Lapland New Forest Scam. How to get money back...

EdnaCloud

pancho_villa wrote: »

Just got my local Friday ad, and guess what is advertised in a full page advert!!!!!!! YES, Lapland New Forest....Where dreams really do come true!!:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I would think the paper may have trouble getting it's advertising revenue for that (unless prepaid). If you have the ability it would be great to see a scanned copy, however posting a scan here is probably not advisable. Shame.

GomerPyle

One thing I found interesting about this quote

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/lapland/3947804.Director_at_centre_of_festive_fiasco_proves_elusive/

QUOTE
Cllr Mary Mears was unavailable for comment but a council statement said: “There is no business connection between Cllr Mears and these distant relatives and Cllr Mears has no involvement in the New Forest operation.”
UNQUOTE

is why the Council are speaking on behalf of a councillor in their private concerns. Are they suggesting a council connection ?

The only Council connection was the planning approval - but more on that later.

EdnaCloud

GomerPyle wrote: »

One thing I found interesting about this quote
**snip**

is why the Council are speaking on behalf of a councillor in their private concerns. Are they suggesting a council connection ?

Maybe the leader of the council can speak on behalf of the council.

The only Council connection was the planning approval - but more on that later.

We are tenterhooks to see your next post regarding this - the soup thickens :-)

rgds,
yr local cynic,
Edna

codger

GomerPyle wrote: »

One thing I found interesting about this quote

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/lapland/3947804.Director_at_centre_of_festive_fiasco_proves_elusive/


is why the Council are speaking on behalf of a councillor in their private concerns. Are they suggesting a council connection ?

The only Council connection was the planning approval - but more on that later.

Mary Mears is Leader of the Conservative Group on the Council; that group holds majority control, ergo, she is Leader of the Council.

The Council was entitled to issue a statement because as a Local Authority it has been named by news media in the context of Council Leader Mary Mears' relationship, or otherwise, with Victor Mears.

It's not an issue.

kattwood

Can I just add I received a letter this morning from my cc company saying that they have "temporarily" put the money back into my account unless it is contested from the other side. Hopefully not and I can't see how considering there bank account has been frozen.

Fingers crossed I will keep my refund!!

~Chameleon~

EdnaCloud wrote: »

Also this:
http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=161
And under register of interests M Mears works for C H Mears, Fruit and Veg traders:

I posted that link 9 days ago in post #266 :rolleyes:

I also posted details of the Midlands scam and the name of people involved long before anyone else (post numbers #351 and #360 ) but they were equally ignored by the majority so I gave up investigating any further

GomerPyle

If reports are correct the Mears duo are laying low, but I'd expect them to be very interested in the money that's accumulated in the account.

For anyone wanting to read the story in Russian

http://www.dni.ru/incidents/2008/12/3/154628.html

QUOTE
"Я удивляюсь, что здесь не происходило массовых побоищ", - подчеркнул работник Lapland New Forest.
UNQUOTE

It appears to be quite popular in Russia - the story that is.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/3971730.Has_Lapland_ruined_my_last_Christmas_/

QUOTE
TRADING standards officers say it may be some time before they know whether any legal action can be taken against the owners of Lapland New Forest for misleading customers. Dorset County Council says it is looking at various options, including how to help disappointed visitors get their money back from the company behind the doomed attraction at Matchams, near Ringwood.
But the authority said it could be some time before it knows exactly what it has the power to do after calling in legal experts to advise them.
Up to 50,000 people are thought to have bought tickets to the park, costing £30 each or £100 for a family, which would have raked in about £2m for organisers.
Retrieving cash from the firm, headed by convicted fraudster Victor Mears, may still prove difficult.
Despite repeated attempts to contact Mr Mears, he has refused to talk to reporters over Lapland New Forest, which closed after complaints from scores of disappointed families, including reports of Santa being beaten up and elves being manhandled off the site.
UNQUOTE

GomerPyle

http://weblogs.hitwise.com/to-go-uk/2008/12/lapland_new_forest_merry_chris.html

QUOTE
According to Hitwise UK ‘lapland new forest’ was the fastest moving search term last week, ending 6th December. Searches for ‘lapland new forest’ more then quadrupled over the last week, this was in response to the controversial festive theme park in Dorset that received over 2000 complaints for being over priced and not living up to hype. The Park closed down last week and after people were told by the park owners to refer to the website visits to the site tripled in one week. The website has since been shut down.
UNQUOTE

At the moment I'm trying to find details of the pre-launch event and an idea of who attended.

http://www.eventmagazine.co.uk/channel/Events/article/868534/No-control-contacts-ability---really-Dorsets-Crapland/

QUOTE
The agency responsible for supplying staff for the disgraced Lapland New Forest attraction has spoken out about the fiasco.

Richards Events Services provided car park attendants, elves, stewards and staff to operate the snow machines for the Dorset-based theme park.

"When it opened to the public on the Friday it was obvious there was no control, the ice rink wasn't working and it was lacking in entertainment staff," said managing director Sue Holzherr.


The organisers assured Holzherr that the next day would be different, but when staff arrived on the Saturday it was "mayhem".

"There were two-hour-long queues to see Santa, the gingerbread cabin ran out of supplies, and visitors were taking their frustrations out on our staff, one of whom was slapped."

On the Sunday little had changed. "It was very busy and the gingerbread house ran out of supplies yet again. The ice rink had been fixed but visitors had to pay extra to use it."

By this stage it was clear the organisers were unable to cope with the pressure. "On the Sunday evening we sat down for a crisis meeting with them to discuss whether we would be returning the following day."

Holzherr suggested bringing in more staff to entertain visitors but felt her ideas were falling on deaf ears. "We gave them the opportunity to turn it around, but they didn't have the contacts or the ability to pull it off."

In the end Holzherr decided to not to go back. "There was a lack of confidence in the event and we didn't want to put our staff at risk," she said.

Luckily, as the Lapland New Forest was a newly formed company, Holzherr had requested two weeks payment up-front so didn't lose out financially from the debacle, but was left feeling "disappointed".





UNQUOTE

whitewing

Hi Gomer and everyone,

Just wondering how everybody is getting on with their refund requests?

Also, has anyone reading this been to the Alton Towers day? That was today, I believe? Looking forward to hearing about that, but remember to still claim your refund and hopefully get the scammers to pay for their shambles themselves.

______________________________________________________________

ATTENTION PLEASE! Added mid-Jan 2009: Just as a reminder, the latest Lapland New Forest Refund Guide is here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=17633351#post17633351

EdnaCloud

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I posted that link 9 days ago in post #266 :rolleyes:

A lot of people will have missed it and I did disclaim first posting.

I also posted details of the Midlands scam and the name of people involved long before anyone else (post numbers #351 and #360 ) but they were equally ignored by the majority so I gave up investigating any further

They were not ignored they were followed up. If you gave up why post this?

Edna upset