Warning on Bali travel company
Western Australia’s Consumer Protection bureau has issued an alert about a travel scam in which consumers have apparently been duped into paying for flights and accommodation in Bali – only to later discover they were never booked with an airline or hotel. The same rip-off has hit consumers in Queensland.
Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading is calling on anyone who has had unsatisfactory dealings with Bali Indulgence, a travel business, or its owner, Chivonne Betts, to report the matter.
OFT has received reports of consumers who may have paid for travel through Bali Indulgence only to find those payments were not passed on to the airline or hotel.
Fair Trading executive director Brian Bauer said it was important for any affected consumers to come forward so that the matter could be properly investigated. “We are working closely with our counterparts in Western Australia, as it appears Bali Indulgence has a presence in both Queensland and WA,” Mr Bauer said.
“Consumers have reported using Bali Indulgence to book and pay for their holiday, only to show up for a flight or book into a hotel that has no record of their booking or payment.”
The WA consumer alert was issued just a day or so after Western Australia’s parliament repealed the Travel Agents Act 1985 that removes the need for travel agents in the state to be licensed and completes the abolition of agent licensing in all mainland Australian states.
WA’s acting commissioner for consumer protection Gary Newcombe says, “We understand people who have used Bali Indulgence have been turning up at the airport to find they have no valid ticket for the flight, arriving in Bali to discover the hotel has no record of their booking or discovering the lack of bookings prior to travel.”
