Hi, I booked a 2 day break in France with Leisure direction. Just last week they extracted more money from us by saying they hadn’t been able to get the ferry we wanted. I paid up the extra money, and now don’t know if I’ve got a holiday or not.

I’m waiting to get an answer from CEGA who are handling the claims

We booked a short break to Disneyland with them on the 20th Jan - to be travelling 14th - 17th Feb. We booked with them based on previous use some years ago and that they seemed to be up and running with various affiliations with newspapers such as the Guardian etc etc.
Our booking confirmation came back with an error on so we began to phone and email them to change the error. Nothing - phones rang and rang, emails unanswered etc etc. My husband being a gloom monger by nature decided very quickly that there was a problem. We did get through in the end on the phone to be greeted by ‘our computers are broken and we can’t
fix them’ Hello !!! This went on on a daily basis each time them saying
they would phone us back - on Monday we got through to a Tony Cancelerio who said he was the Call Centre Manager ( yes I know look at the surname sure the word ‘cancel’ is in there) he advised me that a Mary Jane Tomlin was the Customer Service Manager . He assured me most sincerely that the computers were broken. Meanwhile we emailed ABTA who completly ignored us.
Anyway we phoned yesterday and my first question was ‘are your computers mended?” oh yes she says and I must now read you a statemet.. bla bla in administration. She was officious and unhelpful saying our documents would arrive ‘ sometime’.
After this bizzare call where she wouldnt give her name or email be confirmation of what she had told me I contacted Eurostar and Disney Paris direct and they had no idea that they had gone into administration !!

They both however confirmed that they had our bookings - we just need the paperwork etc now from Leisure Direct.

The whole way Leisure Direct conducted this is totally unprofessional and the staff now are rude and evasive.

We shall cross our fingers !!

I would like to reply to Ms Sonia who has for sure serious problems of understanding and does not even know how to make the spelling because obviously she is not capable to listen!! The gentleman she was talking about is Tony Cancelliere and not “Cancelerio”. Unfortunately this is what happens when a snob and arrogant English woman is getting involved with something a little bit more complicated than make mash potatoes. Total ignorance!! I was dealing with this gentleman personally and he was the most professional person I have ever dealt with. No wonder Ms Sonia did not receive any reply from ABTA either. It is human nature that people tend to switch off and ignore people when a gloom monger like her keeps squashing your b…s!! Get yourself an education and read: Leisure Direction is a ABTA member so your booking is protected!!! Try to show some respect if it is not too difficult to understand. Am i asking too much Ms Sonia? Probably…

I booked a ski holiday with Leisure Direction online on the 21st January for March, but received a call half an hour later saying that the apartments I booked were unavailable. I therefore opted to have a full refund. Having called and emailed dailly and despite promises still not received the refund, I contacted ABTA but the very next day found out Leisure Direction had gone into administration. Does anyone have any advice as to what I should do next? I’m hoping I’ll still be able to get the full refund but am unsure of how to proceed.

Darren, everyone can feel agrieved for the holiday booked, which once again, are not under any risk, but does anybody feel agrieved for all those people who have lost their job? A holiday can be found in matter of minutes a new job not.

I am guessing that PUPPETTO is Tony, the Call Centre Manager, good luck in your job hunting !!

Daren

I do hope you apply your loose rule of moderation to all the postings !! I am surprised that MR PUPPETTO’s comments which I found quite rude ( sorry am busily doing the washing up and making potatos as I type) That I feel summarises the response from Leisure Direction - I might add that I kind of flattered that I am snob especially as I was attracted to Leisure Direction because of their cheap offers !!

I’ve finished watching Richard and Judy so can respond - Leger Holidays have taken over the responsibilites of the Disney side of things and have sent staff into Leisure Direct from their offices in Yorkshire. My advice for travellers to Disney is to do what I did and phone Disney direct .. I did and the gave me a ‘J’ reference number and on contacting Eurostar they put my mind at rest that we were on the train …. BUT …. we still have no paperwork. Anyway here below is a copy of the info posted on ABTA site

February 2008

ABTA No: D1175/V473X ATOL no: 4658
Company Name: Leisure Direction Ltd
Trading Names: French Impressions; French Holiday Service; Recruitment Alliance; EuroDrive; Tour Operator Personnel; Alliance Travel; The Travel Alliance; Directions; Directions Travel Club; Directions Travel Shop; Channel Savers; Faresavers; Ski-Drive France; Leisure Direction; intoFrance; Seafarer.
Address:
Image House,
Station Road
London
N17 9LR

Branches: V9235 - The Travel Shop, Maidstone Motorway Service Area, M20 Junction 8, Hollingbourne, Maidstone, ME17 1SS
F7353/W0016 - Image House, Station Road, London, N17 9LR
ABTA Claims Ref: AB10798

We’ve been advised that the above named company has been placed into administration and is unable to meet its future liabilities.

