[Closed] The "B" thing, Thomas Cook repatriation... Can a country die of shame?

Actually I think we’re  descending into a 1970’s Gotham run by The Joker.  A crumbling, failing state where successive governments since WW2 have failed to address social cohesion and responsibilities/issues whilst lining their own pockets.  I could go on for hours but it won’t change a thing.

We have advanced massively sine WW2, but the current situation is a joke and shows the power of unchallenged echo chambers.

Thomas Cook has little to do with Brexit, but more to do with a poor management (German?), massive debts that it has accumulated over the last decade, and working in a dying market.
They kept high st. shops when competitiors were nearly all online.
Blame the Management, not Brexit, they are a global Company, not just UK.

I'm not blaming Brexit.
I'm just saying that as a country we are becoming a bit of a joke.

Hell, we even have a clown as PM.

A First World version of a failing state.

Sort of.

Yeah but the UK people didn't directly choose their clown.

America did though.

I don't really see the Thomas Cook thing reflects badly on the country as a whole, it was just a company with an out-dated business model that failed. I wonder how many other countries would have the government step in to repatriate people vs them having to sort their own flights out etc.

I wonder how many other countries would have the government step in to repatriate people vs them having to sort their own flights out etc.

Oh look, there's an EU law about it 🙂

However, under European legislation, travel businesses selling package holidays within the EU must provide financial protection to consumers. In these circumstances, the consumer must go to the protection authority of the country in which the business is based for that protection. The protection provided in these countries should be every bit as comprehensive as ATOL protection but bear in mind that there may be some difference to ATOL, such as the provision of repatriation flights where if you were affected you may have to repay for new flights and claim them back at a later date.

What Fuzzy said in his first paragraph.

Thomas Cook not just because of brexit (badly managed over leveraged)

But as always it's a factor, weak £ and uncertainty over brexit has hurt them- they released a statement saying as much & asking for clarity on leaving last year.
With fierce competition in the holiday sector, it doesn't take much to cause a financial crunch

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48292318

Alt though the business model is mostly to blame, the plummeting value of the £ thanks to Brexit will undoubtedly making people think twice about a foreign holiday.
Doesn't help any travel companies.

So the government supported Lloyd’s / RBS in the financial crisis and essentially bought them out but these same banks were then the majority lenders asking for more money from TC owners?

It will cost the government more to repatriate the 150000 customers than to have funded the banks that they still majorly own

Yes; I blame Brexit for this

It will cost the government more to repatriate the 150000 customers than to have funded the banks that they still majorly own*

*citation needed

Yeah but the UK people didn’t directly choose their clown.

But they will do come the election when the media, Facebook 'ads' etc,. convince them to.

After all, we don't want a 'dangerous Marxist' in power do we...

It appears to be a function of acquisition, load with debt, suck dry business model that kills household names, twinned with a high overhead business

If there are 150,000 people on holiday at the moment they must have a proposition that appeals to a significant market

the plummeting value of the £ thanks to Brexit will undoubtedly making people think twice about a foreign holiday.
Doesn’t help any travel companies.

It helps the Uk holiday business though (and reduces the amount of flying with all do).

Personally, I wouldn't be offering people holidaying in the Uk instead of abroad as a *disadvantage* of Brexit quite the opposite. Look at the effort Germany has gone to get itself to a lower value currency by sharing a currency with Greece/Spain etc.

Repatriation is about £600M. Bank bailout was about £750B iirc.

Cost I saw for repatriation was in the £100s of millions

So not even close the the £100s of billions cost of the bailout

After all, we don’t want a ‘dangerous Marxist’ in power do we…

Largely irrelevant. Brexit is the big issue of the day and Labour have no position on that. The coming election is between remain (Blue) and leave (Yellow).

Unless you're EU agnostic it doesn't matter how good/crap you think Corbyn is.

Cost I saw for repatriation was in the £100s of millions

So not even close the the £100s of billions cost of the bailout

...and the bailout would be taking on an unquantifiable ongoing cost. The repatriation is a one off.

We can't blame Brexit for this one. TC has been running a massively outdated business model for some time now. Savvy consumers organising their own holidays using low cost carriers + Booking.com / AirB&B style websites has taken a huge chunk out of their market.

Add that to the fact that their management has been asleep at the wheel, while rewarding themselves with huge bonuses and dividends despite poor performance, means this was inevitable.

Thomas Cook will be forgotten (apart from by those directly effected) once the real shit hits after Brexit. There is still very little media chatter about what happens to Brits in rEU counties if we leave without a deal… that’ll change.

So, yes, we’re going to look increasing like a country that’s failing/falling… but Thomas Cook won’t be one of the reasons people will cite, even in the medium term.

Why would I care about a crappy multi-national with an outdated business model going bankrupt?

Very sad for the people losing their jobs but it was a matter of when not if.

Why would anyone feel "ashamed"?

This is the sort of thing a country should be truly ashamed of:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/sep/20/the-men-who-plundered-europe-city-of-london-practices-on-trial-in-bonn

It's one of the things that means I want either no deal or remain, nothing in between that might allow the city to continue to provide money laundering and fraudulent "services" without EU judicial control.

Estimated losses include an estimated €31.8 bn Germany, at least €17bn for France, €4.5bn in Italy, €1.7bn in Denmark and €201m for Belgium

Wow.

https://twitter.com/Frances_Coppola/status/1175915321582075904?s=19

Oh, and of course, there's no money laundering in the sainted EU, is there. Only the beastly City. FFS...

We have a Brexit thread and a TC thread this just it's love child so now being sent away to live with its aunt.