Holiday firm chiefs facing 36 charges

FIVE people connected to a holiday marketing company in Exeter are to be committed to the crown court after being charged with unfair trading practices.

Investigations by trading standards have led to 36 charges being brought against St Frances Marketing Ltd and five named individuals linked to the company.

Carol Small, Karen Henthorne, Mark Herbert, and John and Michael Girvin have all entered no plea to the charges which have been brought under the Consumer Protection for Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

At a hearing at Exeter Magistrates Court yesterday, where Herbert was the last of the five to enter no plea, trading standards prosecutor Tim Law said: "These offences are charged against Mr Herbert, the company St Frances Marketing and four other named defendants whose proposed committal will be adjourned.

"All of these individuals are, or were, directors or shareholders, of St Frances Marketing, which traded under Buena Viva to market or promote the sale of timeshare-type products.

"The company, its officers and employees operated from a telesales premises in Devon — one of them was in Exeter."

Mr Law added: "There are 74 witnesses, including consumers. It is more suitable for trial on indictment.

"The court record will note the other defendants have already entered no plea. Their cases were adjourned for committal."

All of the 36 charges relate to individual complaints by customers.

One of the charges alleges that the company misled customers by claiming that the product on sale was not a timeshare, even though "the product was so similar to a timeshare as to be indistinguishable".

The charge states that this "misleading action" was "likely to deceive the average consumer".

This, in turn, led them to enter into a contract that they would otherwise not have done.

Another charge alleges that the company told customers they could not cancel when there was a 14-day cancellation period.

The company is also accused of misleading customers by telling them it would buy back holiday points when the company did not buy back points.

The case against John Girvin, 46, of Newlands Avenue, Exmouth; Michael Girvin, 49, of Salterton Road, Exmouth; Small, 45, of Ide Lane, Exeter; Henthorne, 44, also of Ide Lane, and Herbert, 55, of West Huntspill, Somerset, was adjourned for a committal hearing at Honiton Magistrates Court on Wednesday, January 13.