Thursday December 16, 2010
Scores duped by travel agency
By RACHEL LAW
[email protected]
KUALA LUMPUR: A travel agency in Ipoh conned 78 people of RM63,750 by promising free package trips to the Philippines and Bali. The modus operandi of the travel agency was to first offer a membership for a certain fee but later keep postponing the trip.
One of the victims, Lew Pu Yok from Kuantan said a representative from the travel agency invited him over the phone to become a member for RM498, saying that two of his family members would be entitled to travel for free if he recruited more members.
Lew, 50, represented the group during a press conference yesterday at the MCA headquarters here. He said that he recruited 75 people and they paid almost RM64,000 in total. The travel agency failed to provide an itinerary and instead sent a letter that the trip scheduled for last month had been postponed to next March.
Upset, Lew went to the travel agency in Ipoh to request for a refund. “I insisted that the travel agency explain the postponement to my friends face-to-face,” he said. He added that he declined more offers by the travel agency in an attempt to appease him.
Lew said the travel agency claimed that their Indonesian counterpart ran away with the money and would issue refunds in the form of six cheques dated May to October next year. He also found out that the flights were not registered in the AirAsia website as claimed by the travel agency.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong said another group of 27 people conned by the same travel agency lodged their complaints last week. “The list of over 100 complainants against this travel agency is only the tip of the iceberg,” Chong said.
He urged the public to be wary of the risks that come with cheap offers. “I will submit all reports to the Bukit Aman crime department, and bring the matter up with the Tourism Ministry,” he said.
