Worried travel company will go bankrupt with my money

ferf1223

Jane1984 wrote: »

They have an abta logo on their website and I checked it out and now it is even more confusing as it brings up a totally different company - which then says it trades under the other companies name. All really confusing and seems very dodgy!!

That's not, in and of itself, that unusual...

It doesn't say it trades under the other company's name it says

Operated under license by XXXX Ltd. YYYY is a trading style of XXXX.

YYYY is a trading name of XXXX Limited...trading names are not unusual, not dodgy in and of themselves.

Not saying all is kosher in this case as it all seems a bit strange...but just because the company you booked with is a trading name of another limited company doesn't mean it's dodgy.

Bagand96 is clearly faster with the research than I am.

bagand96

Not saying all is kosher in this case as it all seems a bit strange...but just because the company you booked with is a trading name of another limited company doesn't mean it's dodgy.

Thats a good point, we still don't know that all is well, if the credit rating has been suspended. Like other users suggest, ask them why they are pressuring you for the balance before its due.

Alan_Bowen

A limited company cannot be the trading name or style of another company, if number shown above is correct, based in Brighton, it does not belong to the company that has the ATOL licence or the ABTA membership. Check the credit card statement and see what name took the money, it needs to be the company you are in contract with, and the company number above is not a trading member of ABTA nor ATOL and the payment would not be protected

bagand96

Alan_Bowen wrote: »

A limited company cannot be the trading name or style of another company, if number shown above is correct, based in Brighton, it does not belong to the company that has the ATOL licence or the ABTA membership. Check the credit card statement and see what name took the money, it needs to be the company you are in contract with, and the company number above is not a trading member of ABTA nor ATOL and the payment would not be protected

Its quite confusing, the company the OP states above has an address in Brighton as you point out.

However there is a second company, with a totally different name, based at exactly the same address, which does hold ABTA membership and an ATOL bond. This second company has a "trading style" that is virtually the same as the name of company the OP quotes above. (I say virtually the same, it varies only by the placing a space).

Two companies - same address. One called "A A", the company the OP has had a credit check on. At the same address, there is a second company, "B", who hold ABTA and ATOL. Company B have a trading style "AA".

It very much depends on who the OP has booked with, and it would be much easier if they started naming names!

Alan_Bowen

I am now extremely suspicious that the company collecting the money may be doing so pretending to have protection to keep the regulatory costs of the real company at a minimum. I wouldn't pay any money except to the genuine company and I would question why you have received documentation from a company that has no ABTA or ATOL licences. If I didn't get a decent explanation, I would call the CAA on 020 7453 6424 or ABTA on 020 3117 0500

bagand96

Alan_Bowen wrote: »

I am now extremely suspicious that the company collecting the money may be doing so pretending to have protection to keep the regulatory costs of the real company at a minimum. I wouldn't pay any money except to the genuine company and I would question why you have received documentation from a company that has no ABTA or ATOL licences. If I didn't get a decent explanation, I would call the CAA on 020 7453 6424 or ABTA on 020 3117 0500

It does depend if the OP has actually booked and paid money to Company A A, or company booked and paid money to company B (trading as AA).

There is the chance that having booked, they have ran the credit check based on the company name, when actually they have booked with company B trading as A?

ferf1223

bagand96 wrote: »

Two companies - same address. One called "A A", the company the OP has had a credit check on. At the same address, there is a second company, "B", who hold ABTA and ATOL. Company B have a trading style "AA".

It very much depends on who the OP has booked with, and it would be much easier if they started naming names!

The ABTA details name both companies...or rather, the limited company and the trading name are stated on the details available on the ABTA website.

And the ATOL number shown on ABTA's website brings up the trading name, and a link to a website that does not look dissimilar to the website the OP may have booked with (the link is to a corporate version of the website).

Different address to that registered at Companies House, but also in Brighton.

I would suspect that the OP booked with Company B, but via AA's website...and has assumed the booking is with A A Limited (which is actually a dormant company according to Companies House and has been since 2001 it appears). I would guess, and it would just be a guess, that the Ltd company may have been set up to protect from someone else setting up a company with this name...but it may have never traded.

And here's hoping I got the references right between B, AA and A A Limited.