Former World Travel Lounge staff owed money following the collapse of WTL Travel Services have firmly disputed claims they were fully supported by the company.
WTL Travel Services, which employed staff at the former 10-branch agency chain World Travel Lounge, has gone into liquidation owing £127,000 to 22 employees. The Blackpool-based firm was set up last year by David McDonald, director of Book in Style, which traded as World Travel Lounge.
Following its collapse, former employees have hit back at McDonald’s claims in Travel Weekly that staff were the company’s “sole focus”.
More: WTL Travel Services enters liquidation owing agency staff £127k
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One told Travel Weekly: “He [McDonald] gave staff no support. There are people owed lots of money.
“He has never apologised to me. The whole experience has destroyed my view of travel and this industry I love working for.”
Another former staff member said: “There have been phone calls, letters and emails for a number of months regarding money he owes me and each one has gone ignored. I can’t put into words how angry, stressed and exhausted I am.
“For months I have been trying to get what I am rightfully owed and it’s really taken its toll on me. It’s not fair, and none of us deserve this.”
A third ex-employee said staff were regularly not paid on time, adding: “You’d start to get anxious a couple of days before payday each month, wondering if you were going to get paid or not.
“Sometimes there was no communication at all, you just worried all day and when it didn’t come in you’d have a sleepless night. Even after chasing and being promised it would be in, it didn’t appear. We all have mortgages and bills, a lot have kids too. It’s not on.”
A Statement of Affairs filed at Companies House on February 16, 2023, shows WTL Travel Services owes £277,784 in total, including £123,653 to HMRC for PAYE and National Insurance contributions; £20,519 to NOW Pensions; and £6,500 in trade and expense claims.
The Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed Book in Style’s LGBTQ+ tour operation Chillimix, set up in 2020, no longer has an Atol licence to sell flight-protected packages.
More: WTL Travel Services enters liquidation owing agency staff £127k
Hays Travel North West snaps up two World Travel Lounge branches [Oct 22]