Police expected to probe failed tour operator
A criminal investigation is expected to be launched into a golf tour operator that allegedly took about £500,000 for trips to the Masters tournament in the US but never booked tickets.
The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that Leeds-based Augusta Golf Tours had failed and said customers who had booked flight-inclusive packages might be able to claim refunds.
However, it pointed out that those who had only bought event tickets from the firm would not be entitled to claim refunds from the company’s ATOL.
A CAA spokesman said the association did not believe the company had any customers abroad at the time of its collapse, but more than 200 people, including a number of charities, had booked to travel later this month, according to the Yorkshire Post.
They had paid an average of £2,500 each for trips to the Masters tournament in Augusta on April 10, but administrators for the company told the newspaper there was no evidence that tickets for the event or flight to the US had ever been booked.
David Wilson of Leeds insolvency and recovery company DFW Associates said among those to have lost out was a group that was raising money for the armed forces charity Help for Heroes.
He said the company’s boss, Andrew Witney, was co-operating with his inquiries and all evidence gathered during his investigations would be passed on to the police.
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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