Travel Agent gone bust - paid via bank transfer

NicolaBeagan

Looking for some advice after watching Martin Lewis on this morning and wondering if I had more cover from my bank than I was advised?

I booked a trip to New York in 2014 and paid an independent travel agent via bank transfer (this is how they requested payment at the time - silly now I realise) shortly before I was due to travel and hadn't received any travel documents he stopped replying and I was later contacted by company dealing with the agent going bust. I lost almost £2000 and wonder if I have any possible way of recovering this?

Also if there's a way to stop an agent like this opening under a new name and scamming more people?

Any advice appreciated.

[Deleted User]

Unfortunately, you are just an unsecured creditor now. The bank can't help return the money.

steampowered

Do you know if the holiday you purchased was ATOL protected? If so, it is worth checking whether they might refund your money.

If the travel agent has genuinely gone bust you haven't been scammed. Sometimes businesses run out of money, that is an unfortunate part of life. If you have genuine reason to suspect that the business is not genuinely insolvency and assets have simply been moved into a new company, then you would have legal recourse against the directors and the new company.

stevenhp1987

Did you just book flights or flights + hotel?

This is important as flights + hotel would be ATOL protected - you would have had an ATOL certificate. If you didn't, then it's possible you fell for a scam website and given the years that have passed, you will find it almost impossible to get your money back. What was the agents name? You can check if they were ATOL registered here: http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?appid=2 - although I'm not sure it has old companies there?

If just flights, then you're out of luck!

NicolaBeagan

Thanks for replies - the company was Blue Skies Travel ran by a Mr Clive Allard and the confirmation document when we booked said he was an agent for an ATOL holder so unsure if this means I'm covered? On investigating at the time Mr Allard only reserved seats with the airline days before gone bust but didn't make payment. I'd booked both flights and accommodation via the company and when googling Mr Allard realised he's done this more than once and opened under a new name.