By August, they consider: why travel agents disappear with clients' money
More than 20 criminal cases have been opened in Tula on fraud in the field of tourist services. The suspect is a local resident who, according to social media, has been sending residents of Tula and other regions on vacation for more than 10 years. But something went wrong. So far, according to law enforcement agencies, the damage is estimated at 6 million rubles, and according to media reports — at 25 million. Meanwhile, in Yekaterinburg, tourists have initiated criminal proceedings against a travel agent who was given money for tours to Goa, Thailand, Vietnam, but did not fly anywhere. Similar stories happened in Samara, Kaluga, Kemerovo and other cities. About why travel agents disappear with money and how tourists can protect themselves is in the Izvestia article.
"It's already millions now"
— Cases of such fraud often occur precisely in July and August, that is, at the peak of the season, when the turnover of money is at its maximum. With these funds, agents disappear," Sergey Agafonov, general director of the Burning Vouchers Store chain, explained to Izvestia. — Yes, unfortunately, this happens every year. If you look at the history of tour operator bankruptcies, then in previous years, fortunately, this is not happening now, they also stopped their activities during these months.
An increase in the number of criminal cases of fraud occurs every summer, confirmed by Georgy Mokhov, Vice President of the PCT, General Director of Persona Grata Law Firm.
— Messages are sent almost every week. The only thing that has become more common is fraud in the field of online sales, through fake websites, through social networks, and the number of cases of fraud related to the organization of author tours, usually through groups on social networks, has increased significantly. The amount of losses caused has also increased significantly, if earlier it was tens of thousands of rubles, now it is already millions," the expert explained.
According to Maria Chapikovskaya, a lawyer at the Alliance of Travel Agencies, most often we are talking about targeted fraud, which exists in absolutely any field, from stand-in sites to left-wing telegram channels and social media pages.
— This type of fraud will develop, become better, this cannot be changed. We need to work on protection, including in terms of personal data, on the creation of some control mechanisms to confirm the relevance of a particular contractor's proposal," the expert explained. — The second type of fraud is when performers work for a certain amount of time, but at some point something goes wrong. There is a cash gap, and they cannot pay off their debts, they make wrong decisions. As a result, tourists don't fly anywhere. And here the nuance is that there probably is no correct, unified business format for tourism. These are just erroneous decisions that are made by travel agents, and then they snowball on top of each other.
At the same time, Maria Chapikovskaya stressed that there are many travel agents, but such situations are still rare. However, the cases are receiving a lot of attention thanks to the media and social networks.
— The peculiarity of tourism activity is that we pay the money today, and we get the result tomorrow, — said Oleg Cherkasov, a leading lawyer at the European Legal Service. — By paying money to a travel agent, we do not immediately bring it to the final service provider, which creates opportunities for abuse.
How to choose the right travel agency
According to experts, it is possible to protect yourself, but, of course, not 100%. First, according to Maria Chapikovskaya, reservations should be made by a specific company or entrepreneur, and not just by some "conditional Masha" on social networks. Before contacting a travel agency, you need to check if it is in the register of travel agents, where you can also see which tour operators the company cooperates with.
As Sergey Agafonov clarified, it is worth contacting reliable and well-known travel agencies, there are brands that are well-known and trusted in the market. No need to experiment with new agencies, no need to rely on a low price.
Yulia Ivanova, a lawyer and consultant at the I Understand corporate welfare platform, suggests requesting an extract from the unified state register of legal entities/sole proprietors. "Check the name, INN, OGRN, address, status ("current") on the FTS website (nalog.gov.ru Make sure that the contract is concluded with this organization," she added.
— See the latest reviews on websites and forums. Please note if there are many complaints about tour disruptions or refunds. If the reviews are too old, look for alternatives," advised Emil Ziyadinov, Director of Partner Network Development at the Tutu travel service.
Lyubov Voronina, Head of international projects "Fly.<url>" and the managing director of the Let's Fly tour operator also recalled that fraudsters often use phishing sites that completely repeat the interface of a well-known brand. It is important to pay close attention to the domain address in which letters can be rearranged, etc.
