Looks like this was one hard lesson for these Malaysians!
According to the Malay Mail, 18 Malaysians from Ipoh who planned a trip to Zhangjiajie, China, had the shock of their lives when they had to cough up RM60,205 after a tour agency didn’t manage to pay for their tour.
The group reportedly had to pay the additional amount during their eight-day holiday there earlier this March.
Source: CNN
According to the group’s spokesperson, they each paid RM1,898 for the trip, which initially included a direct flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
“We suspected something amiss when two days before our departure, the agency informed us the departure date had been rescheduled from March 18 to March 21.”
Source: Malay Mail
Initially, the trip went smoothly, but on the fourth day, their tour guide informed them that their agency, Syarikat Orange Harmony Tour Sdn Bhd, didn’t pay for their trip and subsequently demanded them to pay the additional amount, which totalled to RM60,205. Whoa, that’s a lot of money!
“Another member of the group and I had to use our credit cards to pay the Chinese guide,” said the group’s spokesperson.
“When we returned from China, we met with the agency owner who promised to reimburse the expenses incurred.”
“However, a post-dated cheque issued by the agency bounced.”
Source: New America Media
Since then, they have been unable to contact the agency owner and subsequently decided to take this matter to the police.
The group’s spokesperson was surprised that they encountered this problem, explaining that he had previously booked two other tours with the agency and everything went smoothly.
“I did not anticipate this trip would turn into a nightmare.”
However, it appears that they weren’t the only victims of this tour agency. According to the spokesperson, he had received 100 complaints against this agency since April.
We hope the agency owner owns up to his mistakes and that these poor people get their money back!
Also read: Rude Tour Guide Loses Patience and Shouts at Malaysian Tourists Over a Few Questions
