A Dumfries couple have been left “devastated” after their wedding venue plunged into administration.
Comlongon Castle near Ruthwell has ceased trading, with a number of staff made redundant.
William Wakefield, 24, and Suzanne Campbell, 23, had their wedding booked for July 6 at the hotel. The pair discovered to their horror on Friday night that the business was in trouble.
William, a chef at the Auldgirth Inn, said: “We booked our wedding in January 2018 and my dad initially paid £2,500 by credit card.
“Just three weeks ago, we paid another £2,500 by debit card. When we heard about the place going into administration, we were devastated. We were thinking about the lost money and the fact that we’d need to plan another wedding.
“I emailed the administrators to see what was going on but just got an automated response back.”
William’s furious dad John told the Standard his wife has had “sleepless nights” since the hotel went bust.
He said: “We’ve all been pretty distraught, but hopefully we’ll get back the money I paid on the credit card, although there’s probably no chance of getting the rest.
“The owners must have known what was going to happen when they took the money three weeks ago. It’s absolutely disgraceful.
“I feel sorry for the people whose weddings were meant to take place last weekend or in the next few weeks.
“William and Suzanne have been lucky to find another venue, but not everybody will be able to do that, or have a spare six or seven thousand (pounds) lying around to pay for somewhere else.”
Former Annan woman Stephanie Thomson and fiancée Philip Dewhurst, both 28, were due to tie the knot at Comlongon on August 31.
She said: “Philip and I are based in London, so I phoned Comlongon and was diverted straight to the administrators who confirmed the worst.
“The owners haven’t even bothered to inform any of the couples who booked their weddings that they have gone into administration.
“It’s an absolute shambles and people have had – what is supposed to be the happiest day of their lives – wrecked and put into financial chaos. It’s disgusting.
“We’ve paid £4,800 and were due to pay the rest at the start of May. We could have been nearly £20,000 down.”
She added: “The admin-istrators said if they manage to sell the castle, they’ll pay off debts, then suppliers. We’ll be lucky to see a penny of it.
“It looks like we’ve managed to get another venue, but I feel so sorry for the people due to get married in the next few weeks.”
Donald McNaught, head of restructuring at administrators Johnston Carmichael, said: “The partnership, which owned Comlongon Castle and traded the hotel, is in the process of making an application to be declared bankrupt and for Johnston Carmichael to be appointed as a trustee to deal with its creditors.
“The hotel had a number of outstanding bookings, who should now contact Johnston Carmichael regarding further information on the ongoing process.
“We will be dealing with creditors’ claims after the partnership business behind Comlongon Castle encountered liquidity problems during the past year and ceased trading just over a week ago.
“I would encourage anyone who had a booking with the hotel to get in contact with Johnston Carmichael immediately.”
Last September, grandmother Moira Byers, who was sacked as manager at Comlongon after her husband and hotel director Philip Ptomoley fell out was awarded nearly £40,000 by an employment tribunal.
