'We have been cheated'
In 'Phuket New', the local English-language newspaper, the following message is published today:
“A Dutch-Thai family has complained to customs in Phuket about a case of fraud by a travel agency in Bangkok. They have ordered five return tickets Amsterdam – Phuket plus hotel accommodation from this travel agency and paid an amount of around 240.000 Baht in advance.
However, the travel organization in Bangkok never sent those tickets and no hotel was booked. Since then it has been impossible to get in touch with this agency.
They bought new tickets and arrived in Phuket with a paltry 50.000 Baht. The family, consisting of Peter Neberd and his Thai wife Jiraporn Pajobchan, their son and Peter's parents, filed a complaint with the tour guide registration office last Friday and asked for help for a claim against that travel company.
The head of this bureau, Mr. Prapan Kanpraseng, has pledged to present the case to Phuket Governor Maitre Intusit. He also called on the company involved to respond to the charges, because such abuses damage Phuket's reputation among foreign tourists.”
So far the report in the newspaper. Assuming that the Dutch family is right to complain, it would be interesting and useful to get more details of the whole affair. How did the reservation work, why was this unnamed travel agency chosen, etc. etc.
If anyone in Phuket knows the family or has a contact address, let us know in a comment so that we can report on Thailandblog.nl.
How exactly it all worked, and whether it concerns scammers or whether the company is simply bankrupt, that does not matter much to the victims, they have lost their money.
It is remarkable that such a single case makes the press, it happens daily of course.
In the Netherlands, this problem was recognized years ago and the Stichting Garantiefonds Reizen was set up. If you book with an organization affiliated with this Foundation, you will be compensated where appropriate.
Of course, the SGR logo on a site is not sufficient, always check on the SGR site whether the relevant travel agency is affiliated with the Foundation.
If you buy individual tickets from an airline, you can take out insurance against bankruptcy for a few euros.
And if I only book a hotel in advance via the internet, I really won't pay months in advance. They should be glad I'm here.
In short, if there is someone in the travel group with some basic knowledge and/or common sense, then this certainly does not have to happen to you.
Sad! But why order tickets from NL in Bangkok for flights from Amsterdam to Bangkok and vice versa, I wonder. They are not fundamentally cheaper – unless you, as a 'supplier', already know in advance that you are not going to deliver and that way attracts bookers from the Netherlands.
Not that it helps the victims anything now, but: booking yourself, directly with the airline, is the safest and very often also the cheapest.
I completely agree with you, dear Cornelis, that the best way to book is directly with the company. Furthermore, I already have a very bad feeling when people talk about sending. Every airline now works with E-tickets !!! Never see anyone checking in with a ticket, always with an A4 piece of paper and passport. It remains sad, of course, but there are so many warnings about it.
Dear Tjamuk, what are you getting out of it? How can one get into trouble if one goes to a travel agency and says that you want to fly from Bangkok to Bali, or the Philippines or whatever. Many people do this because of having to leave Thailand because of visas. I go to the desk (never seen people there) and say I would like a ticket to there and there, such and such a date. Woman goes on her computer, gets her data on the screen and tells me. I agree with the price and the lady prints out my e ticket with all the rules, prints out the receipt and I pay cash or credit card. What does this have to do with trust? These are just hard working people who have a small margin on the ticket that we don't get out of bed for.
I would like to conclude that both Frans and Tjamuk do not know at all what they are talking about and therefore do not provide good information about the SGR. Everything necessary has been said here on Thailandblog, but apparently people do not read or do not check.
If you book a separate scheduled flight at an SGR agency, the costs will NOT be reimbursed! They are totally closed!
Because you just write something and don't check, I'll just copy the url for the other bloggers. But you can find hundreds of them on the internet.
If you have booked a package holiday, you are in the right place: the tour operator must arrange for an alternative flight. If the travel organization goes bankrupt and it was affiliated with the Stichting Garantiefonds Reisgelden (SGR) at the time of concluding the travel agreement, you can claim a payment from the SGR (see also: http://www.sgr.nl). The case is (unfortunately) different if the flight is not part of the trip. In that case there is very little you can do. The bankrupt airline offers no recourse and you cannot rely on the SGR either: air transport by scheduled ticket is expressly excluded from the guarantee provided by the SGR. The only option that remains is to submit your claim to the trustee.
http://www.mijnrechtsbijstandverzekering.nl/veelgestelde-vragen/vakantie/
As an extension, I add the posting that Khun Peter wrote over 2 years ago on his blog. In it he clearly describes the role of the SGR.
https://www.thailandblog.nl/vliegtickets/reizigers-gedupeerd-faillissement/
Also in Pattaya, pattaya thai diagonally opposite tukcom, there was a travel agency that did the same thing.
More than 20 million baht in reports have already been submitted to the police about this travel agency. Of course, this travel agency has already closed and the bird has flown.
In this case, a reservation was booked, people received a ticket, then this reservation was canceled again. So it is best to check your ticket number with the airline to see if it is booked and paid there.
I don't understand why people go to a travel agency, it's not necessary, is it? You book flight tickets on the website of your airline, you book a hotel at Agoda or another booking site. Why risk?
Dear Peter, According to an article on Thaivisa.com, these tickets were ordered in Bangkok at the insistence of his Thai wife, she seems to have a relative working there for this company, so that's why people speculate, I have so my thoughts on that.
Khun Peter, you don't have to understand everything, it is also impossible. You are well aware of the ins and outs of Thailand, but that does not apply to every Thailand traveler. Most travel agencies in the Netherlands have well-trained employees who assist their customers with knowledge and advice and tailor-made trips
booking for their customers, including (intermediate) flights, hotels, excursions, rental car with or without driver and, of course, group travel! Make sure you book with an ANVR and SGR travel agency.
In every country it can happen that things go wrong with prepaid tickets and reservations. Paying close attention and reading reviews is a must. But there are also positive examples to be found, we have been booking with Greenwoodtravel in BKK for years, also regularly the tickets AMS-BKK vv, to full satisfaction. So we shouldn't paint everything over the same brush, it can be nice to be able to discuss tickets and hotels, by mail or telephone, with a contact person, such as at Greenwood, instead of etickets and agoda. Everything has its pros and cons.
“Is it going through an agent (advantage)…”
I want to respond to that. I normally buy my tickets from China Airlines. When the booking site did not work, I went to a travel agency, where I could buy the same tickets for € 60 more per ticket. "Otherwise we won't get out." Why advantage???
In the end I booked through D travel. € 25 booking fee (total) extra. I couldn't find it cheaper. Again: why advantage?
Once I bought tickets on Phuket at a small desk. My ticket said "CONFIRMED" on my wife's it didn't. Luckily I saw that before I paid and it was corrected. I don't know if it was willfulness or stupidity.
If your ticket does not say "CONFIRMED", it is only a piece of paper with information. Can you buy a real ticket at the airport? So always check whether it says that or a booking code (number or letters) of the airline.
We know this is about central point travel & propertery agency via jirattithika wattayawong. this lady also cheated on us and changed our return tickets unsolicited to another airline and 1 day later, which put me in trouble with my clients because I was unable to meet my business agreements due to these circumstances. She promised to refund the tickets as compensation. now 1 year later: the lady has never paid or responded to any claim and is no longer available.
another wise lesson.
only do business with a reliable contact.
Bram and Aang