A company which promised hundreds of North Yorkshire people a free holiday if they attended a sales promotion has been accused by a Government minister of deception.

And customers who forked out between £39 and £118 in "processing fees" to receive their vacation have been warned there is no prospect of getting their money back.

The Evening Press revealed in the summer how residents were phoned at home by Step Management Ltd and told they had won a free holiday: all they had to do to collect it was turn up to a sales promotion in Walmgate run by an associated company, Global Vacations.

But many who did so complained to the Evening Press that they were still waiting for their holiday up to a year after handing over their fee.

Others who paid up to £4,950 to join Global Vacation's holiday club, Global Discovery Club, hoping to enjoy a lifetime of cheap luxurious holidays, complained that they were still waiting for their club membership packs or experiencing big problems getting the holidays they wanted.

The Government presented a petition to the High Court in August for Step Management and also Timeplan Projects Ltd, owned by Global Discovery Club, to be wound up "in the public interest". A winding up order was made at the Court in October.

Now a report to creditors by the Official Receiver, appointed as liquidator, has revealed details of the Government's allegations against Timeplan.

According to the report, dated November 28 and passed to the Evening Press by a reader, Government Minister Stephen Byers alleges that members of the public were being deceived at each stage leading up to the sale of the holiday club membership.

He also alleges that:

* The company was unable to meet its debts as they fell due and appeared to be insolvent.

* The company had "wholly inadequate" accounting records.

* One of the company's directors, Zain Khan, has failed to co-operate with an investigation.

The report says two men, Peter Harrison and Zain Khan, were listed as directors. Mr Harrison had been interviewed, but Mr Khan had failed to attend to provide information regarding assets and liabilities and the Official Receiver had made an application to the court to have him publicly examined.

"According to Mr Harrison, the company's insolvency and failure is attributable to the petition by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry," says the report.

It adds: "At this stage of the administration, there is no prospect of a dividend being paid to any class of creditor or contributories."

mike.laycock@ycp.co.uk