 Poster: A snowHead
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Stephen101,
Could someone please explain how poor snow this year could have had an adverse impact on this year's cashflow when people pay for their holidays in advance? Does it really put people off from booking the following year or does Reynard also take last minute bookings?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Stephen101,
The snow report for February in Interlaken was good. With the hotels all booked up months in advance - not SE though - and not a bed to spare. I phoned the hotel in Interlaken the week 2 bus loads were meant to stay and the snow was great and the rooms were full up!
Snow = cashflow. It is another Rich-Man-Reynard mystery of accounting practices. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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noskitrip,
Perhaps the "Great Swiss Hotel Rebellion" melted all the snow? 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Has any parent managed to speak to Reynard - he has ignored my many requests by email/voicemail to discuss the matter with him - the first half dozen of which were very polite. Or is he only interested in speaking to those who still have money to pay.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks for the replies, some good, some just emotive.
You seem to have missed my point a bit. Where we disagree, is on the issue the motive. I believe that SE ran out of cash (for whatever reason) some of you seem to believe that CR is an evil fraudster. There is a difference. We did have to great holidays in 2008 & 2010 – some organisational issues but great holidays.
You might want to spend 5 minutes looking into the financial position of the group holiday sector market leader, you will find that a substantial part of their business is in administration but are still operating.
As far as we are concerned I have written to CR with an extensive list of questions concerning the probity of SE Ltd, CR t/a SE and his insurance liability. I spoke with AM Trust two weeks ago (who were useless) and they passed me onto the brokers. The brokers were a bit better until I asked some more detailed questions, then they got in a muddle. I have spoken to Devon & Cornwall police and have obtained the current crime number (it is clear that the majority of what is posted on here is just not true in respect of the police).
I am awaiting other replies from CR at present.
So I am approaching this from a purely financial & contractual point of view. It’s all very well some of you who are in a different position getting upset and shouting down anyone who is trying to be reasonable but we are in a catch 22. If we cancel now we have no contractual right to our £1500 back (no matter what the amateur lawyers on here say), so I am trying to leave no stone unturned to help me make the right decision.
Lastly, I wouldn’t point any parents towards this forum, for the simple reason it is like every single internet forum - it starts off well meaning and there are certainly some good posts but eventually it gets dominated by idiots, emotion, and rumour dressed up as fact.
Thanks to those who make sensible replies.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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btw, the "bad snow" comment was my own not one offered by SE.......
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outofpocket, I have no vested interest in any of this so what I say should be mostly objective and dispassionate. I have run many school and adult ski trips and I have also worked as an instructor for SE and have met Mr Reynard too. You may have liked him, and he does have an easy charm about him, but I can honestly say I did not feel comfortable with him and felt uneasy about his trustworthiness long before any of this blew up. That of course is subjective and of no more relevance than your liking him.
Do consider, however, these two statements which I think are factual and make your own inference:
He speaks to and is nice to you who are bringing him new business and money. He doesn't speak to those whose money he took but who did not get the service paid for.
I expect you have done so, but if not, it is worth going through this thread, cutting out the crap and concentrating on a few core issues, not least that a hell of a lot of clients' money has seemingly disappeared without their getting the service paid for or in some case having to pay coach firms/hotels extra. I cannot see any way of doubting that as a fact and as the core fact affecting your situation. Having paid your deposits it is understandable that you want to hold on to the possibility of everything working out OK but beware of the possible danger of being led by hope rather than reality. That is one reason for ensuring a lawyer is working for you (a parent?). I assume that you also have the wider resources of the Scouting Association to draw on as well. I expect you already have, but I reckon you must meet with your Scouts and their parents and present them openly with all that is going on so that they share the problem and share in the decision-making. You don't have to point them to this thread, but just summarise what is clearly known - and play a recording of the BBC programme to them.
You may feel embarrassed and very anxious at having committed their money to what could be a lost cause, but you can hope for their understanding and support (don't forget they too are aware of two successful trips). You talk of your making the right decision. Don't make it alone.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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outofpocket,
Its nice to have fresh input. Your problem is the same as that of a gambler who is sweating that they are about to lose a stake. Double or nothing? Good money after bad? Noone likes to walk away from money paid - that's why these threads get emotive too.
