Holidaymaker takes travel agency to court

How to guard against unscrupulous agencies

Molefe and her daughter Basetsana
Molefe and her daughter Basetsana
Image: SUPPLIED

A would-be holidaymaker has taken a travel agency to the Small Claims Court after it failed to refund her a R20,000 deposit for a trip to Phuket, Thailand, which never happened.

Miriam Molefe and her daughter Basetsana,17, were meant to jet off to Thailand on Wednesday this week for a 10-day holiday. However, Molefe pulled out after she discovered that her plane tickets were invalid.

Molefe has been seeking her refund for the trip for more than three months and claims Collen and Sibongile Monakedi, the couple that owns Pretoria-based Star Travel & Tours, have been giving her a run around.

Molefe, a civil servant from Tshwane, had started planning for the trip in August and had wanted to make it a grand holiday for her daughter. A friend who had used Star Travel & Tours in 2022 recommended their services to Molefe.

She said she then contacted Sibongile and started making preparations in which they agreed on a R39,000 quote which will only cover flights and accommodation. Molefe would pay the R20,000 deposit while the balance would be paid in monthly installments.

She paid the deposit in August.

Molefe said she picked up a red flag when Sibongile sent her the name of the hotel (Nanachart Mansion) that she and her daughter would be staying in.

I did a Google search and I wasn’t happy with how the interior and the yard looked. Holidays are about memories. I cannot even take pictures in that place,
Miriam Molefe

“I did a Google search and I wasn’t happy with how the interior and the yard looked. Holidays are about memories. I cannot even take pictures in that place,” said Molefe.

Sowetan Consumer has seen the communication between Molefe and Sibongile in which she begs her to change the hotel or cancel the trip if she cannot find a better accommodation.

Molefe said the company sent her the first flight tickets but upon checking with the airline she said she was told that they were invalid.

“I was then given another set of tickets for a different airline and those two were invalid as well. I became worried and that’s when I started demanding my refund,” said Molefe.

After several delays, Molefe decided to go to their offices but only to find out that the travel agency had moved premises.

“I then called Sibongile and she fetched me from their old office building and we went to her house where Collen was waiting for me. They said they’d deduct R5,000 for admin and penalty fees from my deposit if I cancel the deal. They tried to corner me into accepting a lesser refund amount but I refused,” said Molefe.

On October 17 she approached the Small Claims Court in Tshwane where her letter of demand to the company was drafted.

Collen disputed Molefe’s allegations.

Star Travel &Tour owners Sibongile and Collen
Star Travel &Tour owners Sibongile and Collen
Image: SUPPLIED

“The flight allegations(invalid) as per allegedly levelled to us are deemed to be untrue, as we reserved the flight till the full amount was paid.

He said they requested Molefe to verify with the airline but failed to do so but later requested a refund.

“We are still waiting for the funds to [be] refunded to us, so we can do so to her as well,” said Collen.

He did not respond when asked if this was their normal business practice to wait for service providers to pay them first before refund their customers.

How to travel with confidence and peace of mind?

The Association of Southern African Travel Agents (Asata) is one of the leading agencies that guards against unscrupulous travel agencies. They advise holiday-makers to do the following when planning their travels:

• Vet Your Agent: Opt for Asata-accredited agents.

• Ensure URL Integrity: An "https" at the start of a web address is your friend. The "s" stands for "secure" – always check before making payments.

• Use a Credit Card: By using credit cards for bookings, travellers can take advantage of the "chargeback" protection in the event of undelivered services.

• Asata Verification: Asata's platform helps in confirming the legitimacy of travel agencies.

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