PLEASE NOTE: This company has no connection to any other member with a similar name.

Any ATOL related claims will be handled by the CAA. The ATOL consumer Claims Team can be contacted on 020 7453 6350. ATOL claims forms can be downloaded from the CAA website at http://www.caa.co.uk.

Any other claims will be handled by CEGA, ABTA’s claims handling partner. The ABTA Claims enquiries office abtaclaims@cegagroup.com can be contacted on 01243 621 500. The ABTA claims period will close on 6 August 2008. All claims and supporting documentation must be received prior to this date.

(Posted 6/2/08)

Whoever runs Leisure Direct mihgt get upset becasue Sonia keeps referring to Leisure Direct and not Leisure Direction. Leisure Direct has nothing to do with it.

As a former employee for Leisure Direction, I might be able to clarify a few things. Firstly, the news of the company going into administration was very abrupt and shocking for everyone, both customers and employees, who have been suffering, in different levels, from the bad administration of Leisure Direction. Well, I will try to clarify as much as I can, although it hasn’t been put clear for their former staff, as some are still lost not knowing what is going on. Menzies Administrators are looking after LD’s businesses at the moment and they have been negotiating with other suppliers so Leisure Direction’s bookings will be taken over and there should be minimal disruption for their customers, as this is Menzies’ priority. So Leger Holidays are taking over all the bookings for Short Breaks/ city breaks and Disney, whilst Self Catering/Camping and Ski are still under negotiation, but I believe there’s already another company, especialised in Self catering, that will take over these booking. In any case, all customer are protected, as we were ABTA regulated (ABTA number was D1175), so ALL customers are entitled to a refund or to keep their holidays with the company taking over, as simple as that. I am concerned that their exploited and blinded staff are not as lucky in this case, as obviously it came totally unexpected and is quite desperating. I’ll be around here, assisting as much as I can to any queries that people might have, as I know at least some people can have peace of mind, while I still don’t have mine, hunting for jobs.

Sonia and Puppeto Cancilliere, there’s no point in arguments, they are only results of selfishness and anxiety. Everyone should work together, as everyone is losing (in different extents) due to this ongoing problem.

Take care!

La Belle

More news: Erna Low took over all bookings for ski.

And for whoever wants to contact the company responsible for Leisure Direction’s administration process, please refer to: http://www.menzies.co.uk/about_us/brands/menzies+corporate+restructuring

I hope it helps!

oh Puppetto - shudupayaface !!!!

Former employeer, many thanks for your information, it’s helped us consumers feel a little more at ease.

The lack of information was initially worrying.

Former Leisure Direction Employee , please don’t you dare patronize me with all this story about selfIshness and anxiety!!! No one is disputing that this has been a shock for both parties involved. But this does not authorise people to have this sort of attitude in this sad experience.

there is a Travel Gazette on the internet with a very up to date financial analysis etc - can’t give you the link I am afraid but its easy to find - everytime I try to link to it it crashes - most useful for the former employees

Apart from all arguments, I am sure that there will be minimal disruption and everything possible will be done to offer help and support to all the people affected by this event. Good luck to everybody.

Puppetto - Never argue with idiots. They just drag you down to their level and then beat you with their experience!

Here’s hoping that you all come out of it ok!

Emma, you got my point and I agree! Thanks

Tony Puppetto, I am not patronising you, although I could, as your behaviour is of a spoilt child, and you probably forgot you are not my manager ANYMORE. So behave and go look for a job rather than attacking people here, everyone is entitled to their grief, be it losing their job or their holidays. We’ve had enough of your attitude in LD and we can’t bear it here anymore.
Anyway, good luck to everyone!