I assume you have paid £1500 in total. So each contributor (say 10) is in for £150, or £75 if there are 20 of you. Personally, I wouldn't want to put more money into SE. I agree that SE has been running 'as a business' up until this year, but it passed the tipping point and some chickens are coming home to roost from past dealings. I'd rather lose the 10% and go elsewhere, with better insurance bonding and better reputation. Others will be doing the same which is a problem for SE, but that's not due to a public trashing of the company, that's free opinion being shared within a community. You can read it and make your own judgements. One thing that is clear to me is that IF things go wrong, then dealing with CR/SE is a totally different experience and I wouldn't take the risk. He has not honoured obligations, moral or contractual, without forcing an expensive fight.
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| Quote: |
You might want to spend 5 minutes looking into the financial position of the group holiday sector market leader, you will find that a substantial part of their business is in administration but are still operating.
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I have already done so. Companies either usually make the decision themselves to go into administration because they are unable to meet their bills or because they are forced to do so by their banks. This protects their creditors, triggers the insurance and bonding arrangements and in some cases allows the company to carry on trading if there are profitable elements of their businesses. It also brings in often necessary specialists in to run the operations. When such companies go into adminsitration in the travel business they usually have something left to pay the creditors if not 100 p in the £ they certainly pay more than what is currently being offered by Reynard.
You may wish to ask yourself why Mr Reynard is not taking the bankruptcy route so that his creditors are offered the best protection. There are good reasons why these mechanisms have been established, why is he so keen to avoid them when others as you have pointed out are not? If he has done nothing wrong and still has some profitable operations which could be sold then surely such a route would offer the best outcome for all concerned wouldn't it? Perhaps as a businessman yourself you could point out to Reynard what you think his chances are of trading out of his current difficulties and the dangers which arise from trading while insolvent.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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outofpocket,
The other thing you should most definitely do is work out which entity you have your contract with as you postings indicate some ambiguity between SE and Reynard trading as SE. This should also be the same entity as has the insurance arrnagements with AmTrust. If it isn't then the contract has breached the PAckage Holiday Regulations and you should speak to a lawyer about recovering the full amount of your deposit.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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outofpocket, I think the big difference this year is that Skiing Europe appears to have got rid of all it's old directors and is now run solely by Mr Reynard, the treatment of staff employed by SE has apparently never been brilliant with several making comments that their pay was late and they had to keep phoning to get that, however this year SE's staff seem to have been very badly treated with at least one rep threatened with arrest because SE sent a bouncing cheque, that rep was unable to make contact with anyone at SE during that time.
So I would say examining the evidence so far that SE previously seems to have provided a reasonable service to schools etc. but that this year there have been major financial problems, the obvious suspicion is that this has something to do with the way Mr Reynard is running the business but until this comes to court and/or accounts are submitted in all honesty that's hard to prove. What isn't hard to prove is that trips that have been booked and paid for in full have fallen into 4 distinct categories in the last season.
1. Trips taken perfectly normally, no complaints, there have been at least some of these.
2. Trips cancelled by schools at last minute due to Mr Reynard being apparently unable to provide proof of booking - Several of these
3. Trip cancelled by SE with promise of trip next season instead - Only one of these I've heard about
4. Trip taken, possibly not to original booked resort, where some or all of the costs have had to be paid out twice by the school (once to SE and again to people in resort) , several of these, although in at least one case trips were cut short as additional payments could not be made.
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D G Orf,
To be fair to Reynard I wouldn't read too much into his wife resigning as a director of SE which was a dormant company until at least last year.
The accounts AITO saw, and to which they referred to in the BBC programme, had Reynard making a £400k profit on a turnover of £2m. Assuming these were truthful accounts - it certainly does require some explanation as to why Reynard is so spectatcularly failing to honour his contracts this year (to the tune of at least £600k from what we know about). Prima facie this looks to be a little more than cashflow indigestion especially when you take into account Reynard's treatment of his creditors. You also cannot ignore his past record of trading while insolvent and his subsequent disqualification as a Director.
