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Avanti Holidays director jailed and disqualified
A director of a holiday company has been jailed and banned from being a director because he carried on trading for more than a year after becoming insolvent.
Raymond Cash, director of Avanti Holidays, a coach package operator based in Telford, was jailed for a year and disqualified for six years.
His daughter Grace, a co-director of the company, was also disqualified for six years and given 200 hours’ community service. Raymond Cash was adjudged bankrupt in 1980 but, after being discharged, set up another company that went into liquidation in 1991.
In 1999 he set up Avanti with his daughter but in March 2002 it became insolvent. However, he carried on trading and taking money from customers until May 2003.
Eventually, some 160 holidaymakers lost either their deposits or full payments, with total losses reaching more than £45,000. More than 60 people were stranded abroad.
During the time after the company became insolvent, Cash illegally tapped into a trust fund account set up to protect customers.
Alex Rankin, of Telford Trading Standards, which brought the prosecution, said: “Before a holiday company in the EU can operate lawfully to offer such package holidays it must, by Regulations 17-20 of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 and Article 7 of Council Directive 90/314/EEC ensure that it has at all times sufficient security for the refund of money paid over and for the repatriation of the consumer in the event of insolvency.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd www.newsfromabroad.com
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