I had the opportunity to work for Leisure Direction for many yearsand I must say it was hard work and a lot of fun. I was upset to hear about its closure as I have a lot of fond memories. I wish everyone the best of luck in the future. I know it will be a stressful couple of weeks but I know you will all suceed in all your future endevours.

Dear Former Leisure Direction Employee, I have a clue of whom you could be and this last comment confirm how false and double faced you have always been. My attitude has always been positive and coherent with my acts and my hard work is there and you know it. Strange you have never complained about my attitude before. Instead, you have always stabbed people at the back with all your politics. Everyone knows that!! I am sure I will see you soon again because the world is so small and I want to see if you dare looking straight into my eyes. Good luck to you too!!

HURRAH - and I thought I had egnited Tony’s hot latin temper by daring to say I feared for my holiday following Leisure Direction Ltd’s fall into administration - which was followed by a torrent of abuse - when I then dared to suggest the staff had been evasive.
How blind that Tony can’t quite put his finger on which one of his staff didnt like him - maybe that suggests theres a few (or is it a woman who is English ( see his earlier posts)
Don’t worry former employee we’ve seen the threats on this blog and if something happens in the future because ‘this world is so small’ we’ll give Tony a character reference at the trial

Thanks, Sonia! I am relieved I didn’t have to work long in this company, I am truly sorry for everyone that has spent years of their lives there. And Tony, it’s not personally against you, I just think you should respect the fact that everyone is losing out with everything that is happening, instead of looking at your own belly button. Apart from this and your explosions of proper latin temper, I have nothing against you, I could never have as we have never spoken much anyway. That’s enough about it, good luck on your job hunting, and Sonia and all other holiday makers, I’m happy you can still enjoy your holidays!

I am shocked with the way Mr Cancelliere is behaving here, firstly Puppeto reffered to himself, Mr Cancelliere in the 3rd person, saying he had dealt with that “gentleman” on the phone, HIMSELF! Then he comes out of the closet, admiting it’s him and criticising English women, pure racism, explicitly! Please note that this is against the law in this country that opened their arms to you, Mr Cancelliere, maybe you can just do this back in your hometown, but in the UK it’s a criminal offence. I’d be extra careful now with whatever you type in here, as it can be easily reported and monitored to the police. Let me get back to my mash potatoes in the meantime…

I do hope I enjoy my holiday…… no tickets or paperwork yet ………. anyone else in the same situation and travelling soon ?

I had booked a 4-day excursion to Paris through Eurostar and Grand Hotel in Paris, all through an advertisement placed in The Times in October. Due to go tomorrow, I was concerned by Thursday last when no travel documents had appeared. Phoned Leisure Direction and after 40 minutes wait eventually managed to get a response from a lady who read a statement to me and then told me that there were neither Eurostar tickets nor an hotel booked in my name. She did give me the number to phone Leger Holidays who have taken over the short-break holidays. Leger Holidays have been brilliant, today confirming both Eurostar and Hotel bookings, although at a different hotel to the original. Although it has been a long wait since Thursday, Leger Holidays seemed to have worked really hard to put things into place. Well done Leger!

Dear All

I am appauled at this blog - I worked for Leisure Direction for a year (a few years ago) and I have to say all credit to Alan and Debbie it was a great little company. Unfortunately sometimes company’s do go into administration for various different reasons and this does affect staff at all levels. My advice to anyone who was working there until this announcement was made is that I have been in your position before at another travel company and in the long term you will end up with a better job and although it’s hard to understand that at the moment sometimes change is a good thing. I do not think it is very professional of you to wash you dirty laundry in public so come on guys act with some integrity please .

I’ve just received the letter from Leger Holidays. Can someone confirm something for me: If I fill in the Confirmation of Travel form and the ABTA Claim Form, does it mean that all the paperwork will come from Leger, and that they will claim the money back from ABTA? I have tried to mail and phone Leger, but don’t get a response. Assume they’re flooded with similar queries…

Party of 15 booked to go to eurodisney in april. just got letter from Leger Holidays that they intend to pick up the pieces. Booking made on credit card so trying to recoup that back through them. Sent off form to Leger so its fingers crossed. Sense of responsability as i have booked the trip based on past family trip. hoping all works out !!!

I am absolutely gobsmacked that somebody without my authorisation has used my details to write comments which do not represent my thoughts. For my own sake and for everybody else in this blog I will investigate about who has without authorisation used my details to generally upset and offend people. In the meantime please accept my most sincere apologies.