Reynard says that he is looking for bank finance - if this is really the case then he will have had to prepare accounts which I guess any bank would want to have audited. If this is the case I think anyone with future holidays booked with Reynard would be perfectly justified in asking for sight of such accounts. If I were Amtrust I would also be asking to see such accounts as well.
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You know it makes sense.
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Some good posts...
D G Orf, I think you have just posted the fairest and most accurate assessment of the situation yet – made so by removing opinion and rumour…
As to our position, the various bits of advice given on this page were already being undertaken and are at an advanced stage i.e. establishing who the booking is with and that insurance is in place.
As to the point someone made about me being too embarrassed to tell parents etc.. that is just total hogwash 1) We are a large and relatively wealthy Group and therefore will just stand the £1500 (20 people * £75), this would be gaoling but not the end of the world 2) I/we have nothing to be embarrassed about, we have booked with an organisation we have used twice before and has been trading (one way or another) successfully decades and they are insured to level they are required to be. If anyone on here has the magic formula for predicting which companies/individuals, in any sector, are going to encounter financial difficulties then get it bottled and sell it - you'll be able to pay all the schools off from one weeks sales!!
When all is said and done we remain in the difficult position as to whether we proceed or not…. And the choice is clear, risk throwing good money after bad but probably still get a holiday (??) or cut our losses and accept a loss of £1500 because WE cancel.
I will be receiving a letter from CR tomorrow and I will make my decision after that. I wont be publishing any contents of any communications between Chris and I.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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outofpocket, I think in your situation I would wait as long as possible before paying the next instalment, at the moment it's possible that this will all blow over (I think it unlikely mind you), however given that you are now aware of a potential problem I think you personally might be held to account where you to agree to the balance being paid only for the trip to end up being cancelled, I really don't envy your situation, I guess this is where lawyers come in 
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Poster: A snowHead
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outofpocket,
15 years ago Mr Reynard was not paying his bills for printing, 15 months ago he was doing the same for ski instructors, 15 weeks ago the list included hotels and more. I consider that to be a behavioural trading style that worked when money in the bank earned some interest but does not today. the "cheque in the post" ruse has no foundation and I have found what little Reynard says to have foundation either. It is important that earlier this year the longest serving members of the SE team left, one wrote a simple and strong Open Letter to schools and organisers to explain he was nothing to do with the current situation.
I'm not sure it gives motive; it shows behaviour and that is unlikely to change for your 2012 trip. Let's go along this road and assume circumstances led to this; are we to feel sorry for the old fella who has got caught out by the increasing pace of today's world? I don't think we are dealing with a bumbling bloke at all.
If Reynard has no motive and he is just caught out by circumstances, so what now? There is no cash flow issue today. He has plenty of cash, so his excuses don't stand up on the most base level. He could at least pay the ski instructors who worked this season and remain out of pocket?
The Reynard contract and terms and conditions are masterful. I would involve others just to share the load and get another perspective.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Stephen101 wrote: |
D G Orf,
The accounts AITO saw, and to which they referred to in the BBC programme, had Reynard making a £400k profit on a turnover of £2m. |
Wow! I wonder what his trading profits were on his tax return?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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outofpocket,
I don't know if the stong euro is your or Reynard's explanation as to why he has cash flow indigestion - but since you are interested in facts could I suggest you look at a graph of exchange rates - the trend sinece the start of 2009 has been for the Euro to weaken against sterling. My guess is that most bookings for 2011 were not made more than 2 years in advance.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| outofpocket wrote: |
As to the point someone made about me being too embarrassed to tell parents etc.. that is just total hogwash |
Read again, please: I simply did not say that. Note the use of "may". And I most certainly did not suggest you were too embarrassed to tell the parents.
