Holidays cancelled after coach firm loses licence

John Davies was planning a first Christmas away with his partner

Holidaymakers hoping to get away for Christmas say they have been left bewildered and potentially out of pocket after a coach firm lost its operator's licence.

Frustrated customers who paid money to Hough's of Lincolnshire say they have had no answer to messages and telephone calls to the firm over the past week.

John Davies and his partner, from Louth, paid more than £1,000 for a four-night holiday in Scotland over Christmas. He said they had been left "in limbo".

The BBC has repeatedly tried to contact Hough's of Lincolnshire, which is based in Cleethorpes, for comment.

Mr Davies, 65, said he had tried calling the company and "all you get is an answering machine".

He added: "It says to send them an email and they will be in touch, but they never do."

The company's licence was revoked on Friday by the Traffic Commissioner for the North East, which regulates HGV, bus and coach operators.

It followed a public inquiry on 11 November, which heard evidence of safety concerns and unsatisfactory record keeping.

One coach was found to have an exhaust defect that meant fumes were "likely to enter" the interior and endanger health, according to a written decision by the deputy traffic commissioner.

On 21 November, a social media post by Hough's of Lincolnshire assured customers that all their trips were running as scheduled.

However, on 24 November, another bus firm, PC Coaches, wrote on Facebook that it was aware of a hotel cancelling Hough's bookings due to non-payment of invoices.

Stephen Bryce, of PC Coaches, says his firm will honour some of Hough's bookings

Mr Davies, who was looking forward to the couple's first Christmas break since he took early retirement due to ill health, said he paid the final invoice on their £1,038 break on 11 November.

He became concerned after reading the post by PC Coaches.

Mr Davies called the hotel they were due to stay at, the Rob Roy in Aberfoyle, which confirmed it had cancelled the booking.

"I think it's disgusting," he said. "We found this was happening, but we're going away with a couple who are older than us, they don't do social media, they knew nothing about it.

"If it hadn't been for us, they would have been turning up for that holiday on the 23rd of December and the coach wouldn't have turned up for them."

PC Coaches said it was taking over Hough's booking office in Cleethorpes, but not the company itself.

Stephen Bryce, the managing director of PC Coaches, said the company posted about the problems on social media to try to keep people informed.

"It wasn't about bad-naming another operator or promoting ourselves. It was simply because we knew a lot of people who'd spent hard-earned money by paying for holidays and day trips and we wanted to let them know," he said.

PC Coaches had looked into taking over Hough's in the spring of this year, but backed away after looking into the company's finances, Mr Bryce added.

The Lincoln-based firm said it was honouring some of Hough's day trips and January holidays as a goodwill gesture to customers, but was unable to cover the December holidays.

Hough's of Lincolnshire was founded in 2006

The Rob Roy hotel said it was owed at least £17,000 by Hough's.

Manager Angie Siwak said: "This is deeply distressing, not only for our hotel, but, most importantly, for our valued customers who will be deeply affected by this.

"We have been in direct communication with all customers who have reached out.

"In addition, we will be issuing a detailed statement on our social media channels, which will provide relevant information and guidance to support our customers during this difficult situation."

Another group of pensioners contacted the BBC, but asked not to be named.

A member of the group said they had been due to go to the Thursford Christmas Spectacular in Norfolk and altogether had paid £1,925 to Hough's of Lincolnshire.

They had not been able to contact the company to request a refund.

Hough's of Lincolnshire's terms and conditions state that customers' money is kept in a trust account for "your financial peace of mind". The BBC has been unable to confirm whether refunds will be given.

What the law says

Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert at Which?, said it was a "really stressful situation" for customers who had paid in advance.

"The law requires package holiday customers' money to be protected in the event of a company ceasing to trade, but if you're struggling to get your money back through the company or its representatives, you may be able to make a claim through your credit or debit card company or your travel insurance," she said.

"If you paid using a credit card you can try getting your money back by making a Section 75 claim with your card provider, as it may be jointly liable for any breach of contract by the holiday firm.

"If you paid using a debit card then you can try claiming your money back from your card provider via chargeback.

"However, this isn't guaranteed and the time limits to make a claim can vary depending on the circumstances.

"Usually, you need to start the chargeback process either within 120 days from when you paid for the holiday or when you were due to travel, so you'll need to check with your provider about their specific rules."

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