Thomson criticised for handling of customer data breach
Thomson has been criticised for the way it handled a data breach last month when it mistakenly shared the addresses and flight details of 458 customers.
The travel giant immediately apologised for the breach and said it would carry out an urgent investigation to make sure it didn’t happen again.
But some customers, who fear their homes could be burgled while they’re away, have now decided to cancel their trips but say Thomson has not refunded their money.
Mandy and Pete Garland, from Weston-super-Mare, have cancelled their two-week holiday to the Caribbbean.
But they told the Western Morning News they have received no apology and no money back from Thomson.
The couple said they could not change the date of their trip because of their jobs.
Thomson refused to confirm whether it was cancelling holidays free of charge for those customers affected.
It also refused to say if any action has been taken as a result of its internal investigation into the breach.
The Information Commissioner’s Office said it had looked at the case very carefully and had decided to take no further action.
A spokesman said it was assured that Thomson had taken the appropriate action to fix the problem and that, although nothing can ever be completely ruled out, it was satisfied it wouldn’t happen again.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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