Invasion Win Court Case Against Philip Crabb

Hi Campers,

Some of you may have been aware of the existence of two rival Camp Thailands, the Invasion version and the Philip Crabb version. This must have been very confusing for potential campers, particularly as Mr Crabb was claiming that his was the "original" one and was even using the same logo as Invasion (see below).  In fact, I mentioned this state of affairs in my post of 6 October 2017, and gave my opinion at the time that the genuine one was the Invasion one, which Mr Crabb had merely somehow managed to muscle his way into. Moreover, I pointed out that Mr Crabb had never been anything more than a provider of sub-standard TEFL courses, which I'm sure still remains true today.

Invasion Logo

Anyway, I'm pleased to say that they have finally resolved the issue through a legal battle in court earlier this year, which Invasion won handsomely.  Mr Crabb is now no longer allowed to use the Camp Thailand logo or the word "original" for any of his businesses. Apparently, he had also deliberately spread misinformation in an attempt to ruin Invasion, and was forced to admit to this in a signed statement.

This is indeed good news and is a great step forward for all concerned. It also throws a lot of light on what happened back in 2017. I mentioned at the time that Mr Crabb had his own agenda and was probably trying to exploit the confusion of that period for his own ends, i.e. to gain control of Camp Thailand. In fact, many of the problems of the time were generated by Mr Crabb himself.  For example, I remember how he tried to charge campers a second time for their certificates and claimed he couldn't pay his own employees (a long-standing tradition in the world of Philip Crabb, going right back to his Island TEFL days, when he used the name of Philip Dunne).

So what does this mean going forward? The important point is that Philip Crabb is now completely out of the equation, and this gives Invasion the chance to fully re-establish their reputation. In view of the damaging effect of the events of the Philip Crabb era, Invasion must seize this opportunity by the horns and make it a point of honour to maintain ethical and professional standards at all times in all circumstances. If they do so, the events of the past will fade into distant memory.

Invasion have a new operations manager in place, Thomas Chudley, and he seems to be doing an excellent job in moving things forward. So let's wish Invasion the best of luck. And, of course, please do submit your reviews!

Happy camping!
EFL Greg

Defamation

Hi  Campers,

If ever you post a negative review of a camp you need to be aware that the company in question might retaliate with a threat of court action for defamation, particularly in Thailand. Indeed, many campers say they experienced this during the 2017 Invasion saga. This can be really scary if you're unprepared. So here are some hints on how to handle it.

The most important point to remember is that if what you say is factually accurate, it's going to be very difficult for any company to win a defamation case. Apart from anything, once in court it will become immediately apparent that you are the victim, such that the court is much more likely to sympathise with you. In addition to that, the last place any company that has short-changed their customers wants to be is in court, because any misdeeds are quickly going to come out in the washing. Think carefully, how can a company take you to court, having ripped you off, and then demand that you pay them more because you told the world the truth! What kind of justice would that be?

Also important is that, in the modern world, reviews on social media (e.g. this blog) are standard and common place. It's something every company has to accept. The point is that any review or comment needs to be objective and any opinions based on facts. And, of course, the facts themselves must be accurate. It is also important to keep the tone civil and not to degenerate into abuse.  Reviews and feedback play a huge role in our lives, so be confident that you are providing the world a service by making your opinion heard.

Fortunately, Philip Crabb no longer works with Invasion. However, in days past, he was always the most notorious individual for threatening people with defamation. Basically, he'd do something rotten to you (like take your money for nothing) and then threaten you with defamation if you squealed. He'd also be very quick to tell you that in Thailand defamation laws are very strict, and that the onus would be on you, the defendant, to prove your innocence. This would be terrifying for a 19 year old travelling for the first time in Asia. Images of being locked up in a Thai prison would flash into their minds and Philip would do everything to nurture that image. So usually Philip's threats worked. People backed off. However, eventually enough comments appeared on social media, and clearly they stuck, particularly the ones linked to Island TEFL, Philip's former company. And clearly it was a wide range of people posting. I'm pleased to say, Philip has never yet succeeded in getting anyone into court.

