients that names are spelt correctly on tickets after one of its passengers was charged a punishing £100 to remove an ‘a’ from their name at the airport.
The operator increased its fee for complete name changes from £35 to £100 on September 11, but this passenger was charged the higher amount NINE days earlier.
She had booked a fly-drive package on a Thomas Cook charter through a Co-operative personal travel advisor who complained that the charge was excessive, especially as it was only a misspelling, not a complete name change.
Cook admitted it had been a mistake to charge the passenger £100 for the incorrect spelling, saying she should only have been charged an admin fee of £35 for the correction. It said she would be offered a refund, but the operator stressed clients must check their names are spelt correctly.
The Thomas Cook spokeswoman added: "For any Thomas Cook Mainstream bookings, complete name changes which are actioned on the day of departure have now been increased to £100 per name.
"We ask all agents to remind customers to check that passenger names on the booking match the passport."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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