Agents owed thousands after tour op failure

Agents have been left out of pocket after tour operator and travel agent Travellers Cities ceased trading this week.

The Kent-based company, run by Clive Allard, the brother of All Leisure Group executive chairman Roger Allard, sold flights through travel agents as well as city breaks and short breaks direct to consumers.

Many agents are seeking legal advice after paying upfront for special airline fares which failed to materialise.

Despite urging for them to be ticketed, they now find the bookings are not there following the collapse of the business.

Without an ATOL agreement between the travel agents and Travellers Cities, a system which came into place in April under the new ATOL regulations, the CAA has indicated it may not be able to reimburse them.

Alan Wright, of TEB Travel in London, said: "We made a booking with him in September where we made a bank transfer of £5,000 as he said he didn't take credit cards.

"Despite us asking for the e-ticket number he didn't reply and finally sent us a locator code which was for a non-ticketed booking.

"We checked he was ATOL licensed but now the CAA is saying we needed a written agreement."

Travellers Cities was established in 1991 but was not an ABTA member.

The company ceased trading on Monday, 15 October and its website is no longer available.

Have you been affected by the collapse of Travellers Cities? Post a comment below or contact us on editor@travelmole.com

Friday, October 19, 2012

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Get total financial protection is the only guarantee

Agree that agents and tour companies need to check thoroughly their agreement and paperwork are fully in order. But they should as well ensure that they have complete protection for their company and clients by taking out a form of financial protection for failures such as supplier failure cover. ~That is the only way to ensure all round protection for not just the customer but also the business.

By John Lerux, Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Shows the need for agency agreements

This proves that agents need to check their agency agreements are in place. Hold a list and copy on their systems of the agreements. We are awaiting to confirm a booking with a Tour Op who is not able to issue an agreement because someone is on holiday.

By Nicholas Lee, Friday, October 19, 2012
Tana Travel did the same to me

Tana Travel did exactly the same to me, leaving me nearly £6,000 out of pocket in respect of 4 unticketed flights that are not ATOL protected. They too kept promising the tickets "were on the way" but they were not even booked. This happened at director level, days before they collapsed - so dont believe all the glowing tributes you read about them in the trade press. They behaved dishonestly and disreputably towards their creditors, except for the airlines - all of whom they made sure they paid in full before their collapse, presumably because they want to keep dealing with them in the future?

By Claire Farley, Friday, October 19, 2012