Important. This page explains the payment-protection framework in plain language. Your Booking Confirmation, supplier conditions, ATOL Certificate where applicable, and the Master Website Terms & Conditions remain the contractual documents for your booking.
Protection at a Glance
Gordon Sadler Travel is an accredited member of Protected Trust Services (PTS). PTS provides a trust-account framework for travel sellers. Customer funds for protected bookings are paid into trust, kept separate from ordinary business money, reconciled within the PTS system, and overseen by independent trustees.
Customer money is ring-fenced
Payments are not treated as ordinary day-to-day business funds. They are allocated to the relevant booking inside the trust framework.
Independent trustee control
Trustees oversee and approve authorised releases, including supplier payments and customer refunds where due.
Booking-level visibility
PTS describes its model as reconciling money daily so funds can be tracked against the relevant customer booking.
Every received instalment
Where a payment plan is offered, each instalment received through the authorised route is handled as customer money for that protected booking.
Who Does What
Gordon Sadler Travel
Gordon Sadler Travel provides the consultation, quotation and booking service. It issues the Booking Confirmation, collects customer payments using authorised payment instructions, records instalments, liaises with suppliers and supports you throughout the booking.
Protected Trust Services
PTS provides the trust-account system, reconciliation processes and independent-trustee controls used by its members. PTS also supports Package Travel Regulations compliance and relevant financial-protection arrangements.
Travel suppliers
Cruise lines, tour operators, hotels, rail operators and other principals provide the travel services. Their own booking conditions may govern deposits, amendments, cancellation charges and refund timing.
Back to top ↑How the PTS Trust Works
When you pay using the authorised instructions supplied for your booking, the money is directed into the PTS trust-account framework and allocated to your booking. It remains separate from Gordon Sadler Travel’s ordinary operating funds.
PTS states that independent trustees manage the trust and approve releases. Money may be released directly to a supplier that is providing part of your holiday, or returned to you where a refund or reimbursement is properly due. PTS also states that it reconciles trust money daily to maintain visibility of customer and member funds.
Trust protection is part of a wider system. Depending on the booking, the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, ATOL protection and supplier-failure arrangements may also apply.
Back to top ↑Protected Payment Plans, Where Available
Some bookings may be paid in scheduled instalments rather than in one balance payment. Availability depends on the supplier’s deposit rules, the time before departure, the value of the booking and any minimum payment requirements. A payment plan is not guaranteed and must be agreed in writing.
How an agreed plan is protected
The same trust principle applies to each payment actually received for the protected booking.
The written schedule shows the deposit, instalment amounts, due dates and final-balance date.
Pay only through the card link, bank details or other method stated on the Gordon Sadler Travel invoice or confirmation.
Each payment received under the plan is recorded against the booking and handled within the PTS trust framework.
The booking remains subject to the agreed due dates and the supplier’s conditions until the full balance is paid.
Protection applies to money actually received. Future instalments that have not yet been paid are not funds held in trust. Missing an instalment may place the booking at risk and can lead to cancellation charges under the applicable booking conditions.
A scheduled instalment arrangement is normally a method of paying the booking balance. It is not a loan or regulated credit agreement unless it is expressly described and documented as such.
Back to top ↑What Payment Protection Does—and Does Not—Mean
What the framework protects
- Customer payments received for the protected booking.
- Separation of those funds from normal business operating money.
- Controlled release to travel suppliers or back to the customer where a refund is due.
- Booking-level accounting and trust reconciliation.
What it does not change
- Supplier deposit, amendment and cancellation conditions.
- Whether a payment is refundable when you choose to cancel.
- The need for suitable travel insurance.
- The status of unpaid future instalments.
Financial protection and refund entitlement are different questions. Trust protection safeguards the handling of money. Whether you are entitled to a refund depends on the reason for cancellation, the applicable law, the Booking Confirmation and the supplier’s conditions.
Back to top ↑When Money Is Paid to Travel Suppliers
Travel suppliers commonly require deposits or balances before departure. The PTS trust model allows authorised payments to be made directly to suppliers so that your travel services can be secured.
PTS explains that its trust controls work alongside supplier-failure and related protection arrangements. This enables supplier payments to be made while maintaining the wider financial-protection framework required for the booking.
The precise protection depends on the type of booking, the supplier and the documents issued to you. If you want clarification about a particular payment, contact Gordon Sadler Travel with your booking reference.
Back to top ↑Additional Layers of Protection
Package Travel Regulations
If your arrangement is a package within the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, the organiser must provide the protections required by those Regulations. Your Booking Confirmation identifies the relevant organiser or principal.
ATOL for eligible flight-inclusive bookings
ATOL protection applies only where an eligible flight-inclusive booking is protected under an ATOL and you receive an ATOL Certificate. The certificate states what is protected and who is providing the protection.
Card-provider rights
Paying by card may provide additional rights through your card issuer, depending on the payment structure and applicable rules. Those rights are separate from PTS trust protection.
Travel insurance
Trust and regulatory protection are not substitutes for travel insurance. Suitable insurance may cover risks such as medical emergencies, personal cancellation, baggage loss or travel disruption, subject to the insurer’s terms.
Back to top ↑How to Pay Safely
Before sending any money
- Check that the payee, reference and amount match the instructions on your official invoice or Booking Confirmation.
- Quote your booking reference so the payment can be allocated correctly.
- Do not send money to a personal account or to replacement bank details supplied only by an unexpected message.
- If payment instructions change, telephone Gordon Sadler Travel using a number you already trust before paying.
- Keep your invoice, payment confirmation and any agreed instalment schedule.
You can verify that a travel business is a PTS member using the official PTS member search.
Back to top ↑If Something Goes Wrong
Contact Gordon Sadler Travel promptly if you believe a payment has not been allocated, a scheduled payment has failed, you receive suspicious payment instructions, a supplier has failed, or you think a refund is due.
Provide your name, booking reference, payment date, amount, payment method and evidence of the transaction. This allows the payment to be traced through the booking and trust records.
If the issue concerns the PTS trust framework or membership status, you may also contact PTS directly. Any refund remains subject to confirmation that it is due under the applicable booking and supplier conditions.
Back to top ↑Contact and Verification
Gordon Sadler Travel
Booking and payment enquiries4 Barnham Road, Euston
Thetford, IP31 2BX
0330 111 0332
enquiries@gordonsadlertravel.co.uk
Protected Trust Services
Trust and member-verification enquiries020 7190 9988
ask@protectedtrustservices.com
protectedtrustservices.com
Official Sources and Further Information
The following official sources provide more detail about travel trust accounts and statutory protection:
- Protected Trust Services — Consumer Protection
- Protected Trust Services — Travel Trust Account
- Protected Trust Services — What Happens to My Money in the PTS Trust Account?
- UK legislation — Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018
- Civil Aviation Authority — ATOL Protection