Darren, I want to deal with it personally as I don’t like all this publicity. As the anonymous said I do not to want to wash the dirty laundry in public. I need to concentrate on finding a job. Thanks

I would like to add to Jason Seed’s post that Leisure Direction was a great company to work for, we enjoyed working with fantastic colleagues and some very good customers, and I too am saddened to learn of it’s untimely demise.

For the benefit of worried holidaymakers, I would say that, having worked closely with both Leger Holidays and Erna Low over the last 12 years, I am confident that your holidays will be in safe hands.

And to all my hard-working and dedicated ex-colleagues, you truly were an exceptional and talented bunch of people and I would like to wish everyone the very best in the future.

this has just been posted on the web….. by TRAVEL MOLE who I think are an industry newsletter

Leisure Direction website sold to…Leisure

Direction TravelNew owner is not ABTA

member.

I do hope Tony can get to the bottom of the mystery blogger, thank goodness someone he knows has alerted him to the existence of this blog.

Has everyone who has been contacted by Erna Low been asked to pay for the holiday again? This sounds a bit much to me even if I can get some money back from ABTA. What have they taken over then?
The new Leisure Direction site looks exactly like the old so it smells the scam. Aparently they are not bonded so beware!

We were expecting to go to Paris on a 4 day break and were concerned when the tickets did not arrive. Received notification from Leger that we needed to phone to confirm we wished to travel. Really difficult to get hold of them on the number supplied, so spent Saturday ringing alternative numbers which we found. They were excellent in ringing us back. Unfortunately we were informed that the hotel of our choice which Leisure Direction had confirmed was not available. The alternative which they offered was at St Cloud - the hotel had very very poor reviews on the internet.
(will not mention the name), but do hope that for the people who chose to accept that it will not be as bad as we imagine. Think Leger are working very hard to try to accommodate everyone, do hope that the kids who are booked for Disney at half-term manage to get there.

We booked a mobile home holiday with Leisure Direction. On hearing the news i phoned Keycamp and explained the situation. They have a deal for Leisure Direction customers of approx 1/2 the price of their advertised prices. I believe Keycamp were responsible for some of Leisure Directions caravans anyway.

having booked some great camping holidays with leisure direction in the past i have been trying to do the same again for this year, no wonder i havent been able to get through for the past 2 weeks!!!!!!, and am now looking to book a mobile home with someone else at around the same money as leisure direction has any one any ideas as to another operator, many thanks

Going to le trivoly (Toreilles Plage) this summer, have flights already booked. I contacted French Freedom Holidays. Leisure Direction actually sourced accom odation through them (they even had my booking details) they are happy for me to book again through them and they will honour the price I paid Leisure Direction. Have been advised to claim all monies paid to leisure direction back from my credit card, not from ABTA. French Freedom holidays actually appear to know what they are doing, lady called Debbie was really helpful.

Got home from work - letter from Abta - Leisure Direction gone belly up! Phone Abta, explained that we’d only paid a depost for our two weeks holiday in France in August (although Leisure Direction had wanted the full amount, suprise suprise), they said contact the credit card company for a refund. We knew who our accommodation was booked with, so we contacted them direct and we’ve rebooked with them as they’d not yet resold our accommodation.
Seems like we’re very lucky unlike some. We’ll definitely check out companies again before we book online. We know the company we’ve rebooked with as we’ve come across them before.

first thing i new about my holiday cancellation was when abta wrote too me. nothing from leisure direction at all. now it’s no holiday & the wife is doing her nut, trouble is it’s at me

We booked a holiday with Leisure Direction only three weeks ago. We didn’t get any paperwork but they charged our credit card. After days of trying to call them without success i contacted ABTA who said everything was fine and they had not heard of any problems. Later that day it seems that administrators were called in !!! All information regarding Leisure Direction on the ABTA website was removed overnight so it seems they must have known.

Good news is that because of other comments on this weblog we contacted French Freedom Holidays who had our booking and were very switched on to what had happened they sorted everything out very quickly - only wish that ABTA had suggested this it would of saved lots of hassle for all.