| ccl wrote: |
You may feel embarrassed and very anxious at having committed their money to what could be a lost cause ....... |
Waste of time trying to be sympathetic and helpful, wasn't it? If you don't at least feel anxious, then you should. Embarrassment was a perfectly possible reaction too. If you were not embarrassed that is good, but you could have simply said you are ok about the situation without misreading and being so high-handed.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Stephen101 wrote: |
outofpocket,
I don't know if the strong euro is your or Reynard's explanation as to why he has cash flow indigestion - but since you are interested in facts could I suggest you look at a graph of exchange rates - the trend sinece the start of 2009 has been for the Euro to weaken against sterling. My guess is that most bookings for 2011 were not made more than 2 years in advance. |
They were my own thoughts not that of SE or CR. Again you perhaps show a limited experience and understanding compound cash flow problems. Generally, most cash flow problems are a result of a gradual worsening of positive C/f over a number of years. SE's problems probably began as a result of issues like a stronger Euro back in 2007, remember when you could get E1.5 to the £1 and then in short space of time it dropped to parity! Once these cash flow problems had started they would have manifested but would have been manageable if trade continued at the same level or began to grow again the following year. (btw I'm assuming all of this so none of it sits in the 'fact' box). SE using ‘year 2’ cash to pay ‘year 1’ bills is unwise and unhealthily but it is hardly unique in the business world - even Tesco screws some of its suppliers down to 150 days terms. Anyhow it was unwise but he could have pulled it off through positive trading and a gradual return to normal trading circumstances.
I don’t know what happened to bring it all down, probably he just had 10 or 20% reductions in bookings last year which was the tipping point. Had he had much better bookings and/or maybe a much earlier Easter then all this could have sorted itself out and we would all have been blissfully unaware. What must be a fact is that as soon as schools started cancelling en-mass then he was screwed (I'm NOT saying I blame them, just pointing out that it accelerated his down fall).
I AM NOT DEFENDING SE/CR AND I AM NOT CRITICISING ANY SCHOOL - WHAT I AM POINTING OUT IS THAT THIS COULD BE JUST A GOOD OLD FASHIONED CASE OF A COMPANY GOING BELLY UP - IT DOESN’T FOLLOW THAT CR IS A CROOK OR A FRAUD.
(I am trying to be fair and reasoned)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| ccl wrote: |
| outofpocket wrote: |
As to the point someone made about me being too embarrassed to tell parents etc.. that is just total hogwash |
Read again, please: I simply did not say that. Note the use of "may". And I most certainly did not suggest you were too embarrassed to tell the parents.
| ccl wrote: |
You may feel embarrassed and very anxious at having committed their money to what could be a lost cause ....... |
Waste of time trying to be sympathetic and helpful, wasn't it? If you don't at least feel anxious, then you should. Embarrassment was a perfectly possible reaction too. If you were not embarrassed that is good, but you could have simply said you are ok about the situation without misreading and being so high-handed. |
Sorry if my reply was overly aggressive.
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outofpocket, Thing is if he was making £400,000 profit on £2M turnover, just last year according to AITO I don't see how he could have lost so much this year unless he was either dishonest with AITO or dishonest to everyone else 
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| Quote: |
Again you perhaps show a limited experience and understanding compound cash flow problems
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Perhaps it is because I have extensive experience and understanding of such situations that I understand that there are a lot of questions to be asked and to which Reynard has not yet provided answers, and why this doesn't appear to be just normal trading difficulties e.g. If he got caught out with previous exchange fluctuations why didn't this manifest itself in the last accounts seen by AITO and why didn't he contact his customers earlier and/or stop trading if he were insolvent? No it doesn't follow that Reynard is a fraud or a crook - that is for the police/trading standards to investigate (as they are doing), the CPS to decide whether to prosecute and then for the courts to decide - but there is a prima facie case that needs to answered, and at the moment Reynard isn't facing his creditors or answering their legitimate questions.
The cash flow model for tour operators is not the same as most companies as you seem to infer - Tesco would be delighted if they could get their customers to pay for their groceries several months in advance. Perhaps a more interesting comparison would be with the Xmas Club market and Farepak, whose directors have just been disqualified.
Just do some numbers on a back of an envelope and see what I mean - you come up with a very high overheads figure for them to stack up I'm afraid. You fail to notice that Reynard appears to operate with a very high gross margin and we are talking of at least £600k of holidays that were not delivered. You also forget that given Reynard has experience of trading while insolvent he might be better placed than most to identify when this occurs.