How to protect yourself when buying a tour
Maria Chapikovskaya noted that an entrepreneur must provide a contract. According to her, tourists often book without it, which indicates basic financial illiteracy. Moreover, they then transfer money to an individual's card.
— Payment must be made officially to the banking details of the company or entrepreneur, after which a check is knocked out, — the lawyer explained. — If a travel agent adheres to cash discipline and everything is fine with him, then the risk that he will get into a situation with a cash gap, of course, remains, but it is seriously reduced.
The details, the lawyers remind you, in the contract and in the payment documents must match.
In addition, at the moment there is an important transparency tool — an electronic voucher, Lyubov Voronina reminded. If a travel product is booked (a package, not individual services), the tourist should ask the agent if his data has been entered into the GIS "EP". In this case, the traveler can use the QR code to check the contents of his travel package through Gosuslugi. However, the data is not uploaded there immediately. The tour operator is obliged to do this no later than the 15th day of the month following when the ticket was purchased. If it is before the tour itself, then at least one day before the trip.
You can also contact a tour operator. "The status of the application, if the tour operator is Intourist, regardless of where it was booked, can be checked on our website," the company explained. They also reminded about the "Electronic travel package" system, its unique number is received by tourists after paying for the tour.
In addition, said Yuri Ivanova, the travel agent must provide the documents for the tour, a voucher for check-in from the tour operator, the absence of which is already a "red flag".
If the deception did occur
If it is clear that the money has been given away, but there will be no tour, then the main thing, all experts say, is to act quickly — this increases the chances of returning the funds.
Emil Ziyatdinov lists:
- Collect the evidence. Correspondence, screenshots of the website, contracts, receipts, transfer details.
- If you have booked a tour with a well-known company, please contact customer support. Usually, major players value their reputation — they quickly come to the rescue and offer a solution to the traveler.
- Inform the bank — sometimes they manage to stop or challenge the transfer.
- Write a complaint to the company. Even if she is already on the verge of bankruptcy, it will come in handy in court.
— Immediately send a claim by registered mail with a notification and an inventory of the attachment, demanding a full refund within 10 days (the deadline under the law "On Consumer Rights Protection" is art. 31). Specify the details of the contract, the amount, the reason for the request (refusal/inability to provide the tour), and the calculation of the penalty (if applicable). Attach copies of the contract and payment documents," explained Yulia Ivanova.
If there are signs of fraud, it is necessary to contact the police with a statement, said Georgy Mokhov.
You must attach all the documents (contract, payments, correspondence, claim, refusal). "This is a key step for initiating a criminal case and possible seizure of assets/management," Yulia Ivanova added.
According to her, if the claim and other measures did not help, you should file a lawsuit with the district court at the location of the agency or the tourist's place of residence (art. 17 ZZPP). The lawyer listed the possible requirements:
- Refund of the tour amount.
- Payment of the penalty (3% of the tour price for each day of delay after 10 days from the date of the claim — art. 28 of the GDPR).
- Compensation for moral damage.
- A fine of 50% of the amount awarded (art. 13 of the CCPR) for failure to comply voluntarily.
- Court costs (state fee, legal services).
It is also necessary to take measures to secure the claim. File a motion with the claim to seize the defendant's accounts/property in order to prevent the withdrawal of assets, the lawyer says.
Another way to refund funds if they were paid by card is to use a chargeback at the bank. In the Mir payment system, this method is called a "dispute". To do this, you need to write a statement about the cancellation of the payment. The reason is that the paid service was not provided, not fully provided or with defects, as well as a number of other situations. The deadline depends on the circumstances of the payment and the reasons for the request. It is better to clarify the details that are necessary for the application in your bank.
However, if the money was transferred to a fraudster, you probably won't be able to dispute the payment.
In any case, according to experts, consulting with a practicing lawyer in the field of consumer protection or tourism will significantly increase the chances of success.
As Georgy Mokhov warns, with the development of online services, the situation with fraud will only worsen, the possibilities of quick choice and instant payment allow fraudsters to very effectively influence the psyche of consumers who are looking for low prices and the best deals.
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