Panicked customers attempt to contact Carol Peters Travel amid reports firm has shut down

Carol Peters Travel

Customers of a Thanet coach travel company have been attempting to contact the firm after reports that it has closed down.

Lease hire coaches at the Manston depot were moved off the site this morning (January 17) and a longstanding customer was contacted yesterday to break the news so they could rebook prearranged trips elsewhere.

The current tenants of the former Carol Peters offices in Deal also confirmed they have been deluged with calls about booked trips.

Agents across the isle who take bookings on behalf of the travel company say they have not been able to reach anyone at the business.

The firm is owned by Carol and Peter Howe and run with son Gary Herbert. Calls to office phones and an emergency mobile number remain unanswered.

The firm has been contacted  for a response.

30 Comments

  1. Not surprised in the least.Dreadful customer service and arrogant. Drivers are lovely and it’s so sad that they have lost employment.

  2. They used to be very good but went down hill in the last year. Some of drivers were lovely but one or two agency drivers were not a good at all.

  3. Let’s hope everything is going to be OK I have enjoyed many trips with this company and always found the driver’s friendly and helpful

  4. It is a bit worrying. I have just looked on the website and you can still book and pay for trips. If they have folded they should admit it so people can start to reclaim their money from Credit cards using section 75, or debit cards from their banks.

  5. It is very very sad but the Coach industry has come under so much extra regulations in the last 2 years with Euro 6 compliance and PSVAR coming in jan 1st this year . I know they tried to conform to the latest regulations and invested in new vehicles last year but at £250,000 each that is a massive investment. The uncertainty surrounding Brexit dramatically affected tourism last year and Im positive this affected it too . I’m sure the owners did everything possible to save the company . Now being in administration all contact should be through the administrator and the owners would have been advised not to comment . Wish everyone well

    • They didn’t own the coaches they were acquired on a finance lease program. Its a shame though when a small local company goes POP .

    • All of their coaches were euro 6 even before they leased new ones from Scania, and even their new ones weren’t Psvar compliant, so that has nothing to do with it. Started to go down hill when and after they purchased Eastonways, and opened the shop again. Tried to cover old ground again. Plus with the drivers they had, must of been expensive as even new Coaches all had dents etc.

      Very strange that why lease all brand new Coaches if struggling financially, and why not sell the expensive vehicles that the directors are driving around in first?????

    • What rubbish Brexit has nothing to do with it, Oh I know if all else fails we will blame it on Brexit It’s the EU that has laid down all the new rules they don’t want us to leave why should they we pay £39 billion to be dictated to. They are doing their best to make life as hard as they can. Just Leave Brexit out of it. Look closer to home, It must have paid off for them to think they can run rough shod over people who have put the bread and jam on their plates again. That is what a lot of pensioners live on in order to have a couple of trips out, or a holiday. People should not be treated this way.

      • Dear Dawn, Keep up to date, this is one of many, some of the first to go under because of the idiotic Brexit. Look at he Bloomberg financials – the UK has already spent more on Brexit than all the contributions we have made since the seventies. Wake up. You were lied to. You, your children, and your children’s children will suffer the impact of this catastrophic mistake.

  6. Amazing you’d think with so much KSE business they’d do well.

    Perhaps it’s an opportunity for someone to buy the business for a song and run it more efficiently.

  7. I was worried about this coach company last year when they failed to print the 2019-2020 brochure in march , all you could get was a copy of their trips on line ,when I asked about the brochures the girl said they were not doing them because it was all on the internet , also a trip I was booked on was cancelled at the last minute .

  8. How very sad… another local business gone down, soon Thanet will have nothing, used them lots over the years

  9. Oddly, i received their brochure in the post only last week, hadnt requested but am previous customer, so hoped the rumours were Incorrect, but now….

  10. A driver told me that they was all laid off on Thursday and the coaches have been repossessed friday morning, so presuming the bailiffs have seized assets and property.

  11. I only booked to go to ostend with my husband on 10th January for 31st January. They would have known then so why did they take my money I actually spoke to some one and booked over the phone not a happy person.

  12. So sad to hear about Carol Peters have used them many times over the last few years. Lovely bunch of people.

  13. Not surprised

    They closed 3 weeks before a Christmas holiday was due, leaving people wondering where their paper work was for their holiday’s, it arrived 4 days before the departure date. One of the holiday’s was a total disaster, bad food, bad service, dirty hotel room and rooms with no windows. it was at the Palace Hotel Buxton. One of their drivers had said the hotel was good. Mr and Mrs Howe must have known the situation when they closed before Christmas yet they still opened the shop on January the 6th as if it was business as usual. I Don’t know if the amount of people in the shop were there to complain about their holiday or to book further trips or holidays. Which ever was the case, The Howes must have known what was coming, yet they still took peoples money, most of whom were pensioners. Almost all of the drivers are honest and hard working. they do not deserve this kind of treatment. There are just one or two that have no people skills. The rest are a credit to any coach company. It is of no surprise to me they have closed down. Many people won’t have read about the closure, Therefore they will be in their tomorrow. I saw one yesterday looking in the window to find something for him and his wife. There will be no end until the notice goes up in the shop window. Closed for business Permanently. We will see what happens tomorrow.

  14. Also had a reputation for taking bookings as they couldn’t cover and then passing the worst jobs out to other companies and keeping best jobs for themselves, at the same time as often ‘expecting’ their drivers including my husband to drive whilst bending the rules on tacho regulations.

    • Gary Herbert was a nightmare to work for. How that company got away with what they did was beyond me. My husband was one of their emoyees. He ended up with a nervous breakdown because of Gary herbert

  15. Only booked a trip last week for next Saturday! Have been on lots of trips with Carol Peters over many years and never had a problem before.The drivers have always been really good.Have sent a message but am not sure they will reply from what people are saying.Will have to be there to catch the coach but it doesn’t look like it turn up.Shame on them if they are taking money knowing they won’t deliver the service

  16. I booked 2 tickets for Chelsea flower show in may costing £195,70 on Saturday 11th and received in post receipt dated 13th January confirming tickets. Have tried phoning them with no reply so tried to book again on their webb site just to see if it was still up and running today and it accepted the booking. I of course didn’t complete the sale. Credit card can’t do anything for me until I receive an email confirming situation

  17. I feel sorry for all the staff that have lost their jobs but the owners must of been trying to keep the company going until the end. I do feel sorry for everyone that had trips booked but just remember you might not be struggling to keep a roof over your head and food on your table unlike some of the staff that lost their jobs.

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