We (3 couples) booked a 3 night hotel stay (arranged our own flights) with LD commencing 1st March, to Krakow. The first thing we knew was last Wednesday when we received a letter from Leger asking us to copmplete a form if we wished them to take over our booking. I have contacted my credit card for a refund as Leger want full payment again before departure. It is highly unlikely that we will receive a refund on our credit card before we have to pay again to Leger Also, having read previous posts, am really concerned that we are not even going to get the hotel we booked. Does anyone think it would be a better idea to just seek alternative accommodation ouselves? Thanks

Also had letter from ABTA. States we must claim back money from credit card rather than from them. Does anyone know what the chances are of credit card paying, as want to rebook with another company, but bit wary of not getting refund. Also, why won’t ABTA pay if Leisure Direction were ABTA bonded?

Paula

I spoke to my credit card company the day I got my letter from Leger. They were already aware that LD had gone into administration and were very helpful. I had to send acopy of my booking confirmation with a covering letter, which I did the same day. I asked the lady I spoke to what the likelyhood of getting our money back was and she said she did not see any problems as it is covered under their terms of ‘paying for goods that are not received’. She just could not confirm how long it would take to proccess the refund. Hope this helps.

Dear all former customers of LD, as now former employee of LD I would like to apologies for all the problems and inconveniences we have caused to all of you. I would like to say that I have worked for LD nearly 8 yrs and I have seen the company going from strengh to strengh until unfortunately his decline and ultimate failure. I appreciate that recently our service was probably not the best and we could have done a lot better. However, I can, hand on heart, tell you that within the team I was working with, people was given absolutely the 150%. We had people that worked every day of the week included weekends for the last 6 months to make sure that lists and docs were up to date. All these people were very loyal to LD as well as very loyal to our customers. LD has been a successfull company winner of several awards like Best Shortbreaks Operator of the Year for Maison de la France, Best Operator with the best Marketing Campaign Off-line for Eurostar, several awards won from Ferry Operators and Eurotunnel, finalist for the best Call Centre for small agencies, awarderd the Da Vinci Code Campaign in 2006 from Eurostar, and many more. We were amongst the best in the market. As former employee it hurts knowing that we have left out there very unhappy customers and I am sorry for this. However, I would like to say that when you have chosen LD to book your holiday we were feeling really proud of it because we thought we must have done something right there. Your bookings were our reward. We were always putting body and soul to fulfill your request to make of your chosen holiday the best ever. Or at least we were trying very hard. Many times we achieved that other, like recently, we didn’t. But please believe you me, the Directors tried absolutely everything to save the company and to put things right. Unfortunately they didn’t manage to save it, therefore I cannot tell you please give us another chance. The only thing I can say is once again sorry.

hi all,
i have booked a weeks break in june to go camping in holland. i am aware that other parts of the company i.e. the skiing and short breaks etc have already been taken over by other operators. does anyone know if the camping side of the company is also going to be taken over and the holidays saved? i look forward to any news with anticipation. heres hoping.

French Freedom Holidays have today purchased the camping database and camping customer book of Leisure Direction and will be offering any customers who have been unfortunate with Leisure Direction the option to continue with their booking directly. Unfortunately however we do not offer holidays in Holland.

French Freedom Holidays are an ABTA & ATOL bonded independent family owned business and have supplied accommodation in France to Leisure Direction for several years.

my Disneyland Paris break went ahead ( without) paperwork and went without a hitch .. the Disney staff handed me the LEGER letter on arrival. However, my advice would be to phone directly to Eurostar, the hotels etc, no paperwork arrived at all with any instructions etc - this was fine for our party as we had travelled on Eurostar and stayed at the Disney resort previously. Other clients of Leisure Direction on the train were anxious what was awaiting them and did not know about check in times etc.

Have booked a short break to Brussels leaving on friday(3 days away). I got the letter (last week)from Leger saying that they had taken over the existing holidays that had been booked.I have been promised the travel documents before wednesday, but nothing so far. It’s reassuring to hear that some people have had their holidays without any problem, but I would be much happier if I had the documents in my hand before I left. I think I’ll try contacting Eurostar , and the hotel we’re booked into, just to see if they know about us.

Does anyone know if French Freedom are also taking over bookings for campsites in Italy? I have mobile home booked on Norcenni Girasole campsite for 2 weeks in June. Have been on F/Freedom website but it seems they only offer holidays in France. If anyone has information about other companies which may be honouring holidays already booked with Leisure Directions then please let me know. 3 sad children are counting on me getting this sorted out!!!