So don't be worried, because even in Thailand the basic principles as described above still hold true. I was actually in Thailand when they introduced the laws. It was in 2006 during the military coup. The laws were mainly brought in to protect the King, because there were sections of society that wanted to do away with the monarchy altogether. I'm sure everyone knows about the battles between the Red Shirts and the Yellow Shirts. The prime purpose of the laws wasn't really concerned with everyday cases like yours, but those with political implications.

However, if you're back in the UK, those complications certainly don't apply. Just be confident about your right to free speech and your duty to inform the world at large of any wrong doing. I've put a couple of links below to websites that give good information about defamation. Don't let the bullies win!

Happy Camping!
EFL Greg

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/defamation-law-made-simple-29718.html
https://solicitors.guru/articles/27-law-defamation-explained/

Example Emails about Invasion

Hi Campers,

I just thought I'd post a few typical emails I received about Invasion. I've kept the authors anonymous for reasons of confidentiality, but I can assure you they're all genuine.

"I booked to do a 3 week TEFL qualification in Thailand with a company called "Summer Camp Thailand" who work under an umbrella company registered here in the UK called "Invasion Ltd"

I was in Thailand and partaking on this programme between the 9th August to 30th August 2017

There were many issues from when our intake arrived in Bangkok. The teaching itself, and the TEFL qualification was very disorganised. Having learnt nothing, we were already disappointed but this wasn't the biggest issue.

During camp, on the 25th August before we were set to leave for our mini break in Cha-Am, we were told that there'd been a last minute change to our accommodation and that we had been "upgraded". On the same day, we received an email from a one "Mr Phillip Crabb" telling us that our accommodation wasn't an upgrade, and we were being moved due to a cash flow problem at Invasion Ltd.

A group of us spoke to the reps on site. The English reps who were employees of the English "Summer Camp Thailand" company were insisting it was an upgrade and told us to ignore any emails from Mr Phillip Crabb as he was no longer an employee of Summer Camp Thailand. So we did just that but our problems only grew.

We had all spoken to our families back home to make them aware that we were moving destinations to Hua Hin, as opposed to Cha-Am. When we arrived at our new destination it was blatantly obvious that everything Phillip Crabb said in his email was true.

We arrived at this hotel, which was a 40 minute drive from the beach and local restaurants/ bars and a 15 minute walk away from the nearest shop as Phillip had surprisingly truthfully stated. The bus driver had to come out of the vehicle and lift electrical wires above the coach in order for the coach to access the accommodation.

After 14 hours of travelling and anxious family members concerned about our whereabouts, the wifi didn't accommodate the amount of people in our intake (67 people). So I had to wait another 10 hours before I could update my family members on my whereabouts.

We were given keys to our rooms. Our bed sheets were stained with blood and other bodily fluids and one person from our intake found a dead frog in their bed. The free food that was advertised was nothing more than basic rice which wasn't covered, therefore covered in bugs. Most of the rooms were infested and there was no hot water. Later we would learn that the air condition and hot water were only installed the day prior to us arriving.

Of course we brought all of these issues up with the reps on site, who called in a gentleman called "Harry Lote" to explain the changes to us. He arrived in a truck, followed by another truck that was supposed to be taking us to Hua Hin centre later that evening. On the truck that he got out of, were large Leo beers and it was obvious that he was intoxicated which made us all a little uncomfortable as he was supposed to be the head rep, and assistant director of the company "Summer Camp Thailand". He explained that Phillip Crabb was a disgruntled previous supplier of the TEFL certificates, and due to switching suppliers, Summer Camp Thailand decided to switch our accommodation too.

The old accommodation that we were supposed to be staying at was 5 minutes from Cha-Am beach and night markets. It has an outdoor swimming pool and had been used by all the previous intakes with no complaints as far as I am aware. It was very very obvious that we were moved to this new accommodation in Hua Hin due to the cash flow problem at Invasion.

The whole ordeal had us very stressed. I'd sent out numerous emails to Summer Camp Thailand here in the UK that weekend and they've only just responded now, and their response doesn't shed any light on the situation.

The programme fee we paid was £699. We paid this fee for the original itinerary that was on their website and to receive a 120 hour internationally accredited TEFL certificate whilst we were there (which we still have yet to receive). In light of the certificate itself, some people did more hours than others. So I'd done 3 days of 8 hours each day then an additional day of 5 hours. Yet some of the intake only did 2 hours each day at different schools.

