Staff left furious after firm's shock closure (From Stroud News and Journal)

Staff left furious after firm's shock closure

THE sudden closure of a Stroud travel agency has left staff reeling after they were given just 20 minutes to pack their bags.

Staff at Starline Travel in London Road were shocked to find out all the chain's branches would be closing last Tuesday with almost no warning.

Starline is part of the Swifta Travel Ltd which has nine branches across Gloucestershire and, until last Monday, employed almost 40 people.

"There are some jobs around in the area," said Peter Millard, who managed the Stroud and Gloucester branches and had worked for the company since 1972.

"But finding 40 people replacement jobs is going to be difficult.

"I suppose the first inkling we had that something was wrong was on Monday afternoon when a couple of tour operators contacted us and said they had problems with payments.

"On Tuesday morning when we went into work we were denied access to many of the main operators.By then we knew there was something up.

"About an hour later we had a phone call to say a representative of the company would be calling round the offices."

When the representative arrived in Stroud the staff were given just 20 minutes to leave.

"He came in and said: 'This office is closing as of now, clear your desks, leave the office, and leave any keys.' We didn't even have a chance to tie up lose ends," said Mr Millard.

Branch manager Alison Franklin said: "I think I'm still in shock. I've been there 13 years and can't believe I'm never going back."

Staff told the News & Journal they had since discovered no national insurance credits or income tax has been paid for them for almost three years which means they could face difficulties claiming benefits while looking for new employment.

"We've been told by the Inland Revenue that they have got no record of tax or national insurance payments for any employee since 1999," said Mr Millard.

The Inland Revenue said individual cases were confidential and they could not confirm the allegation.

Company boss Sally Royle and husband Roy Knight are understood to be currently living in Cyprus.

The News & Journal attempted to contact them but neither was available for comment.

Starline staff wanted to reassure customers who had already booked holidays that these were not in jeopardy and would go ahead as planned.

"Our main concern, apart from the obvious worry about our own jobs, is for the customers," said Mr Millard. "They are going to worry about their holidays.

"But none of the customers is going to lose out, nobody's going to lose their holiday. They are covered by the Association of British Travel Agents."

"We're gutted for our customers," he added. "Some of them have been really royal and have come back year after year. We count them as friends."

A spokesman for ABTA confirmed that people did not need to worry about losing their holidays.

"If people have booked with an ABTA bonded travel agency or tour operator their holidays are safe," she said.

"They will still be able to go on their holidays or get their money back." Anybody who is concerned should call ABTA on 0207 3072041.