Carol Peters Travel firm director Peter Howe has today (January 19) issued a statement apologising to customers following the closure of the coach business.
Mr Howe, who has run the business with wife Carol for some 24 years, said: “Unfortunately at 12.05pm on Thursday (January 16) due to various financial problems we were forced to close Carol Peters Travel.
“The website will be dealt with by an outside source and will be closed down asap.
“We would like to apologise to all our customers for any inconvenience this has caused anyone.
“We are personally devastated by the closure but would like to thank our staff and customers for their support over the last 24 years.”
Coaches at the Carol Peters Manston depot have been repossessed despite Mr Howe’s attempts at negotiations to keep the business running. Staff were informed of the closure on Friday morning.
It is not yet clear how refunds will be obtained but Mr Howe, 73, said he will do all he can to make sure customers are reimbursed.
Such a shame after all these years. It wasn’t that many years ago they were up for 4 different awards. At least an explanation has been forthcoming now.
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2017/03/22/isle-coach-company-in-the-running-for-four-national-awards/
Gutted for them such a nice family Lovely drivers and many happy memories of great trips and aholiday
Why has it taken then so long to tell customers of the situation?
Rather poor service, that dozens of people, including pensioners, have left literally in the lurch, waiting in the freezing cold at pick-up points for coaches that never came.
I purchased £100 gift voucher for my sister & her husband for their golden wedding present. I will need to know how claim this money back.
Daphne,
If you paid by credit card (not debit) contact your credit card company.
Too late I’m afraid. Your behaviour has been shameful to many customers.’Forced’ in to apologising more like due to the hoards of negative comments about this company. Your failings have been going on for weeks now -letting customers down big time and not answering concerns .I can’t help but feeling that your arrogance has eventually been your downfall. Do the right thing and reimburse EVERY single customer whose money you have taken and let down !
Times of great stress, both professional and/or personal, can cause previously ‘out of character’ behaviours.
Sad to see a well-established local firm fail.
Absolutely discusting this was going on weeks ago they should pay back their customers every single penny , how who knows when they’ve had their coaches taken feel sorry for the people that have paid out money with them . They knew they were in trouble why take money off people .
Their behaviour is not out of character. they have proved to me many times in writing, the way they have behaved over this is true to form. No stress has been caused to them, it’s them that have caused stress and worry to their loyal customers PENSIONERS. People were looking in the shop today to go in and book a break. it seems it is down to their x customers to inform the public of their closure. There is still no sign on the windows our door that business is closed for the duration. or business in the hands of the receivers. If these people opened the door even now the many people who do not know of their closure, would still be booking and they would still be taking their money. that has been going on daily since they opened the door 6th January, and distributed their brochures for 2020. These people have no conscience about what they have done to Pensioners
I went into the shop at westgate on 13/1/2020 for a trip going on in February pay for my 2tickets to Brugge got a receipt none has rang and said what or is going to happening trying to ring concerning a refund.i been a good customer there should of done the decent thing and contacted the customers
This is terrible such a reliable firm too !!!
Like many others, I, too, booked several trips only days before their closure. A rather sad legacy that they will only be remembered for still taking money with their closure so imminent. You can only claim from your bank for a credit card payment if the amount was for £100 or more for each transaction. Any less and banks will not refund you.
Should the amount be less or paid on a debit card worth while trying a claim for a “chargeback” Different rules than a section 75 credit card claim, but many chageback claims are successful
Why is it always about the poor old pensioner? What about the people who have lost their jobs? Stop being so miserly, it’s because of poor old flippin pensioners expecting everything for nothing that everyone else is struggling.
Whilst appreciating that employees of Carol Peters have lost their jobs, I too, was made redundant during my career, so empathize with them. However, I think it quite unfair to label pensioners as being miserly in wanting a refund for bookings taken so near to Carol Peters closure. I had many trips with them over the years and the vast majority of patrons were pensioners who quite obviously kept this firm in business. In continuing to take money with little chance of full-filling their obligation gives the phrase “taken for a ride” new meaning.
From a disgruntled “flipping old pensioner”
It is disappointing that the company has closed, I hope the employees find alternative employment and that those people who have paid for trips get their money back. My mother went on a trip in October, to Scotland. It was evident then that the company was in trouble. They arrived at a hotel to find out it hadn’t been paid for, all paid excursions were cancelled the week before the trip and the people who did the trip had to pay extra entrance fees to make the trip anything other than a drive to Scotland and back. I could write a very long email about the companies failures for my mothers trip and the way the company dealt with our complaint but I’ll just say this. They caused distress and frustration in the defensive manner in which they dealt with my mothers complaint about her trip. I hope the people who have booked trips get dealt with in a respectful manner and are not treated as if they are the villain, as was in my mothers case.