Administrators have started work at a collapsed Huddersfield travel agency.
But they say it could take some time to assess the scale of the problems which forced Villa Parade into insolvency last week.
They have also confirmed there are hundreds more customers affected than first feared.
Staff from O’Haras Ltd, based in Cleckheaton, were appointed administrators of the travel firm which has traded for the past decade from offices in Belmont Street, Highfields.
The firm has principally rented out exclusive villas in the Mediterranean, mainly Majorca and Portugal. It also ran a subsidiary company called Air Parade which specialised in flights.
A spokesman for O’Haras said: “We have been appointed to look into the problems which have hit the travel firm and our staff have now started work.
“It is very early days and we are having to go through a whole lot of paperwork and files, and also trying to track down all the creditors.
“We are also trying to locate the company’s full database of clients and the work is expected to take some time”.
He said the firm has 70 clients currently on holidays abroad and a further 1,300 who had booked villas through the firm.
There are also some 400 who have flights booked with Air Parade.
The spokesman added: “It is very bad news for a lot of these people. The trade body ABTA is dealing with inquiries from the customers and sorting out refunds, but for those who have holidays booked in the very near future those refunds may not come in time.
“I would urge anyone with problems to contact ABTA via their website on abta.com”.
Villa Parade was being investigated by the industry watchdog before its collapse. The firm, which rented villas in Majorca, was being investigated for alleged breaches of the watchdog’s code of conduct, following allegations the firm was offering rentals on properties it could not honour.
Click here to take you back to more Huddersfield news .
Want to read, watch and hear more? You can download the FREE Examiner Apple App here , the FREE Examiner Android App here or you can view the paper as an e-edition on your Apple, Android or Kindle device by clicking here
To follow us on Twitter click here
