Balmy Army hit for six

The Australian

HUNDREDS of English cricket fans have been left thousands of dollars out of pocket after a travel company they used to attend the recent Ashes series collapsed.

More than 200 members of the passionate Barmy Army were hit for six after being unexpectedly billed by Australian hotels for accommodation costs.

This was despite having already paid specialised travel agent Travel and Tours Anywhere Ltd (TTAL) ahead of the trip Down Under.

Some fans returned home to discover their credit cards had been hit with bills of up to $1450.

One man had $300 taken from his account in June, six months after the Aussies won the Ashes series.

Essex credit manager Richard Smith was slugged more than $1400 in January despite winning an all-expenses paid trip to the Sydney and Melbourne Tests through English newspaper the Sun.

He has been forced to defer his mortgage in a desperate attempt to rid himself of debt.

“This has dropped me deep in the smelly stuff,” Mr Smith said. “I’m a single guy and I haven’t had a pay rise in three years and there’s no way in a million years I can afford a holiday to Oz.”

He said he was shocked that money could be withdrawn from his account without warning.

“It’s all quite worrying that this money can be taken,” he said. “I was never told this was going to happen and it’s dropped me in it big time.

“I just don’t know which way to turn at the moment.

“This has tainted the holiday. We went over there and had the time of our life.

“It was absolutely brilliant, it’s the country I’ve always wanted to go to.”

Several Australian hotels started charging English fans after TTAL went into liquidation and couldn’t pay them.

Barmy Army spokesman Paul Burnham said complaints had been made to the Civil Aviation Authority, the company responsible for overseas travel in the UK.

“I think it’s resolving itself. I think the right thing is being done by everybody but we just need to wait a couple of weeks,” Mr Burnham said.

“It’s not the Aussie hotels’ fault, it’s not the Barmy Army’s fault and it’s certainly not the customers’ fault.

“The company we used caused all the problems.”