Tracey D writes: "We booked a holiday through a privately owned company called Seaview which was a Haven based site in Devon Cliffs.This was booked in May 2006 for 28th October 2006.The name of the owner was Neil and we had an 0800 telephone number and a PO Box address to forward the deposit which was £95.00. We received an email back saying it was received but no paperwork. The holiday was including Site passes to the club including swimming which our son was learning to swim especially for !!!!!!Also we knew they had The Country Life Park as our parents were going to come and spend the day there with us and our 2 boys. We never heard anything for some time and although leading a hectic life I do like having some organisation and when September came I decided to contact Neil regarding when the final payment was due and when would we get our passes etc.. I also wanted to know what was on during the weeks entertainment as it was Halloween and we wanted to take fancy dress for the children.

We have worked really hard this year, all hours and this was our main holiday for 2006 ! When I got through to Neil it was actually a recorded message left on his machine saying his wife had given birth the previous night and there was complications and an operation may be needed therefore he wouldn't be available for a while but he would get back to any callers ! I found this very strange as I was expecting a more professional contact. This made it extremely hard to leave a message as "when do I pay and we get our passes " seemed so trivial to what he was going through. I therefore phoned Haven immediately enquiring as to the legitimacy of "Neil" . They didn't know what I was talking about as they said Seaview was actually a holiday Park not a company. I should have known then things were going to get worse. After some discussion with numerous members of staff they said to phone direct to Devon Cliffs. I phoned them and again we had to through the whole Seaview thing again. Eventually I spoke to someone who said "yes, Seaview was a privately owned company and had caravans at Devon cliffs ". When I relayed the message and asked them if all was as it should be they reassured me saying that others had phoned with "that message" and yes all was o.k. Neil had just had a baby and so on... I said I felt awkward leaving a message with him and they said he was really good and would return the call ! So I phoned him expecting to leave a message and he picked up ! I awkwardly asked if I should be paying the final amount outstanding and asked if all was well with the baby where he just said "yeh, fine " and "£295 to pay!" "have you got the address ?" I read back the address I had and he confirmed . It was all very weird. My friend advised me not to send the cheque until the day of the hols when I had the keys in my hand but I so wanted no excuses for a disaster as we were all so looking forward to it !

We go there every year with the chldren and I have been going since I was a child with my family ! I sent the cheque along with a letter asking for confirmation and what's on and passes ! The week before the holiday I tried phoning but couldn't get hold of him at all. It took till the 26th of October 2 days before the holiday that I got hold of him. He said he had tried phoning me that week which was a lie as I had been home with our youngest. I asked if all was well with the holiday as I hadn't heard anything and was very concerned as we still had no passes or confirmation. He then very coyly said he was " gutted" that he had just found out that the Site at Devon Cliffs was shut !!!!!! The caravan was still available but there was no entertainment, no shops, no swimming pool and no Country Life Park " I could not believe it. It was the first week of half term ,I had my 2 boys within earshot. My 7 year old in tears saying "so we have no Holiday" Neil seemed so genuine even then ! He said he had only just been told there weren't enough people on the site ! He even offered us an extra night "thrown in" for no extra cost ! we had paid £390.00 for a holiday that didn't exist. After hours of phone calls from start to finish contacting Devon cliffs ,my husband at work and Haven it all became clear. Neil had even the nerve to tell me if I still wanted the holiday I would have to let him know that afternoon as he had to Post the keys to me. On reflection we wouldn't have received them in time anyway ! Devon Cliffs confirmed my worst fears that not only was the Park closed and had been since the beginning of October but all owners know this as the entertainment staff are all contracted! The Country Life Park was actually closed in September !!!My husband came home from work 4 hours early to help sort out the boys while I had to phone around to get a very last minute holiday. We managed to be successful with Woolacombe, Golden Coast and had to pay out another £400 there and then over the phone. We had a lovely time although I suffered a migraine for the first 2 days and was still so angry for the main part of the holiday ! My husband had phoned Neil back on the 26th and said we wished to have all our money back as we had to pay the same again for another one. Neil was absolutely fine and said he'd put a cheque in the post. Not only have we never received any cheque but Devon Cliffs , Haven and even Bourne Leisure say there is nothing they can do . They said they would contact him and get him to contact us but he hasn't. They say they are not responsible even though I said that the only reason I knew he was legitimate was because Devon cliffs assured me he was, yet now they are saying I am the only complaint they have had and they have never had problems with him before. They won't give me a surname ar home address as "data protection" yet they are all willing to let private owners on their site scam people out of hundreds of pounds and upset hard working people ! This is after all Havens reputation here.The more infuriating part is that when I contacted Bourne Lesiure and asked to speak to the person in charge who was by the way in a meeting I was assured the person I was speaking to would speak to the Managing Director the following day after a mention of getting the Police involved.That very next day I had to phone her just before they closed and had to remind her what the matter was regarding where she said no, as she thought there was nothing they could do ! I asked who she had spoken to and after a LONG pause she said Hayley and Nick at Devon Cliffs and they remember speaking to me ! So i phoned Devon Cliffs immediately sfter asking to speak to Hayley or Nick only to be told no one under those names had ever worked there. I wasn't surprised as I have spoken to Christine and Lucy and a whole bunch of other names but never a Hayley or Nick. So I have sent an e-mail to John Cook the MD at Bourne Leisure of my plight if you can call it that ! I have only received a "thankyou" reply from an advisor at the company who says it is being investigated, but is it ? By the way we tried the 0800 number again only to hear the same "baby being born the previous night " over a month later when there had been different messages in between !

Establishment - Individual Concerned: Neil at Seaview Holidays-Haven-Devon Cliffs

A recent correspondent reported that after flying to the USA, his wife and daughter were refused entry (A result of the 'special relationship Tony Blair has forged with the USA). They were refused because the I-94 (Visa Notice) had not been handed in at the end of their previous visit and that, therefore, they could have not left the USA after that visit. Ridiculous practice by the dunderheads at US immigration who obviously have ideas about how someone arriving on the aircraft from another country can possibly do so if they have never left the USA from a previous visit. Unfortunately, they are not willing to share this time-travel vision with the general public.

A few years ago, Continental Airlines were a carrier to be avoided, but we have used them several times in recent years and can vouch for their new found quality. In this case, although they were in no way at fault for this problem, they have given the two passengers a credit for the flights. Well done Continental, we hope it pays dividends in good publicity!