Am booked to go to Disneyland early in April on Eurostar. Contacted Eurostar direct and they told me to contact Leger, who are not currently taking calls for April. Still waiting to hear from the hotel as I contacted them also. Eurostar mentioned the Data Protection Act. Any advice?

Thank you for making me aware of French Freedom. I have telephoned them and they have swapped our booking to them no problem and also matched the price. As we had booked for 4 families I thought it was going to be a nightmare. I just need to claim the original deposit back from my credit card now!!!

Julie - to check on my reservations with Eurostar - I gave them firstly the dates of travel and number in the party … and although they can’t actually confirm names you can get enough info to feel confident about your booking - maybe worth phoning until you get an operator who will play along with the guessing game ?!
I collected my tickets in person from St Pancras three days before travelling to ensure no problems and had no difficulty at all collecting the tickets.

I have been talking to my credit card company since I got the original letter from Leger but as LD did not send out my invoice (although I had paid the full holiday price) the bank are syaing they can’t refund. Anyone know what I can do now? I have a 5 yr old looking forward to meeting the princesses and I don’t want to have to tell her it is all off!

Nicky, i think your bank are just being obstructive, hoping you’ll go away - the circumstances are clear and section 75 protection should apply. I think if you persist with them and consider contacting the financial ombudsman service you will have more success. It would probably also help further if you ranted at Abta as they told me all clients will get a full refund. It might be that Leger Holidays can help obtain copies of paperwork to assist you, French Freedom did in my case.

Nicky , did you book on line? If so have you not got the email confirmation from Leisure Direction. When I booked with them some time ago I got a email confirmation to say that they had taken my money but that they would confirm the booking shorlty which was a week later when I got my invoice/booking reference. If you have that email would that not be enough to show you did pay for a booking. I am off to Disney on Monday only booked the accommodation with LD, today I received confirmtion from Leger to say hotel booked, at first I was really upset as it the confirmation said the wrong number of nights (not enough) but Leger sorted it out really quickly so I think all is well. It has really made me nervous about booking further holidays on the internet especially as I had accommodation and flights through separate companies. Hope everyone else gets thier holiday sorted out and gets their money back, im sending off my claim to my credit card company tomorrow so fingers crossed.

Does anyone know how quickly ABTA/CEGA refund in cases where debit card (Bank) payment has been made to Leisure Directions.
Only notified yesterday, by ABTA. No notification from Leisure Direction.

Celia C. we had booked with LD for a french campsite not covered by French Freedom, when I originally made the booking LD mentioned that out mobile home would be Keycamp, so I called Keycamp and they were brilliant and have sorted out our holiday and travel and matched the price. It might be worth looking to see if Keycamp have your Italian site in their brochure and give them a try.

Anne, I am in the same situation at the moment. ABTA have been pretty helpful but as yet I am still waiting for them to confirm how long it will be before they will confirm my claim is valid. They have said by email that my claim should be upheld but who knows??!! Meanwhile Ernalow want up front payment from me by the end of next week!!! Not sure whether to go ahead or not…we can’t afford to pay twice!

Hi Jez i think Abta are just disorganised they certainly were every time i spoke with them and some of the information they gave me was downright misleading. Have you tried French Freedom they only asked me for a deposit to rebook my holiday and said i could pay the balance when my refund comes through - in their brochure they do ski holidays under the name SkiFrance4less. Alternatively it might be worth asking Erna Low if they can do the same as French Freedom on just the deposit.

Hi
I too am a former LD employee having spent just over 2 years with them a couple of years ago and allthough for anyone that was booked with them I can honestly say that everyone from the directors to the staff were very hard working and honest bunch!
Darren is there any chance of passing on my email address to Tony Cancelliere please.
Im also afraid to say that allegdly ABTA is not really worth the paper its written on in alot of respects and invariably its the companies that take over the bookings in this type of situation that are saviours and not ABTA

Chad, I’m sure you’re right that its the travel companies that step in that really help with getting the Holiday sorted…..When you say that “allegedly ABTA is not really worth the paper its written on” do have any experience of them not paying out on straight forward claims?

Jez, ABTA have obviously been around a long while and generally have a good name in circumstances such as these, in some ways their reputation as the people who will give you your money back is not fully deserved.