Now after 10 minutes of googling, I've come across some of your blogs. This man [Philip Crabb] has been working under Invasion Travel Ltd, providing the TEFL part of the course. Since the first email he has sent, he has sent many more emails asking for money in order for us to receive this TEFL certificate that we have ALREADY paid for.

He has also breached the data protection act by giving out our emails and details to people on the subsequent intake for Camp C - Summer Camp Thailand and a reporter from Manchester.

As we still haven't received these certificates, our details were handed out without our consent and we stayed at an accommodation that wasn't listed on the itinerary or agreed to, I'm in the process of seeking a refund from the company.

Given that they are not willing to give us a partial refund, I'll be seeking a to initiate a charge back with my bank. Summer Camp Thailand have been incompetent at answering the questions that I have and are blatantly not responding to my queries."

I'll put more up shortly. Meanwhile, please read my comment below.

Stay safe,
EFL Greg

Invasion Ltd

Hi Campers!

I have now received several reports about the appalling way Invasion treated the August/September intake last year that I can only conclude that as a company Invasion fall a long way short of what they claim to be and how they advertise themselves (click here). I had given them the benefit of the doubt up till now, but no longer so. In addition to the organisational failures, I'm also getting lots of reports about drunken behaviour by some of the reps at some of the camps, as well as drug taking. There was also, of course, the infamous "gun" incident back in 2016.

I'm sure that when Lee McAteer and Nick Steiert started out they were genuine in their wish to create something properly meaningful for youngsters in the form of the Camp experience. Great idea! However, money and power do corrupt, and they seem now only to be concerned with their profits. Any true concern about their customers and students seems to have gone completely out of the window. Basically, they're just ignoring everyone. Rather than being "of the people", they now seem to be adopting a high and mighty stance. The sheer number of testimonials to this is now overwhelming. Rather than list them all one by one, I'm putting a couple of links here so that people can read the complaints against Invasion themselves. Also read my posts, "Invasion and Camp Thailand" and "Invasion and Ethics", both in October last year. The comments there are particularly revealing, as also are the ones back in 2016. In fact, please read the whole of this blog if you have time.

First, there is a Facebook page, "Camp Thailand and Invasion travel fiasco support". you may need to join the group to get full access. For some reason it's down at the moment, but they say it will be up again shortly. In addition to this is the Rip-off Report (click here), which is quite detailed and goes pretty deeply into what happened. However, the second half of it needs to be read with a pinch of salt because it is obviously written by Philip Crabb himself, who was undoubtedly one of the main culprits in the whole saga/fiasco. He mentions "OUR company, English For Fun" and the inevitable "internationally accredited" reference to his own TEFL course, etc. So you may need to read between the lines there.  Nevertheless, the overall report is pretty damning for Invasion. It's all in strong contrast to the massaged write-ups on the GoAbroad review site.

I have written to Invasion to ask them for their side of the story, but sadly they have not replied. It now seems to be their standard policy not to respond to any enquiries related to August/September of 2017. Looking back, the writing was already on the wall by the way they covered up the "gun" incident in 2016 (see my posts of June 2017 and October 2016). Just the fact that they were willingly working with a man as notorious as Philip Crabb already gave some indication of their level of ethicality. They cannot simply blame everything on him, they need to take responsibility themselves. It's important that everyone at every stage of the Camp experience has the highest degree of integrity and is fully vetted beforehand.

Of course, I personally wish people would read my blog before signing up for these camps. Sadly, most people only read it after the event. Anyway, if anyone is reading this prior to going somewhere under Invasion's steam I strongly recommend them to rethink. In fact, I would recommend everyone to boycott Invasion completely.

Good luck for the future!
EFL Greg

Gap Odyssey Phuket

Hi Campers,

We've noticed that a new camp has started to emerge in recent weeks. It's Gap Odyssey Phuket. It also has branches in Buriram and Cha Am. It already has both a website http://www.gapodyssey.com/ and a Facebook page. Rest assured, this is simply another incarnation of Philip Crabb's Island TEFL or Camp Thailand. So be warned, you can expect exactly the same kind of standards as per those two schools.

