Hundreds of holidaymakers have been left with nowhere to go after Pontins closed two of its holiday parks with immediate affect.
Yesterday the Official Pontins Holiday's Facebook page released a statement to let customers know it would be closing its Prestatyn and Camber Sands locations with "immediate effect".
The three remaining Pontins resorts are at Pakefield, Suffolk; Weston-super-Mare, Somerset; and Southport, Merseyside. Despite rife speculation among certain communities online, there is no suggestion that the closed camps will be used to house people who are seeking asylum in the UK.
No official explanation for the closures has been given however, neither from Pontins or from the UK Government. Last year the Daily Mail reported that the Home Office was in talks to use the Camber Sands park for such a purpose.
An unknown number of people working at the Prestatyn and Camber Sands camps are believed to have lost their jobs, while many more with holidays booked at the park are now left in the lurch.
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Were you due to visit the closed camps or did you work there? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
The Prestatyn holiday park is also closing (Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)If you are one of those people, Pontins officials should be in touch with you to offer you a full refund for your booking. Yesterday a post from the company read: "Important announcement. We regret to inform you that our parks in Prestatyn and Camber Sands will be closing with immediate effect. Customers whose bookings will be affected by these closures will be contacted by our team and refunded. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."
If your booking cost £100 or more and you booked directly with Pontins, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, you should be able to get your money back. Credit card firms are jointly liable with retailers if something goes wrong, meaning you may be able to get a refund from the card provider.
Make sure you keep all of your receipts and bank statements to hand. The holiday park company may offer customers an equivalent holiday at one of its remaining three parks instead of a refund. You can accept this if you'd prefer, but you are still entitled to the refund if that's the option you want. If Pontins does not offer a refund for a cancelled holiday at the park, then contacting the Citizens Advice Bureau or considering raising the matter in small claims court may be the next option.
The Pontins chain was bought out of administration by Britannia Hotels in 2011 for about £20million. Last year it was named as the worst value holiday park in the UK by Which?, with reviewers online giving the Camber Sands park just two out of five stars online.
Fans of the holiday camp have shared their memories of its online following news of its closure. "Many happy memories here as a kid," one said. Another enthusiast added: "We used to come here in the 70s and it was a fantastic place to holiday. Many happy memories."
The record label Tidy Trax, which had been planning to hold a “wet and wild weekender” at the Prestatyn site in Denbighshire, said it was “shocked and concerned”.
Pontins holiday camps were initially the brainchild of Fred Pontin, who opened his first Pontins in a former US army base in Weston-super-Mare in Somerset in 1946. Over the years, the holiday camp magnate bought more camps, expanding his empire to 30 sites at its peak.
Smaller and less expensive than Butlin's holiday camps, Pontins had Bluecoats to entertain guests as opposed to the Redcoats of its major rival. TV stars who learned their comedy trade as former Bluecoats include Bradley Walsh, Shane Richie, Bobby Davro and Lee Mack.
They have not always garnered positive reactions in recent years. One unhappy customer recently wrote a damning Tripadvisor review last month titled 'I would rather eat my own eyes'.
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"Rice in the drawers!? Aggressive notes stuck on every door, barbed wire surrounding it, don't even get me started on the pool. No staff so could only open for 45 mins at a time and smelt like drains," they complained.
"Changing rooms dirty, legitimately felt like we were in a dystopia prison. Overheard staff members asking each other about the coffee, no-one new how to clean it so drinking a grey foul liquid left there for months could have killed someone. A story to tell your friends for sure!"
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