Martyn Backlund-Leale has been left £900 out of pocket by the collapse of XL but he, wife Clare and sons Ernie, 3, and Joseph, 5, are booking their Florida holiday with another agent. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0641066)
A FAMILY of four has lost nearly £900 and been forced to re-book a holiday because the XL travel group collapsed.
But the Backlund-Leales are philosophical because, they said, many people were worse affected than them. ‘We will have to pay a lot more money to go to another airline,’ said Martyn Backlund-Leale, a taxi driver.
He and wife Clare had already paid two instalments for a two-week holiday next February for them and sons Joseph, 5, and Ernie, 3, complete with flights, hotels and entry to Disney World in Florida when the news about the collapse broke.
‘We were surprised. We were recommended the company by friends who used them four or five times and said they were good,’ Mr Backlund-Leale said.
XL, Britain’s third-largest holiday company, announced on Friday that it had gone into administration, stranding 85,000 passengers overseas.
The Civil Aviation Authority said that 20,000 people had advance bookings with XL’s airline.
Mrs Backlund-Leale said her parents broke the news after seeing it on television.
‘But as soon as they called us I realised how lucky we were, really, because it happened when it did and not later, when we would have paid £4,000-£5,000 more to cover everything,’ she said.
‘At least we can still re-book. I feel very, very sorry for the people who were stranded or who had already paid the full amount.’
The family will be seeking compensation for the £880 already paid, she said.
‘We have filled out forms, but I imagine it will be many months until we hear anything back or it gets sorted out.’
They have tried to re-book with Thomas Cook.
‘It’s difficult to go through the process and the details again, sorting out times and flights. We are just waiting for Thomas Cook to get back to us,’ said Mrs Backlund-Leale.
‘At least we can, though. Some poor people must be feeling terribly let down.’
Article posted on 16th September, 2008 - 2.29pm
8 Article Comments
this poor guy and his family should be given some chance of re-payment, he worked hard for his holiday. why should a big business be able to ruin his and his families dreams,
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Whilst my heart goes out to all families effected by the XL crisis, it is fortunate that Mr Backlund-Leales is a Taxi driver who can command the GBP 900 by simply taking a fare from the airport to the Venture!
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This family will get their money back as XL were a bonded company.
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K
Who exactly would make the repayment and where is the money coming from?
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Bit of a snide remark Max. Shame.
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John – you’re wrong. The only way the family might get some money back is if they booked through an ATOL approved travel agent, or, possibly, if they paid on a credit card.
And K – wake up. Seriously.
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Ah right……sorry J. Yes wake up K and well said Stephen
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We had a party of 8 booked with xl.We have managed to book our new flights with virgin for the same cost as xl.Due to the fact that i paid £500 deposit by switch through the xl website i will not get that refunded.The balance was paid by visa so we are hoping to get that back.
I feel sorry that some people can’t afford to rebook as quickly,hopefully they will get their money back and be able to travel at a later date.
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