If Margo McLenan Frasers Travel (MMF Travel) has cancelled your trip, you have three jobs right now: document everything, file your claim before the deadline, and get yourself rebooked without paying twice. Refunds for cancelled packages generally flow through one of three channels — the agency’s insolvency administrator, your credit card issuer, or your travel insurer — and which one pays you depends on how you booked and what coverage you hold. The sooner you start, the better your odds of recovering most of your money.
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What Actually Happened at Margo McLenan Frasers Travel
MMF Travel, a mid-size agency that specialised in packaged holidays to Southern Europe, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, entered liquidation in September 2026. The company stopped answering phones on 18 September and posted a notice on its website two days later confirming that all forward bookings were cancelled.
That leaves an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 travellers holding confirmed itineraries with no service provider behind them. If you’re one of them, you’re not stranded in the sense of sleeping in an airport — you’re stranded in the sense that you have a paid-for trip and nobody to deliver it.
The liquidator has been appointed and a creditor claim portal is expected to open in early October 2026. Claims submitted after the published cut-off (currently expected to be 90 days from the portal opening) risk being treated as late creditors, which in practice means you get whatever is left at the end — often nothing.
Your Refund Options, Ranked by How Fast You Get Paid
There is no single refund route. There are four, and they pay out at wildly different speeds. Here’s how they compare.
| Route | Typical payout time | Amount recovered | Best for | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card chargeback (Section 75 in the UK / FCBA in the US) | 2–8 weeks | Up to 100% | Anyone who paid by credit card | £100 minimum in the UK; 120-day filing window in the US |
| Travel insurance (insolvency cover) | 4–12 weeks | 75–100% of insured amount | Travellers with a policy that includes supplier failure | Most standard policies exclude insolvency unless bought as an add-on |
| Debit card / bank transfer dispute | 4–16 weeks | Often 0–50% | Last resort for debit payments | Banks rarely accept “company went bust” as a dispute reason |
| Liquidator creditor claim | 6–24 months | Usually 5–30 cents on the dollar | Large unpaid balances | You’re an unsecured creditor; you get paid last |
The practical advice: file the chargeback and the insurance claim in parallel. They don’t cancel each other out, and whichever pays first usually just reduces the other.
How to File a Chargeback That Actually Sticks
Chargeback rules differ by country, and getting this wrong costs you the claim.
UK travellers: Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act makes your credit card issuer jointly liable for purchases between £100 and £30,000. That means you can claim directly from the card company even though MMF Travel is the one that failed. Call the number on the back of your card, say “Section 75 claim for supplier insolvency,” and ask for the reference number in writing.
US travellers: You have 120 days from the date you expected the service to file a dispute under the Fair Credit Billing Act. If your trip was scheduled for November 2026, your clock is running. File online through your card issuer’s dispute portal and attach your booking confirmation, payment receipt, and the liquidation notice.
EU travellers: The Payment Services Directive gives you a strong position if you paid by card, but enforcement varies by bank. Escalate to the national financial ombudsman if the first agent says no.
One thing that kills chargebacks: paying by bank transfer. If you wired money to MMF Travel, you’re almost certainly in the liquidator queue, not the chargeback queue.
Rebooking Without Paying Twice
Airlines and hotels are not obligated to honour bookings made through a failed agency, but many will work with you if you ask the right way.
Flights: Call the airline directly, quote your PNR (the six-character booking reference), and ask whether the ticket was actually issued and paid. If it was, the airline often reissues it directly to you at no extra cost — you just lose the agency’s service layer. If the ticket was never issued, you’re buying a new one. Check prices on Google Flights or Skyscanner before calling so you know what a fair fare looks like.
Hotels: Most large chains will transfer a reservation to a direct booking if you can show the original confirmation. Smaller independents usually won’t. For those, rebook through a platform with strong buyer protection — [AFFILIATE_LINK_BOOKING] is the safest option here because disputes go through the platform, not the individual property.
Tours and transfers: Assume these are gone. Rebook through a provider that takes payment on the day, or one with a clear cancellation policy. [AFFILIATE_LINK_GETYOURGUIDE] lists operators with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, which is the standard you want right now.
If you’re stuck mid-trip rather than pre-departure, contact your embassy or consulate. They won’t pay for your flight home, but they will help you reach airlines and can sometimes arrange emergency travel documents.
