DOZENS of families have been stranded abroad and lost thousands of pounds after the sudden closure of Wanstead’s main travel agent.
Police are investigating after independently-run World Choice Travel, in the High Street, shut down on Friday without explanation, and angry holidaymakers realised hundreds of flights and hotel rooms they had booked through the shop had either been cancelled or not made in the first place.
Some have also been left stranded in foreign airports.
Eimear Dormey, 33, of Wellington Road in Wanstead, confronted the shop manager on Friday.
She said: “When one of my friends got stuck abroad I decided to contact Easy Jet to check our flights were still fine. But when I called they had no record of our booking.
“I had booked a ten-day holiday to Crete with my boyfriend, but when I checked my bank statement I saw £1,230 had been spent on a hotel in Turkey and flights with Kiss Airways.
“I went to the shop on Friday and he was there inside, but the door was locked and it looked like he was packing up boxes.
“He motioned to me to call him. I think he thought I would go home and phone later, but instead I just got my mobile out of my bag and called him. But as soon as the phone started ringing he left the room and went out the back.”
Another holidaymaker, a 31-year-old single mum, told the Guardian she had saved up all year to go on a summer holiday to Turkey with her ten-year-old daughter.
But when she arrived at the airport to return home, she was told she was not booked on any flight.
“I rang the travel agents and they told me the airline had made a mistake, and made me run around the airport chasing after other flights he said I was on.”
It took her another three days to get home.
She added: “My holiday was supposed to cost £500 but it ended up costing me £1,700.”
A sign was placed in the window of the agents until Wednesday, urging customers to contact an insolvency firm called the Begbies Traynor Group, but a spokeswoman said they had had no formal dealings with World Choice.
And Wayne Almond, a friend of former owner Keith Patterson, re-opened the shop on Wednesday under the new name Clockhouse Travel.
He said: “I’ve decided to take it over under a new lease, name and company, but I have also taken on the debts of World Choice and we are trying to get everyone’s money back to them and sort everything out.
“The old business did not close because of any financial reasons. It has not gone bankrupt or insolvent, but it did have some debts.
“People who have had misfortunes are leaving their details with my staff and we are trying to sort everything out."
And despite stickers in the window claiming registration with industry bodies ABTA and ATOL, neither organisation said they had any records of the Wanstead branch.
Have you been affected by the closure? Call Daniel Binns on 07795 476 625 or email dbinns@london.newsquest.co.uk
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