Holidaymakers who think they might be owed money by a travel agency closed down by the Insolvency Service have been urged to come forward.
Zulu Travel Services was wound up by the courts in June after investigators found it was being run by a disqualified director and had failed to keep company accounts or pay its bills.
The company also failed to co-operate with an investigation into its affairs, leaving them unable to find out the extent of the company’s business, including whether it had ever actually sold any holidays or flights to customers.
Zulu claimed to sell flights, hotels and holidays through its website, which displayed both ABTA and ATOL logos, but in March 2023 ABTA had told the company to cease using its logo as it wasn’t eligible for membership. Zulu continued to use the ATOL logo but there was no evidence it was licensed.
Zulu Travel Services Ltd was registered variously to addresses in Birkenhead, Chester, Manchester and London from its incorporation in October 2022. It listed Dr Darren Anderson as its sole director, but investigators have been unable to establish his true identity.
The travel agency booked holiday accommodation on a number of occasions for Anderson, but failed to pay for his stay.
The Official Receiver was appointed as liquidator by the court and has taken over the company’s affairs to identify any assets it might have and make any possible returns to its creditors.
Insolvency Service Chief Investigator David Usher said Zulu ‘left other businesses out of pocket after using their services and misled members of the public, who could have bought holidays that they believed were ATOL-protected’.
“We are pleased this company has now been removed to protect the public and advise those who might be owed any money by the company to contact the official receiver.”
An Insolvency Service investigation found that Anderson was already banned from running a company for 15 years – the maximum length of disqualification – under his previous name of Timothy Ahlbeck. His ban had started in April 2021.
Driving licence records suggested that Anderson had earlier been known by two other names – Timothy Richard Skelding and Miles Prestland-Windsor.
However Anderson failed to provide relevant documents to investigators, and they could not establish his true identity or discover if Anderson was the sole appointed director, or whether anyone else took part in the management of the business.
Investigators found that the company had held a bank account between November and December 2022, but the account had no transactions.
It had filed accounts with Companies House for October 2022 to October 2023 showing current assets of £1,307,400 and shareholder funds of £3,408,400, but investigators found no evidence to verify that these accounts were accurate.
They discovered that Anderson had made three attempts to get an ATOL licence for the company, and had declared that he was not a disqualified director as part of the application.
He had also claimed on the application that his assets included a house in Wolverhampton in which he was living at the time, although in fact he had been renting the property.
Despite offering to co-operate with investigators, Anderson claimed he was then resident in the Netherlands, while he was actually living in Hathersage in the Peak District, where he was tracked down by an investigator.
Investigators were unable to trace details of customers, discover if the company employed staff, or even had any trading premises, due to its failure to co-operate.
The full scale, financial details and nature of Zulu Travel Services business, and the amount of loss incurred by its customers and suppliers remains unknown, said the Insolvency Service.
Enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ. Email: piu.or@insolvency.gov.uk
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Zulu Travel Services was wound up by the courts in June after investigators found it was being run by a disqualified director and had failed to keep company accounts or pay its bills.
The company also failed to co-operate with an investigation into its affairs, leaving them unable to find out the extent of the company’s business, including whether it had ever actually sold any holidays or flights to customers.
Zulu claimed to sell flights, hotels and holidays through its website, which displayed both ABTA and ATOL logos, but in March 2023 ABTA had told the company to cease using its logo as it wasn’t eligible for membership. Zulu continued to use the ATOL logo but there was no evidence it was licensed.
Zulu Travel Services Ltd was registered variously to addresses in Birkenhead, Chester, Manchester and London from its incorporation in October 2022. It listed Dr Darren Anderson as its sole director, but investigators have been unable to establish his true identity.
The travel agency booked holiday accommodation on a number of occasions for Anderson, but failed to pay for his stay.
The Official Receiver was appointed as liquidator by the court and has taken over the company’s affairs to identify any assets it might have and make any possible returns to its creditors.
Insolvency Service Chief Investigator David Usher said Zulu ‘left other businesses out of pocket after using their services and misled members of the public, who could have bought holidays that they believed were ATOL-protected’.
“We are pleased this company has now been removed to protect the public and advise those who might be owed any money by the company to contact the official receiver.”
An Insolvency Service investigation found that Anderson was already banned from running a company for 15 years – the maximum length of disqualification – under his previous name of Timothy Ahlbeck. His ban had started in April 2021.
Driving licence records suggested that Anderson had earlier been known by two other names – Timothy Richard Skelding and Miles Prestland-Windsor.
However Anderson failed to provide relevant documents to investigators, and they could not establish his true identity or discover if Anderson was the sole appointed director, or whether anyone else took part in the management of the business.
Investigators found that the company had held a bank account between November and December 2022, but the account had no transactions.
It had filed accounts with Companies House for October 2022 to October 2023 showing current assets of £1,307,400 and shareholder funds of £3,408,400, but investigators found no evidence to verify that these accounts were accurate.
They discovered that Anderson had made three attempts to get an ATOL licence for the company, and had declared that he was not a disqualified director as part of the application.
He had also claimed on the application that his assets included a house in Wolverhampton in which he was living at the time, although in fact he had been renting the property.
Despite offering to co-operate with investigators, Anderson claimed he was then resident in the Netherlands, while he was actually living in Hathersage in the Peak District, where he was tracked down by an investigator.
Investigators were unable to trace details of customers, discover if the company employed staff, or even had any trading premises, due to its failure to co-operate.
The full scale, financial details and nature of Zulu Travel Services business, and the amount of loss incurred by its customers and suppliers remains unknown, said the Insolvency Service.
Enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ. Email: piu.or@insolvency.gov.uk
The post Potential victims of closed travel agency urged to come forward appeared first on Travel Gossip.
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