Travel organisation The Russia House have assured supporters travelling with them that the company does indeed have financial bonding, contrary to reports in the local press recently.
Barry Martin, the founder of the company wrote a letter allaying any fears customers may have had after reading recent acticles. He said: "We have been the subject of seemingly uncorroborated and harmful statements."
"Our financial standing and our ability to carry out the travel, accommodation and visa arrangements for the trip to Moscow has bee questioned. To put you mind at rest, The Russia House has been invloved in arranging trips to and from Russia since 1969. We have group offices in London, Edinburgh, New York, Stockholm, Moscow and St Petersburg. The company is a fully licensed IATA (International Air Transporters' Association) agency and has liquid assets of £250,000."
The source of the problem appears to have been an error in an advert The Russia House themselves ran: "We believe this all started when our friends in the travel industry noted a technical error we made in the press promotion of the arrangements which apparently contravened the Consumers' Protection Act - we have now rectified this."