AGENTS have criticised the Civil Aviation Authority for long delays
in paying out over tour operator Golden Sun, which failed more than
six months ago.
The CAA has admitted around 2,000 claims are still outstanding
following the operator’s collapse last October which affected
20,000 passengers.
However, CAA deputy director of consumer protection group David
Moesli blamed delays on late submissions and incorrect paperwork
from agents.
Speaking at last weekend’s Worldchoice conference, Moesli
said: “Some claims were straightforward but we had difficulty
with some agents who didn’t provide all the documents to
prove people had a claim.”
Knighton Travel managing director David Wootton said his client was
eventually refunded on April 18, after suffering delays blamed on
the fact the customer had paid by building society cheque. He
claimed the agency employed by the CAA to deal with the payouts,
AON, also lost his clients’ documents.
Moesli said: “We did have some problems in the very early
stages because we were deluged with lots of claims and had to train
staff.”
Any agents with queries about Golden Sun should email him at: moeslid@cpg.org.uk.