I could also talk about the behavioural indicators of fraudulent behaviour - but since these are clearly subjective by their very nature (and I wouldn't want to say anything out of place as I am sure Reynard is watching) may I suggest you do your own research.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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outofpocket
Are you connected to the 26Bristol scouts, who posted here & on the TES website about their fears for their 2012 trip?
I honestly believe that if you'd booked to go away this year he would have stiffed you for the money.
I really don't think that you'll get your trip with skiing europe.
You'll lose your deposits and if you pay him more money, you'll lose that too.
I imagine that Reynard could be likeable - in my life I've known some villains and some have been lovely people. That doesn't mean I'd go into business with them, or give them other people's money.
You really are between a rock and a hard place - knowing full well what's happened this year, and accepting that his financial position is precarious, you really are risking a lot of other people's money...
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No we are not coonected to the Bristol Scouts...
A rock and a hard place indeed. No doubt we will decide on caution but it will be regrettable....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Stephen101 wrote: |
| Quote: |
Again you perhaps show a limited experience and understanding compound cash flow problems
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Perhaps it is because I have extensive experience and understanding of such situations that I understand that there are a lot of questions to be asked and to which Reynard has not yet provided answers, and why this doesn't appear to be just normal trading difficulties e.g. If he got caught out with previous exchange fluctuations why didn't this manifest itself in the last accounts seen by AITO and why didn't he contact his customers earlier and/or stop trading if he were insolvent? No it doesn't follow that Reynard is a fraud or a crook - that is for the police/trading standards to investigate (as they are doing), the CPS to decide whether to prosecute and then for the courts to decide - but there is a prima facie case that needs to answered, and at the moment Reynard isn't facing his creditors or answering their legitimate questions.
The cash flow model for tour operators is not the same as most companies as you seem to infer - Tesco would be delighted if they could get their customers to pay for their groceries several months in advance. Perhaps a more interesting comparison would be with the Xmas Club market and Farepak, whose directors have just been disqualified.
Just do some numbers on a back of an envelope and see what I mean - you come up with a very high overheads figure for them to stack up I'm afraid. You fail to notice that Reynard appears to operate with a very high gross margin and we are talking of at least £600k of holidays that were not delivered. You also forget that given Reynard has experience of trading while insolvent he might be better placed than most to identify when this occurs.
I could also talk about the behavioural indicators of fraudulent behaviour - but since these are clearly subjective by their very nature (and I wouldn't want to say anything out of place as I am sure Reynard is watching) may I suggest you do your own research. |
Out of interest, why would you have extensive experience of ski tour operators going bust?
Also, save me going through this whole thread again, where do these "accounts" come from you keep mentioning? All the accounts I have from companies house show nothing of the kind, so i assume that you are talking of his personal tax return? Are we in the land of rumour again Stephen? You do seem to enjoy mixing fact, half fact and rumour!!
In 2010 we paid £636 (after deduction for free places) for a group of 24 to FLY to Austria and have 6 days skiing, full board, instruction, equipment hire, insurance, lift pass. Are you telling me that there is a high gross margin in that - you must be mad!! At the time I thought it was too cheap and I’m now certain it was...... Its pretty clear to me where his problems were..
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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outofpocket, I believe Stephen101, is referring to figures given out by AITO in a BBC programme, as I said earlier Mr Reynard appears to have either lied to AITO or he's lying to everyone else as there definitely appears to be a big discrepancy
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£400,000k profit from £2m turnover. Lets see:
- say an average of £700 per holiday
- = 2850 clients
- = £140 gross profit per client
- less office overhead
Crude maths I admit but I find it hard to believe that anyone in the ski industry could make £400,000k from a £2m turnover (we all know how expensive ski trips are). So yes, someone is telling porkies....
(note: profit and cash flow are totally unrelated)
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You know it makes sense.
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outofpocket, Well not totally impossible, far easier I guess if you arrange accommodation at last second and place people in dormitory type accommodation, though still unlikely especially at current exchange rates
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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outofpocket,
| Quote: |
Out of interest, why would you have extensive experience of ski tour operators going bust?
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I didn't say that I had specifically in relation to ski tour operators - but I certainly have a lot of experience in looking at company accounts some of which are in that and related businesses.
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where do these "accounts" come from you keep mentioning?
