Connect with us

Travel

Firm goes bust after taking ‘thousands’ from fans for football trips

Published

on

Firm goes bust after taking ‘thousands’ from fans for football trips

A company that left dozens of football fans fighting for refunds after paying thousands for trips that never happened has gone into liquidation. Football Road Trips said ‘spiralling costs’ since the pandemic had made it ‘impossible’ for the business to survive.

It issued an apology to customers whose trips were cancelled at the eleventh hour, adding all affected customers would be refunded. Football Road Trips was founded by Brummie Kai Rigby, from Aston, in 2015 and organised excursions for fans to watch matches across Europe.




But a number of fans, some of whom had trips booked to the European Championships in Germany, told BirminghamLive their trips were cancelled last minute, and said their questions about refunds were met with ‘radio silence’ for months. One, who forked out £9,000 for a stag-do trip to Europe, said he had ‘not seen a penny back’ months after his trip was cancelled.

READ MORE: Refund demands as football fans spend thousands on trips that never happened

Football Road Trips yesterday, June 24, announced the business was in the hands of liquidators who would contact all customers awaiting refunds. The company, which changed its name to The European Football Experience (EFX), said in a statement: “It is with great regret that Football Road Trips Ltd announces its liquidation following continued spiralling costs since the Covid-19 pandemic.

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

“Founded many years ago, our company provided incredible, unique experiences to thousands of people, as evidenced by hundreds of five-star reviews until early last year. In response to a change in majority shareholding, we rebranded as EFX last year, maintaining our commitment to delivering exceptional travel experiences.”

Billy Wakefield (L) booked a trip for him and 15 friends with European Football Experience.(Image: Handout)

One fan who was left out-of-pocket by the company was Billy Wakefield, who booked a stag do trip in January 2023 for him and 15 friends which never happened. He told BirminghamLive: “The day of the trip came and it was never cancelled – they didn’t even email us to apologise or offer a refund. None of us have had a penny back from the company. It’s caused us a lot of stress.”

Continue Reading