Several Romanians were left without fully paid exotic vacations and without tens of thousands of euros, after a travel agency in Ilfov allegedly collected the money without making any real reservations. The claimed damage exceeds 40,000 euros, and the number of victims could be much higher, according to information provided by customers and bank representatives, according to Digi24.
Ten families who were supposed to leave for Bali on March 3 discovered less than a month before that there were no plane tickets and their accommodation reservations were unpaid.
“We paid the last installment on the 27th and the bank told us that the agency has blocked the accounts,” says Ana-Maria.
“The reservation existed, but without any payment. I had no plane tickets”, Roxana completes.
The two women say they later learned that more than 120 people were in the same situation.
Customers left without money during the holidays
Another tourist, Tudor, says that the problems arose during his stay in the Dominican Republic.
“Four days before departure, they informed us that they could no longer secure the plane tickets. They promised to return the money by February 1, but I did not receive anything. At the end of the vacation, I was stopped by security in the hotel because the agency had not paid for the accommodation“, says the man.
Honeymoon canceled two days before
Another injured person, who chose to remain anonymous because he has a pending lawsuit, says he found out two days before he left for his honeymoon that his vacation had been canceled.
“The tickets didn’t come, nothing. When we called, they said the holiday was cancelled. We asked for compensation, but we didn’t get any money.”
The agency does not respond, the site is still working
Although there are dozens of complaints, including those lodged with the police, the agency’s online platform is still active and bookings can still be made. The agency’s manager had not commented by the time the material went to press.
The authorities point out that such frauds are common during periods when people are planning their vacations and recommend carefully checking the agencies, their licenses and their history before making payments.
