Scotland fans ‘thousands out of pocket’ after Euro 2024 tour operator goes bankrupt

Scotland fans have been left out after a travel company selling Euro 2024 trips went bust.

Football Road Trips Ltd, which advertised tailor-made tours for fans promising ‘exciting and unique football experiences’, announced it had gone into administration citing ‘escalating costs’ following the Covid-19 pandemic.

STV News has learned that a number of Scotland fans had booked packages to Germany with the company and received minimal correspondence before being asked to pay more money due to price increases.

Some fans complied, but still had to find alternative travel plans as there was uncertainty about the trips going ahead due to a lack of contact with the company.

The packages included tickets for Scotland’s group matches, but fans could watch the action elsewhere, including in fan zones, after arranging alternative travel.

By launching an investigation through Paypal, some supporters were able to claim a partial and in some cases full refund of the last installments paid, but outstanding debts remained.

Neil Fernie, who booked with two friends, said his experience with the company was ‘horribly bad’ after they promised some attractive additions to the holiday.

He told STV News: “It sounded very attractive too.

“A ticket for the Scotland v Switzerland match every night in a four star hotel, picked us up from Gatwick in a minibus with beer on the bus, it all sounded great.

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“We got sucked into it, made monthly payments and it cost about £1,000 all together.

“The lack of communication from them throughout the episode concerned me.”

He added: “It was terribly bad (not knowing what was happening). It’s one of the biggest things Scotland has been a part of for years.

“While we were in Germany we got the good news that we were getting every cent back, so it worked out well for us, but there were probably a lot more people who weren’t so lucky.”

Citing “last-minute price increases” from suppliers, the company said some Euro group tours had to be cancelled.

The company, which rebranded as European Football Experience last year, said its business account had been temporarily suspended due to high demand for refunds.

Most of the company’s staff were let go, which “impeded” its ability to respond efficiently to customers, a statement said.

In a statement responding to STV News, the company said: “It is with great regret that Football Road Trips Ltd announces its liquidation following continued rising costs since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In recent months and years, the travel industry has been hit particularly hard and we, like many other businesses, have found it impossible to survive.”

The company said it has been providing “incredible, unique experiences to thousands of people for years.”

But last year the record for five-star reviews changed. A spokesperson said the company has been rebranded as European Football Experience (EFX) following a change in majority ownership.

Despite selling pre- and during-Covid-19 packages for post-pandemic travel, the company said it faced significant price increases from suppliers.

“Tours sold cost us more to organize than the revenue received, making our business model unsustainable,” the spokesperson said.

“Due to refund requests, our business account has been temporarily suspended. In an effort to ensure the trips went ahead, we used PayPal for the final installment of payments.

“These have now been repaid. Financial pressures forced us to lay off the majority of our staff, which hampered our ability to respond efficiently to customers.”

The company said it continued to operate tours at a loss for a while before it became clear it could not sustain the model.

The spokesperson said it had not sold trips other than Euro trips for more than a year.

“We have commenced refunds, in whole or in part, while the liquidation process has commenced to settle any outstanding debts owed to customers,” they said.

The company sought to reassure remaining customers that outstanding refunds will be paid.

Explaining how UEFA’s European Championships plans fell through, the spokesperson said: “The Euros trips were all set to go ahead until yet another last-minute price increase from our suppliers forced us to increase tour costs.

“While some customers agreed to the price increase, many did not, making our group tours unviable.

“We deeply regret any inconvenience caused to anyone who did not receive their tour. We would like to make it clear that we have never sold tours that we did not intend to organize, as evidenced by our positive reviews up until the post-Covid crisis.

“It was never our intention for customers to lose their own wallets, and we are doing everything we can to resolve this.”

The company said it is “now in the hands of liquidators” who will contact all remaining customers to receive refunds.