Fraud - help !!!

boingy

aj9648 said:

Hi

We planned a large family holiday in August - it was going to cost £14000.  We booked through a local travel agent who I have used many times before and not had an issue with.  They asked for a deposit of £6000.  I paid half of it via AMEX and half of it via BACS transfer on HSBC.  

Recently I have had no communication with them so went down to their office and they were not there and despite many email / calls etc they seem to have disappeared.

I spoke with AMEX and they said they will raise a dispute for the £3k and I should contact HSBC for the other £3K.  When I spoke to HSBC they said they cant do anything as it was sent to a personal account not a business one and I should ring the police.   What can I do?? I thought I would be covered by section 75 for the whole holiday?

Please help - really stressing me out at the moment !!

You should definitely call the police. Getting you to make a BACS transfer to a non-business account means that they knew they were about to shut the business, or it might even be an employee of the business grabbing some cash because the business is closing.

As well as calling the police you need to contact ABTA to see if they can offer any help or advice.

aj9648

sheramber said:

if you  give the company name someone may be able to find out what the position is.

S75 will not  cover a payment to a personal bank account.

Called escape travel - https://escape-travel.co.uk/#contact

TheBanker

This is odd - you refer to them as a local travel agent, and going down to their office, but their website doesn't appear to be a local travel agent with an office. There's no address for a start.

When you say local travel agent, do you mean they have a shop on the high street where you can go and speak to them, or did you do all your dealings with them online or by phone? 

There Facebook page hasn't been updated since November 2022 (until then it was promoting holidays) and their Instagram page seems to have been closed down. 

Their website, as far as I can see doesn't contain the full company name or address or any company registration details. Do you have a full company name or registration number on your receipt? I am asking because this will enable you to check Companies House to see if the company has been dissolved. 

When you made the Amex payment, what name has appeared on your Amex statement? Is it the company name or has it gone via a third party e.g. Paypal?

GrumpyDil

Appear to be operated via THE SERINITY TRAVEL GROUP with an address given as 

63/66 HATTON GARDEN, FIFTH FLOOR SUITE 23, LONDON, ENGLAND, EC1N 8LE. 

But that's as far as I get

born_again

Only one of the Latest trips is clickable & that is not for a holiday, but web design.

Above address is just rented office space.

TheBanker

GrumpyDil said:

Appear to be operated via THE SERINITY TRAVEL GROUP with an address given as 

63/66 HATTON GARDEN, FIFTH FLOOR SUITE 23, LONDON, ENGLAND, EC1N 8LE. 

But that's as far as I get

It looks like that address is just a mail forwarding service - there are over 100 companies based there and a Google search reveals: https://mycoworks.co.uk/63-66-Hatton-Garden which says they specialise in registered office addresses and virtual business addresses. 

The Serinity Travel Group's website is odd too - it shows the brands they trade as, but doesn't link to the brand's websites. 

None of this points to them being a 'local travel agent' as the OP described them. But he said he's used them before. I wonder if he's used a company called Escape Travel before, but this is a different business. Hence why the question about any company registration numbers etc that appeared on invoices is important, and exactly how the transaction was described on the Amex statement. 

aj9648

TheBanker said:

This is odd - you refer to them as a local travel agent, and going down to their office, but their website doesn't appear to be a local travel agent with an office. There's no address for a start.

When you say local travel agent, do you mean they have a shop on the high street where you can go and speak to them, or did you do all your dealings with them online or by phone? 

There Facebook page hasn't been updated since November 2022 (until then it was promoting holidays) and their Instagram page seems to have been closed down. 

Their website, as far as I can see doesn't contain the full company name or address or any company registration details. Do you have a full company name or registration number on your receipt? I am asking because this will enable you to check Companies House to see if the company has been dissolved. 

When you made the Amex payment, what name has appeared on your Amex statement? Is it the company name or has it gone via a third party e.g. Paypal?

Hi

the company transaction is Fly Travel Arc ltd. The office was in Leicester which I visited but not existent now 

TheBanker

aj9648 said:

TheBanker said:

This is odd - you refer to them as a local travel agent, and going down to their office, but their website doesn't appear to be a local travel agent with an office. There's no address for a start.

When you say local travel agent, do you mean they have a shop on the high street where you can go and speak to them, or did you do all your dealings with them online or by phone? 

There Facebook page hasn't been updated since November 2022 (until then it was promoting holidays) and their Instagram page seems to have been closed down. 

Their website, as far as I can see doesn't contain the full company name or address or any company registration details. Do you have a full company name or registration number on your receipt? I am asking because this will enable you to check Companies House to see if the company has been dissolved. 

When you made the Amex payment, what name has appeared on your Amex statement? Is it the company name or has it gone via a third party e.g. Paypal?

Hi

the company transaction is Fly Travel Arc ltd. The office was in Leicester which I visited but not existent now 

Well that's a real company: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12673071

However their accounts are overdue and a striking off notice was published a couple of weeks ago. 

I'll be honest, if you sent the £3k to someone's personal account, I think you'll struggle to get it back. You may need to take the person to court, but even if you get a judgement they might not have enough money to repay you. I don't think this scenario is covered under the CRM code and I can't see any other reason for HSBC to reimburse you. Hopefully Amex will be able to recover the £3k you paid by card. 

penners324

Get Amex ro do a charge back on the £3k.

The remainder is lost I think unless you can justify fraud to your bank