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The AITO spokeswoman quoted the details on the BBC programme when being asked as to why they approved SE's membership - they didn't make clear whether the profit was gross/net or after tax. You could always ask Reynard to see a copy as he is required to provide a copy to AiTO as a condition of membership (which he has now given up). If he is being honest and above board why should he object?
You will see from the prices paid by the schools they were paying between £800 and 900 for the current year - from what I have seen and comments from others re hotel costs - I would say that Reynard was looking for a gross margin in excess of the 20% you indicate - but even then it is difficult to tie the figures back to what AITO were told. Now if you take out the costs related to £600k of income and add in what his accounts to AITO showed - you will see why I am struggling to make everything add up and be consistent.
I disagree that profit and cash flow are TOTALLY unrelated - one feeds the other with a time lag and that is how cash flow forecasts are usually generated, and in ski TO's cash flows should in net terms preceed profits.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| outofpocket wrote: |
£400,000k profit from £2m turnover. Lets see:
- say an average of £700 per holiday
- = 2850 clients
- = £140 gross profit per client
- less office overhead
Crude maths I admit but I find it hard to believe that anyone in the ski industry could make £400,000k from a £2m turnover (we all know how expensive ski trips are). So yes, someone is telling porkies....
(note: profit and cash flow are totally unrelated) |
Dont forget to factor all the freebies into the sums, at least a £100K per year at best guestimate
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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leedsunited,
If you read outofpockets previous post you will see that he/she did. Do you wish to accuse him/her of taking bribes as well? If so - I would advise you not to do so.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Stephen101,
| Quote: |
Do you wish to accuse him/her of taking bribes as well? If so - I would advise you not to do so.
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Just who the feck do you think you are?
A: This is not your forum and B: I will do as i like and a snivelling piece of pompous shi*t who is so far up his own backside that he can lick his own tonsils is not going to stop me.
Freedom of speach i say and if you dont agree report me to the police or even better just dissapear.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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outofpocket,
If it is pretty clear to you where Reynard's problems were in 2010 (we will leave aside the fact that AiTO are from some reason providing a different story on Radio 4) - perhaps you should ask yourself then why Reynard decided to carry on trading into 2011 and then why he still wishes to carry on into 2012 despite not delivering £600k of paid for holidays in 2011? At what point do trading difficulties, tip over into trading while insolvent? On the other hand you could ignore the questions and accuse me of spreading rumours, half facts and being disingenous.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I have no idea.
All I would say is that most self employed people always believe that things will get better and sort themselves out. It could just be a case of blind optimism. No matter what you think of CR or SE, there is every chance it is just a case of a man trying to trade himself out of a muddle and it hasn’t worked.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I've never been on a freebie trip , so you can keep me out of that one!!
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outofpocket,
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All I would say is that most self employed people always believe that things will get better and sort themselves out
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I'm not sure that's the case, as a self employed person myself I have to hope things will get better when they are not so great, however there's a huge difference between having that kind of hope and deliberately sending out cheques that will not cash, personally I really don't understand how the huge losses could have occurred in a year, looking at exchange rate averages the lowest rates were back around Jan 09 at approximately 1.09 Euros to the pound and went as high as 1.21 Euros to the pound in August 2010, Roughly a 10% variation over 2 years, the Swiss Franc has varied by as much as 22% over that period however so I suppose SE could have lost money there especially if they based their prices on an exchange rate that was much better than they actually got.
Most tour operators when faced with dramatic currency changes or a sudden increase in fuel prices etc. seem to have a get more money from customer clause in their contracts with customers, I'd be surprised if SE didn't have such a clause so am surprised we've not heard of it being used, this leads me to suspect that Mr Reynard may have been doing his own accounts and (being generous here) may not be the best at keeping up to date. So at best he's technically incompetent and at worst he's trading fraudulently.
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It would interesting to compare the accounts CR provided to AITO with those to HMRC.
Its the only way to assess if the accounts are credible.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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If the AITO accepted anything other than audited accounts then they might as well have asked CR to write a numbr on a bit of paper!!
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Elston, not really, there are an awful lot of people that make the mistake of trying to con HMRC as indicated by the number of people they prosecute each year
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FAQ
