Customers were left out of pocket, without holidays, and with no refunds provided.

Travel agents Felix Travels and Tours Limited has been shut down by the High Court after numerous complaints from customers who did not receive the holidays they paid for. In many instances, trips were canceled at the last minute, forcing holidaymakers to pay again for transfers, accommodation, and other services.

Approximately 300 customers are owed nearly £600,000 in refunds.

Felix Travels and Tours Limited (FTT), operating as Felix Holidays, offered travel packages that included flights, accommodation, transfers, and extras like Disneyland tickets and ski passes. However, many customers did not receive all the services they paid for, and some had to repurchase these services from other providers.

The High Court in London ordered the winding-up of FTT on Tuesday, July 2.

Cheryl Lambert, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, stated:

"Felix Travels and Tours claimed to be a high-quality, trusted travel agency. This was sadly not the experience for holidaymakers who had packages canceled at the last minute or were left missing accommodation or other services they had paid for in advance. To make matters worse, around a quarter of the company’s total customers are owed refunds approaching almost £600,000. These completely objectionable trading practices left us with no option but to apply to have the company wound-up to protect customers in the future."

Established in April 2020, FTT operated a call center in Sri Lanka. The company took initial deposits from customers and arranged payment plans to spread the holiday cost. However, some holidaymakers who paid in full arrived at their destinations only to find parts of their packages unavailable. Others faced last-minute cancellations.

Several customers on monthly payment plans were advised by FTT’s call center staff to stop payments as their holiday packages could not be fulfilled. FTT also misled customers into believing they had ATOL protection when they did not. A separate, legitimate travel agency, which had a contract with FTT, terminated the agreement and reported them to Action Fraud.

Investigations by the Insolvency Service revealed that FTT ceased trading by the end of February 2023, having stopped paying suppliers and operating expenses. The company also owes trade suppliers an estimated £7,000.

FTT failed to fully cooperate and provide up-to-date accounts during the investigation, which began in August 2023. The Official Receiver has been appointed as the liquidator of the company.

All inquiries regarding FTT’s affairs should be directed to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Photo by Federico Giampieri federicogiampieri, Wikimedia commons.