Agents’ fury over Golden Sun payment delays

(21 April 2005)

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.