Disappearing steam trip 28th

I did see him a few weeks ago working the Urie Locomotive stand selling his books and DVDs.

 

Its a pity you didn't give him a punch on the nose, there are people in prison for doing less than Hardingham has done.

 

. Just before Kingfisher went bang i was on a tour just after the 8f had started a fire on the viaduct near Ravenglass and on arrival at Hellifield mr R Hardingham was to be seen telling people ( me included ) that the 8f was on its way from Carnforth and when i asked him why then was the train just round the corner with a 47 on each end he still played dumb . He only owned up that the steam was not coming when a lot of people found out the truth and he even offered tickets at half price for the next train. I could never trust this guy again and i hope no one else ever does .

 

way off topic. better lock this b4 people get even more overheated.

 

I was on the afore mentioned trip it was the Wednesday after the Saturday when the fire occured at Ravenglass. If i remember correctly we all got a letter about a fortnight later offering us £10 off a future Kingfisher trip. We had had a particularly dry spell of weather that Spring and yes it was very disappointing that network rail had issued a steam ban but yet understandable. I very nearly returned home when the train drew in to the platform diesel hauled but had a reluctant change of mind and travelled. Hardingham made things far worse by telling lies and pretending the 8F was on its way but this was typical of the man, he always went hiding in the support coach at the first sign of the slightest problem. He never appeared in the passenger carrying vehicles at all that day he left his stewards to face the music for him.That morning he should have told the truth from the start, us passengers would have still remained dismayed but yet would have appreciated the truth.Coincidentally i think it rained like hell when we got back to Hellifield that evening.

 

We are just letting off a little steam and sharing our misfortunes of getting swindled by Hardingham. How about starting a special Hardingham thread then we can really go to town on the subject.

 

Thanks to Leon's information I managed to catch the train in the early evening gloom on the climb to Ais Gill withthe return leg:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YAS7FggJEE

Thanks Leon.

Chris

 

Very true, if Mr Hardingham was in charge of this charter, then its a disgrace, as i previously stated , i did feel for him at the time of him going under, Kingfisher did run some excellent tours which i travelled on, but sadly all that goodwill was lost when he crashed owing the travelling public large ammounts of money. Now if he has run this tour then further action needs to be taken to ensure that he pays out his creditors, before he is allowed to be involved with any further railtours. I had wriiten off the £200 he still owes me, but following this revelation i think i may just start chasing him up again.

 

I blame slovenly British insolvency laws; if someone has defaulted on creditors, he should not be allowed to continue or resume trading until he has paid his debts. It must be very galling to people who are owed money.

 

I don't think Kingfisher was a limited company. It looked like a trading name and if Hardingham was the owner then the claim must be against him personally. Maybe find his address and take him?

 

Could we PLEASE chat about Mr Hardingham on a seperate thread as this has hardly to do with the out & back trip by 44871 which was hired by a private company. Thank You.

 

Fact, Tuesdays train with 44871 was run by Hardingham for Howsons.

 

Glad you have mentioned this. I seem to remember someone looking in to this and Kingfisher Railtours LTD was not registered with companies house as a limited company. Also did Kingfisher Railtours actually go bankrupt/ insolvent or call in the receivers? I never heard of it doing so but if anyone knows different please let us know.

 

Remarkably, the Kingfisher Website is still active! No mention of LTD in the ownership. This must really be Mr Hardigham "trading as" so he must be the beneficial owner and thus personally liable.

 

Thanks for this. Amidst all the hoo haa and comotion when the last two Dalesman trains were cancelled, a lot of passengers were contacted prior to the day of the tour. Those who were not contacted sadly had a wasted morning and arrived at Hellifield to a scene of farce. One group had booked accomodation nearby and were travelling on the Dalesman as the centre piece of their short break. Hardingham sent his stewards down to Hellifield to take the flak for him as he was in hiding not too far from Hellifield. I have seen a newspaper article involving an elderly couple from the South who did manage to get their money back but only as the newspaper took up the case on their behalf. I paid by cheque for my tickets and have never been contacted since like most others. Did anyone who paid by credit card get their money back as i seem to remember there was talk of this a month or two after the cancellations. Correct me if i am wrong, but if monies were repaid by credit card insurance schemes etc then this would indicate to me that Kingfisher Railtours or whatever Hardingham was trading as must have been wound up legally ie receivership or bankruptcy?

 

the parent company of Kingfisher was Wessex Trains.

 

Thanks. Thats a name from the past. Hardingham had that set of carriages called the Wessex Set. I will do a little more research.

 

This trip has re-appeared on steam tours, added retrospectively by request, so someone DID 'have a word' Seeing as its now in the past why reload it as we are now not interested. I cannot for the life in me see why anyone should be supported if they want to be secretive.

 

We were booked on the last Dalesman and in the LMS Club Car. Having tried to contact Kingfisher repeatedly and failed we turned to the Credit Card Company as the sum was over £100 and under the Consumer Credit Act, they were jointly and severaly liable. In these cases it is up to the Card Company to try to reclaim the funds. If they can't they withdraw their facility. I know lots of people invoked this clause but it is of no value to someone who paid by cheque or debit card.

 

The Visa card system has its own protection, which includes debit cards and has no minimum amount. Nothing for cheques though.