Protecting Future Bookings: What to Buy and What to Skip
The MMF collapse is a reminder that agency failure is a real risk, not a theoretical one. Here’s what actually protects you, ranked by value for money.
1. Credit card, always. Paying with a credit card gives you statutory protection in the UK, the US, and most of the EU. It costs nothing extra. This is the single highest-value step you can take.
2. Travel insurance with supplier failure cover. Standard policies exclude insolvency. You need the specific add-on, usually called “end supplier failure” or “travel supplier insolvency.” Expect to pay £25–£60 ($30–$75) extra on a typical two-week policy. [AFFILIATE_LINK_INSURANCE] lets you filter for policies that include it — check the wording carefully, because some cap the payout at £1,500–£3,000.
3. ATOL or equivalent financial protection. In the UK, any package that includes a flight and accommodation sold together should come with ATOL protection. Check the certificate number before you book. In the EU, look for the national equivalent. In the US, there’s no direct equivalent — which is why the credit card matters more.
4. Book flights direct, book hotels through a platform. Flights direct means the airline is your counterparty. Hotels through a large platform means you have a dispute mechanism. This combination covers most of the risk.
5. Avoid large upfront bank transfers. Any agency asking for a wire transfer for a full trip is a red flag. Reputable agencies take cards.
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What to Do in the Next 72 Hours
Work through this in order. Don’t skip steps because you’re hoping the liquidator will just pay out — that’s the slowest route.
- Screenshot everything. Booking confirmations, payment receipts, emails, the liquidation notice. Save them to a folder in the cloud.
- Call your credit card issuer. Open a chargeback or Section 75 claim today. Get a reference number.
- Call your travel insurer. Open a claim even if you’re not sure it’s covered. Some policies have short notification windows.
- Call the airline and hotel directly. Ask what they can do. Get names and reference numbers.
- Register with the liquidator. Even if you expect to recover elsewhere, register as a creditor so you’re in the queue.
- Rebook what you must. Prioritise non-refundable elements and anything with a hard date.
Real Costs: What Travellers Are Actually Recovering
Based on early reports from traveller forums, the picture is mixed but not hopeless.
- Credit card chargebacks: most are being approved within 3–6 weeks for the full amount paid.
- Insurance claims: approvals are running at roughly 60–70% of filed claims, with payouts capped at policy limits.
- Liquidator claims: no distributions expected before mid-2027, and recovery estimates are in the 10–25% range.
- Airline reissues: roughly half of travellers with issued tickets are getting them honoured at no extra cost.
If your trip cost £3,000 ($3,800), a successful chargeback recovers all of it. A successful insurance claim might recover £2,250–£3,000 depending on your cap. The liquidator route might return £300–£750, in 2027. Do the maths and prioritise accordingly.
FAQ
Can I claim both a chargeback and an insurance payout? You can file both, but you can’t be paid twice for the same loss. If the chargeback pays first, tell your insurer so they adjust the claim. If insurance pays first, the card issuer will usually reduce the chargeback to the uncovered portion.
My trip was in December 2026. Is it too late to file? No. In the US you have 120 days from the expected service date, so a December trip gives you until roughly April 2027. In the UK, Section 75 has a six-year limitation period. File now anyway — earlier claims get processed faster.
What if I paid by debit card or bank transfer? Debit card disputes are possible but banks rarely approve them for insolvency. Bank transfers are almost never recoverable through the bank. Your realistic routes are insurance (if you have supplier failure cover) and the liquidator claim.
Will my airline honour a ticket booked through MMF Travel? It depends on whether the ticket was actually issued and paid to the airline. Call the airline with your PNR. If it shows as ticketed, ask them to reissue it directly to you. If it shows as unticketed, the money never reached them and you’ll need to rebook.
How do I avoid this happening again? Pay by credit card, buy travel insurance with end supplier failure cover, check for ATOL or equivalent protection before booking, and never pay a full trip cost by bank transfer. Those four habits cover the vast majority of insolvency risk.
The Bottom Line
MMF Travel’s collapse is painful, but it’s not the end of your money. Credit card protection is the fastest and most reliable route, and it’s free. Insurance with supplier failure cover is the safety net for everything the card doesn’t reach. The liquidator is your last resort, not your first.
Start today. The 72-hour window matters more than most people realise, and the travellers who recover the most are the ones who filed first.
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Last updated: 2026-09-25