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Family of Leah Ankers say they will take legal action after the 18-year-old and her friends were escorted off Haven’s Pwllheli site over identity verification issues
A holiday park has defended its actions following backlash over a group of teenagers being denied booking and escorted off the premises. The family of Leah Ankers are livid that she and her six friends were unable to check in at Haven’s Hafan y Mor site near Pwllheli, North Wales.
The group had travelled by taxi from Wrexham on November 28 for a getaway to celebrate Leah’s 18th birthday, with Leah paying and serving as the primary booker. Leah said Haven sent an email on the day of the holiday cancelling their stay due to a failed identity verification.
The family assumed this was because of a mistake with the home address. They then rebooked the holiday, noting that the price had surged by over £300 at this point, reports North Wales Live.
Upon reaching Hafan-y-mor, Leah was informed that the new booking had also been cancelled as she couldn’t complete the identity verification. The family claims that Haven requested to see her bank card, which she didn’t have as she uses her phone for payments.
The family say she had her birth certificate. They say that the group of friends was then escorted off the premises by security. The family is incensed, arguing that it was growing dark and no consideration was given to their safety.
In response, Haven stated that it conducts automatic identification checks on all those making a booking. They maintain a policy that the lead booker must be 21 or older. They claimed that when the ID verification wasn’t completed, they attempted to contact Leah on the day, reaching her voicemail and leaving a message.
They stated they couldn’t sort out the problem when the group turned up and that security removed them from the premises due to “concerns raised around the behaviour of certain members of the party”.
They confirmed that both reservations had been fully reimbursed. Now Leah’s relatives say they’re weighing up taking legal proceedings and questioned why the bookings were accepted when they claim Leah disclosed her age at the time.
Mother Sarah Ankers said: “I have never been so disgusted and furious with any place as much as I am at Hafan-y-mor. The way they completely disregarded my just turned 18 year old daughter’s safety and her friends.
“When she got there she was confronted by them saying it was cancelled again due to identity check as my daughter did not have her bank card. Her bank card was on her phone. She had her birth certificate as she hasn’t got her provisional license yet. They did not ask for this anyway.
“I offered to drive the two hours with her bank card but they said it was already cancelled. They then escorted the group of friends off the site with security. No care that they had nowhere to go. No care to their safety. No care to it getting dark. No care whatsoever.”
She added: “They have completely put my daughter and her friends at risk stranded. I will be taking this further and taking legal action. The other parents of the other six kids that will be also complaining and taking this further.”
She went on: “If they didn’t want a group then when they book and you have to put the ages of everyone then why allow them to pay and confirm the holiday.”
In the end, the group succeeded in securing accommodation at Brynteg Holiday Park near Llanberis.
Responding to the incident, Haven stated: “To ensure the safety and security of all our guests, we carry out automatic identification checks to confirm the person making the booking is who they claim to be.
“Where any automatic check fails, we still continue to contact the lead booker so that their identity can be confirmed. In this case we emailed, texted, called and left a voicemail with lead booker. Because the lead booker did not respond to any of our attempts to contact them, they were notified that their holiday booking was cancelled and that they would be refunded.
“On the morning of their planned arrival they rebooked a holiday. As they again failed the automatic identity check, we called them to inform them that this booking would also be cancelled. A voicemail was left but the guest did not respond.
“On arrival at the park, while our team attempted to find a solution, concerns were raised around the behaviour of certain members of the party and they were escorted from the site.
“Haven is a family-friendly holiday destination and our policies and measures to confirm guest identity are fully in keeping with this.”
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