Government Legislation states that Package Tour operators must provide protection for clients money. Membership criteria of ABTA insists that it’s members comply by providing a bond or an insurance policy. It is this bond or insurance policy that will allow the repayment of clients money. ABTA’s role is one of ensuring the bond is in place and for the correct amount and in arranging an effective claims procedure. Additionally ABTA administer a shortfall fund which is contributed to by all ABTA members to be drawn upon in case the bond level proves to be insufficient.

My understanding is that if you booked a package holiday with Leisure Direction you will get a refund via ABTA and their claims agent from the bond provided by Leisure Direction (if you paid by debit card or cheque). If you paid by credit card you will be entitled a refund from your credit card company. Hopefully this helps.

i have booked a camping holiday to holland that unfortunately is not covered by french freedom. i too did ring keycamp who were going to provide the accomadation. they have a speacial deal for LD customers and were most helpful. unfortunately the price they quoted to me was still a lot more than i was going to pay going via LD, although it was considerably cheaper than their advertised brochure price. ( nearly £200 more than LD). it now looks as if i am going to have to pay a lot more now or not go altogether. either way its gonna cost me as i have got a non refundable ferry ticket already booked. does anybody know if i can claim the ferry ticket back off ABTA? any ideas would be most helpful.

Darren, can you please tell me how can I have Chad’s email address, please? I was working with Chad for a good 2 years and I can only agree with his comment. We were working really hard to offer the best possible package and service to our customers. I am also glad to hear that Sonia’s trip went ahead without any problem and I hope other customers have experienced the same positive result. With regards to Paul query I am afraid to say that ABTA will not refund any ferry tickets as this was booked separetely and not part of the package.

I was informed of on receipt of a holiday brochure from French Freedom (I almost put it straight in the bin) inside a letter stated “your holiday is safe” - providing I pay again! LD would not accept a credit card so it was paid in full by debit card this was a holiday for my 4 grandchildren in July. The refund procedure is not clear fortunately my daughter is dealing with it and should I get my money back I will re-book.

A Very Unhappy Pensioner

Vivienne Rosser, I’m really sorry to hear that French Freedom were the bearer of the Leisure Direction news, we had been assured that ABTA and the administrators had already contacted all clients, clearly this was not completely true.

French Freedom are happy to allow clients to continue with their holiday by booking directly with us. We will honour the dates and accommodation and even the price you were paying Leisure Direction. We are happy to reserve the accommodation for the time being with just a small deposit whilst your claim at ABTA is processed. We are happy to provide guidance and assistance on the procedure if required.

Please be assured we have not been paid by Leisure Direction - they still owe us some money from last years bookings, we are not trying to profit from the demise of Leisure Direction or the unfortunate clients.

Tony..get in contact with me on djchadphunk @ hotmail.com

Once I had followed the initial proceedure of confirming I wanted Leger to continue with my booking and making a claim to my cr card company, I received a booking confirmation from Leger that had a few errors. I phoned them and they put them right immediately. I also noticed that it said that if I paid the balance of 587.10 by credit card I would incur a 2.5% charge. I pointed out that the price of 587.10 I paid to LD was already inclusive of a 2.5% charge (564.00 + 2.5%). I was told not to worry I would not be charged again. However, once my credit card company had confirmed my refund (top marks for a speedy service from them) I phoned Leger again to pay. I was told that by paying with my credit card I would pay a 2.5% charge. I argued that my initial payment included this and I kept being told that I would be refunded that back. The lady failed to see my point that I was no longer paying 578.10 (inc the 2.5%) but I was now being charged 592.00. I stated that I was assured I would not be charged this again and the lady said she would check back on the taped conversations and come back to me. So I told her to go ahead. She then put me on hold, spoke to a supervisor and then told me on this occassion they would waiver the 2.5% charge ! So check carefully that you did not pay a credit card charge with your LD booking as Leger include this in your payment due and then charge a further 2.5% if paying them by credit card. Having said all that, I would like to thank Leger for taking over the booking and sorting everything out. Although it was sometimes difficult to get through, they were very polite, helpful and efficient in what must be difficult, busy times. Very luckily for me, my trip went ahead with no problems and I have had my credit card refund. Good luck to everybody who is still sorting out their bookings, I hope all goes well x

Me and my family received letters today being told that Leisure Direction Ltd had been taken into Admin - I can’t beleive it’s taken this long.

