A SCOTTISH holiday club says it is stepping up its efforts to help North Yorkshire members of an English holiday club which has ceased operating.

But it has declined to give the Evening Press any further details of what it is offering, saying this would only cause greater confusion. It says individual members will be treated on an individual basis, according to their holiday needs.

Global Discovery Club (Scotland) Ltd was responding today to queries posed by the paper in the wake of the Department of Trade and Industry's decision to wind up two companies owned by Global Discovery Club in England, which has ceased operating.

We reported on Tuesday that the Official Receiver had been appointed as provisional liquidator for Step Management Ltd and Timeplan Projects. Scottish Global had previously offered to "service" the holidays of members of the separate English club.

We reported on Tuesday that we were unable to contact the Scottish club, after repeatedly trying to call the club on a direct line.

Now Scottish club area manager Yvette Cabrini has complained that this had derogatory undertones, and that we did not fax or e-mail our queries.

Yesterday we faxed several key questions, including: whether Scottish Global was subject to any similar winding-up moves, whether its offer to English club members remained valid, whether a fee was payable to transfer to the Scottish club and whether any English members had now been offered and accepted holidays by Scottish Global.

Yvette Cabrini said: "We are spending time and money recruiting more staff and adapting our membership to accommodate English members.

"Each member will be treated on an individual basis according to their holiday needs. It would not be beneficial to publish any details as this would only add to the confusion that has been caused due to misinterpretations relating to promotion and club holidays.

"Please be assured that members will be treated fairly, and no one will be asked to re-pay joining fees."

She added: "We appear to be spending more time answering your questions rather than dealing with the problem in hand, ie servicing members who have been left high and dry."