A Year Ago: Lastminute.com left red faced as cheques bounce

Will Knight ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 03 Apr 2001 06:07 BST

Tales of Martha in expensive shoes, dramatically dipping shares and now... the bouncing cheques

The increasingly bizarre tale of Lastminute.com took twist another last week when a number of investors were accidentally sent cheques from the company, which bounced.

The problem, according to Lastminute.com, was nothing more sinister than an administrative mistake.

The cheques were sent to investors as a reimbursement for shares they applied for but were not allowed after Lastminute.com restricted the number that could be bought.

A spokesperson for Lastminute.com promises this does not indicate the company has gone down the drain, despite a desperate few weeks on the stock exchange.

"This wasn't to do with Lastminute not having enough funds in its bank account," says a spokeswoman. She adds that just "three or four" cheques were accidentally cancelled.

"We credited those people immediately," she reassures.

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