Can anyone advise as to whether or not the Ferry Bookings to France that we made through them will still be booked at the same price we have already paid or are we going to have to rebook and this soon to going pay a lot more?

Cheers

Helen

Re ferries: I contacted Brittany Ferries who told me that our reservation was still “active” but of the £341.00 cost, Leisure Direction had only paid them a £25.00 deposit. They also rather strangely said that LD were the only ones who could further, or amend the booking. Catch 22?

I emailed LD to let them know there was a problem with their camping booking engine and received the following reply.

Thank you for your inquires and we do apologises for not getting in touch with yourself earlier.

We have been having many problems with our website, due to the fact the company was taken over. We are updating our site as soon as possible, so that all the campsites would be able to book over the net.

If you would like a quote on a campsite email me with;
Dates of arrival,
Duration,
Site name,
How many travelling,
And if you would like me to included travel

Kind regards
Fabio Traquinas
Leisure Direction Travel Support Team

Note. They are telling potential customers there is a takeover, no mention that they were in administration.

Don’t know if this has been publicised, but here’s an article on the old Leisure Direction website, run by Leisure Direct Travel - with a warning from ABTA and the Telegraph that the new company running a leisure direction website is not ABTA registered:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/748716/Holidaymakers-warned-of-new-travel-company.html
You may want to copy and paste the contents in case the Telegraph takes the

I have worked for Leisure Direction for 2 years and Tony Cancelliere was my Supervisor.
He is the most patient and committed person i have worked with.
He would stay all day at work if necessary, he had to make sure customers were always happy and had great holidays.
I have learned so much from him and i am sure he will have a very bright professional future ahead.
Thank you Tony

James, the ‘new’ Leisure Direction Travel website is misleading. It took them 2 weeks after they bought it from LDL before they took ABTA logo off and another month before ‘Press’ , ‘About us’ and ‘Affiliates’ sections were amended. They are not ABTA bonded, just acting as affiliates to other agencies for commission, well this is my opinion. LDL put in 20 years to develop product range we were offering, it doesn’t happend overnight. As far as Brittany Ferries bookings go, it was a standard procedure to pay deposit of £25 and the rest after the departure. BF should know by now LDL has gone out of business and provide competent advice for their passengers. I think people should contact their CC companies and ask for refund (services not delivered) and pay BF directly for the same booking, make sure you don’t get ripped off, prices of crossings would have risen by now, especially if you booked for holiday periods.
Darren is right, ABTA is not much of help, there isn’t any practical advice on their website and I expect some people are just lost as what to do next.

Darren, to clarify, there was NOT take over, LDL went into administration, administrators sold off their assets, including the website, Entee bought it and new company was created and registered at Companies House in Feb 08. They have nothing to do with old LDL. Unfortunatelly, as they are not ABTA bonded, they are not regulated by ABTA, therefore they can put what they like on their website, including untrue claims….

I recently had an accomodation only holiday with the failed company Leisure Direction. It was bonded with ABTA. I had to repay Erna Low for the same holiday to ensure we could go on Holiday in March. We took a huge risk that we would get our money back from Abta evetually. I’m pleased to say that all involved including Erna Low and Abta staff were extemely helpful throughout. We went on our holiday, which was great, and yesterday we received the money in full from Abta. Thanks to all and those who provided advice on this blog site.

The only thing I wish could have been different is the worry that we might not get money from Abta and we would end up paying or the holiday twice. Although ABTA staff were very helful, they could not provide me with a garauntee that I would receive payment, even after they had reviewed my claim form. My guess is that like me, others wouldn’t mind when they receive the money back (within reason), but would like to have known it was definitely going to come. The stress of this nearly ruined the holiday for me!!!!!

First I heard was when ABTA wrote 23/03 to say LD ‘ceased trading’ on 6/02/08 & I should contact my credit card company who will refund me. I did, they will and I ‘ve made a second (cheaper) ferry booking direct with P & O Ferries. However P & O say the first booking is still valid & only LD can cancel it - how can they if they don’t exist? Catch 22 indeed. ABTA advise writing to P & O to cancel. I think I won’t lose anything but it’s very confusing !

Anyone actually had their refund yet? We re-booked our short break to France for Easter, and paid on credit card. We’ve not had the money back yet, and need to be paying off the credit card.