The real victims of XL collapse

Sep 24 2008 by Mick Thurlbeck, The Journal

AS witnessed at St James’s Park last week, there are often many things in our lives for which we have a passion, although have no control over. The alleged insurgence of the “cockneys” in NUFC has brought anger, frustration and helplessness to the loyal fans. They deserve a lot better and only time will tell what the outcome will be.

This “outside influence” is visible on the business front as well. As I write this article, it has been confirmed that Lehman Brothers Bank in the US has collapsed. Few people outside the financial world may have heard of this institution before this week although many will no doubt suffer the consequences of this collapse in the near future.

Even closer to home was the collapse of airline XL. I was staggered to read accounts at the weekend of the total flippancy of the senior management to the predicament many find themselves in. Not much fun to see one pictured outside his £1.5m home with a Bentley and an X5 parked on the drive.

I don’t suppose he was thinking of the situation one of our members was in last weekend.

I called in the local on Saturday evening and met two friends who started a travel company about four years ago. They have worked tirelessly to build up their business and I suspected they had had a long Friday on the pop, judging by their appearance. Not so, they explained they had managed a little over eight hours’ sleep in the past three days due to the collapse of XL.

Much of their labour had been engaged in trying to source alternative holidays, flights home and the impossible refunds for those who had booked holidays just a few hours before XL folded. What the fat cats down South don’t seem to have is any feeling of compassion.

These lads have built up the business on good relationships, offering a good service to friends and local people. They are in danger of being the real victims of this collapse and it is totally out of their control.

One of the lads was really upset to learn a holiday he had sold about three hours earlier is void. He does not keep the money, the customer gets no refund and XL doesn’t see a penny either. The administrator gets the lot to distribute as required and our local lads are seen as the villains. They will not be the only sufferers in the area but that is of no comfort. It is high time there are stricter controls and monitoring of large companies who can bring such misery through their own shortcomings. A sad note is that allegedly this scenario was predicted back in May.

Mick Thurlbeck is NECC Sunderland Committee chairman