It's currently asking for $1,499 for the camp, including a "free" TEFL course, normally valued at $495. In our opinion, this is a total rip-off, an absolutely ridiculous amount of money to pay. As mentioned in our previous posts, the English For Fun TEFL course is worth about $100 at most. It's fully unaccredited and is usually taught by any teacher who happens to be around at the time. They also seem to have teamed up with ITA in some way. The exact connection is unclear, but, in out opinion, it reflects badly on ITA and devalues their credibility in the market.

There may be excursions and teaching in a school, etc, but is it worth spending that kind of money on? Again, as mentioned before, you can do almost all the activities offered off your own bat at a mere fraction of the cost.

We're strongly recommending potential campers to avoid this outfit altogether.

Happy holidays,
EFL Greg

Invasion and Ethics

Hi Campers!

Following the events of August and September, I think Invasion really need to be doing some serious soul searching. First they need to establish what their core values are and then make sure they apply them with full integrity. Clearly they have been coming up short on the ethical front in recent months.

First of all, how did they get into bed with their previous TEFL providers (English For Fun) in the first place? EFF's track record was well known to all before they linked up. Did Invasion seriously believe there would be no problems ensuing from that liaison? Clearly, it was a deal based on expediency at the time rather than one that matched their core values.

Secondly, Invasion have failed miserably in their response to the complaints of campers taking part in the August camp in Chiang Mai. Rather than offer measly £250 vouchers, they should offer full refunds. Only this way can they realistically hope to keep customers and hold on to their market share. Word gets around quickly on social media these days.

At the very heart of all Invasion's venture must be ethicality towards the campers themselves. Most of the campers are youngsters who have never travelled to Asia before, and have anxious parents at home worrying about them. To cut corners and condone sub-standard behaviour at camps is simply not acceptable (see previous posts).

In the future, Invasion must make ethicality and the maintenance of high standards an absolute must, not just an optional extra. If they can do this, we wish them luck going forward with their new TEFL partners. If they can't, they must expect to see an inevitable decline in the number of participants on their camps, and deservedly so.

Let's hope there's some improvement in the future.

EFL Greg

Invasion and Camp Thailand

Hi Thailand Campers!

Following my last post I've received a lot of disturbing news. It seems there's been a real bust up between Invasion and Philip Crabb.  In fact, Invasion have dispensed with his services altogether and are now using Greenway China to provide the TEFL component of their Camp experience. I don't actually know anything about Greenway, so I can't honestly vouch for them. What I can say, though, is that Invasion should be applauded for parting company with Philip Crabb and his English For Fun farce. We have been pressing for this for a long time on this blog, so let's hope this move heralds a brighter future.

Meanwhile, Invasion is in quite a state of turmoil, in that there have been several complaints from campers and from parents about the messy way the August / September course turned out. Apparently, there was trouble about visas as well as the switch in hotels from Cha-Am to Hua Hin. It seems that Invasion had some genuine cash flow problems, probably as a result of overextending themselves with too many camps. This was compounded by the possibility that Philip Crabb was embezzling money sent to him by Invasion. At this stage, we have no proof of that. However, it seems the possibility alone was enough to make Invasion act.

Overall, it seems Invasion are trying to do their best in difficult circumstances. For example, they have offered dissatisfied campers vouchers for £250, etc. However, Invasion need to be much more open, honest and communicative in dealing with their camp participants. I'm getting reports of unanswered emails and robotic responses to phone calls. That's just no way to treat customers. They really need to work on their PR

Whatever happened to cause the bust up, Philip Crabb clearly has his own agenda, the main component being to claim Camp Thailand as his own. In fact, many of you may already have noticed that there are two Camp Thailands now, Summer Camp Thailand https://summercampthailand.com/ run by Americamp and Camp Thailand http://www.campthailand.org/ run by Philip Crabb. What it seems Mr. Crabb is trying to do now is to create as much of a stir as he can about Invasion in the hope that they go out of business, leaving him 100% control of Camp Thailand. He even tries to claim that he created the whole project. This is complete poppycock, he is merely a provider of sub-standard TEFL courses, nothing more. For future reference have no doubt that Invasion/Americamp's version of Camp Thailand is the original one.

I'll make more comments about developments in my next post. Meanwhile, please do post your comments or email me directly.

Keep camping!
EFL Greg