Man paid $3,296 for tix to Bali and Japan he never got, travel agent promises refund but goes MIA
A travel agent became uncontactable after failing to deliver tickets to Bali and Japan as promised.
Stomper Anonymous had paid $3,296 for those tickets.
He said his girlfriend works in a company that had engaged the travel agent for company retreats for two years.
"We thought since he was quite reliable, we bought our family trip to Bali from him," said the Stomper.
"He said he had allotment tickets to Japan. So we bought two of those as well."
The payment was made in February. In June, the Stomper asked for the tickets but got excuses instead.
"We kept asking for updates and he said allotment tickets have different processes," recounted the Stomper, who decided to ask for a refund.
The travel agent agreed to the refund but again made excuses for delays until he stopped responding to the Stomper altogether in September.
That was when the Stomper concluded that the travel agent was a scammer, and had since made a police report.
The Stomper also found other victims allegedly duped by the same individual, including one on Reddit and two on TikTok. Besides plane tickets, the schemes involved investments, wedding packages and credit cards as well.
He shared a Sept 16 police report made by one alleged victim who had received a WhatsApp message from a "fellow army mate" on Oct 11, 2024, about making some extra money.
"The scheme involved using my credit card to purchase travel packages," explained the alleged victim in the police report.
"For example, if I used my credit card to charge $10,000, I could receive a 3 to 5 per cent return.
"He assured me that seven days before my card payment was due, his team would clear the card payment for me. The 3 to 5 per cent retum could be obtained immediately within one working day after the card was charged.
"Subsequently, I lent him my credit card for two months from October to November 2024. I got my commission of $483 and $27,143.52 was spent on my credit card.
"But for November, he didn't pay me any commission or pay my credit card bill amounting to $11,069.27.
"The reason I am only making a police report today is that he repeatedly told me he would return the money. He last contacted me on Sept 8, promising to pay me back through weekly payments of $500 to $1,000...
"He still owes me $10,000.
"Through an army mate who knows both of us, I discovered that he had approached my other army mate with the same credit card scheme. He told me he has lost $50,000."
In response to a Stomp query, the police confirmed the reports were lodged, adding that investigations are ongoing.
Update:
On Oct 14, the Stomper told Stomp: "The agent has come forward and is trying to resolve the issue.
"The agent is currently going through legal proceedings to liquidate the company to refund all who were affected."
