Vision Travel customers left '˜high and dry' after Portsmouth coach firm goes bust

Angry customers have told The News they have been left ‘high and dry’ after paying for journeys before the closure of the Cosham-based firm, in Spur Road.

Vision Travel officially closed for business on May 1 having ran for nearly two decades since its launch in 1999.

Havant based Paul Widger, 28, was part of a group of 30 due to travel to Standsted in June for his stag do. They forked out £1,000 but only found out the company had closed down after reading The News.

‘The most frustrating thing is not the money but the fact there has been no communication from the company,’ he said. ‘If it wasn’t for reading it in the paper we would have been left high and dry,’ he said.

Pensioner Michael Downie, 75, of North End, said he had used the company for years but has been left with a ‘bitter taste in the mouth’ after failing to be reimbursed.

‘We had a trip booked for the Cotswold and had £30 in credit from a previous trip we were meant to go on but have not been able to get through to the company at all,’ he said.

Another pensioner, Audrey Arnell, said he booked a tour to London in February for a group of senior citizens. ‘Everyone will be so disappointed now the firm has gone bust especially as a lot of the people live on their own and are lonely,’ he said. ‘We’re hoping companies will now donate so we can get another coach.’

Coach operator Lucketts said Vision Travel ‘is not a company we are looking to purchase’.

• Vision Travel Ltd, of Brewer Street Business Park, Bletchingley, Surrey, RH1 4QP, is not connected to the Portsmouth-based coach firm referred to in this story.