# Concern in relation to travel agent & due diligence



## onekeano (23 Jan 2017)

A fiend of mine's son plays with a local football club - they've been doing very well and this year it was decided that they would organise a club trip for parents and children who wanted to travel.

There's a lot of enthusiasm about this proposed trip which will take place in the summer of 2017, however my friend is a bit uneasy that it sounds almost too good to be true. To book this travel herself would cost 60-100% more so even allowing for group discounts it seems very cheap.

On the question of who it's being booked through, they are told that the agent is in the US and the company is registered in Asia so it sounds very likely there is no bonding from Ireland. The local organiser is asking for full fees to be paid this week (there would be > 100 people travelling) and my friend is just a bit concerned that proper due diligence has not taken place.

It's one thing if the monies were to be lost but another significant factor is that this is a big part of our community so if it were to go sour it could have a very damaging impact on a lot of families?

Any advice would be much appreciated, especially any advice on how they could get some reassurances on the bonafides of the agent.

Roy


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## Leo (23 Jan 2017)

If you can provide the name of the agents perhaps someone here may have experience of them.


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## XMarks (23 Jan 2017)

Yes please give the name of the agent. I know of one crowd who appear every year under new names/websites who proclaim to be based in the UK and offer huge discounts (70%) off the price of holidays in Europe. They are actually a scam and are based in China.


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## onekeano (23 Jan 2017)

XMarks said:


> Yes please give the name of the agent. I know of one crowd who appear every year under new names/websites who proclaim to be based in the UK and offer huge discounts (70%) off the price of holidays in Europe. They are actually a scam and are based in China.



Thanks guys, the travel agency registry licence # is 354118 and the trade agents name is La French Ltd. The trade name is TouristsHeaven.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Roy


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## odyssey06 (23 Jan 2017)

The TouristsHeaven Facebook page doesn't appear to have had any official posts in > 12 months, and it directs to an official website which is down. Eh, not encouraging


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## vandriver (23 Jan 2017)

I've messaged them on Facebook for a website address.Ive just got an automated reply so far.


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## vandriver (23 Jan 2017)

La French are on LinkedIn,but with very little detail.
Where did the organiser get the offer from?
Edit:they appear to use Gmail and outlook for contact which is never a sign of a professional outfit.


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## onekeano (23 Jan 2017)

Just came across this which does not augur welll - probably from in Ukraine.....


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## XMarks (23 Jan 2017)

The crowd I mentioned in my last post used other agent's genuine licence numbers and passed them off as their own. I would run a mile from this. They have no working website and no phone number.


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## T McGibney (23 Jan 2017)

Bottom line in situations like this: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And no voluntary organisation can countenance any proposal which entails the slightest chance of losing members' money.


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## vandriver (23 Jan 2017)

Please voice your concerns before a potential near 6 figure sum is sent off.
BTW,how is the money to be transferred?


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## odyssey06 (23 Jan 2017)

Whoever is organising this trip doesn't seem to know what they are doing... I think as far as this organizer is concerned, get the friend to insist on an Irish bonded travel agent. Too much of a gamble with anyone else and this organizer doesn't seem to have an aptitude for spotting a bargain from a scam.
If that puts the trip beyond economic reach, lower the sights...


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## onekeano (24 Jan 2017)

vandriver said:


> La French are on LinkedIn,but with very little detail.
> Where did the organiser get the offer from?
> Edit:they appear to use Gmail and outlook for contact which is never a sign of a professional outfit.



agreed....sounds very unprofessional to say the least....


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## vandriver (24 Jan 2017)

If the website is down,where did the offer come from?


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## onekeano (24 Jan 2017)

onekeano said:


> Just came across this which does not augur welll - probably from in Ukraine.....
> View attachment 1798



 tried emailing a name I got from that link yesterday but no response to date....


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## onekeano (24 Jan 2017)

XMarks said:


> The crowd I mentioned in my last post used other agent's genuine licence numbers and passed them off as their own. I would run a mile from this. They have no working website and no phone number.





vandriver said:


> Please voice your concerns before a potential near 6 figure sum is sent off.
> BTW,how is the money to be transferred?



have done so but not sure how much weight my opinion will carry on this....


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## onekeano (24 Jan 2017)

odyssey06 said:


> Whoever is organising this trip doesn't seem to know what they are doing... I think as far as this organizer is concerned, get the friend to insist on an Irish bonded travel agent. Too much of a gamble with anyone else and this organizer doesn't seem to have an aptitude for spotting a bargain from a scam.
> If that puts the trip beyond economic reach, lower the sights...



my friend did raise issue of bonding but seems to have fallen on deaf ears....


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## onekeano (24 Jan 2017)

vandriver said:


> If the website is down,where did the offer come from?



apparently someone associated with the club had previously done a personal trip with this guy and it was great value............could be a loss leader if it is a scam...


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## Leo (24 Jan 2017)

Perhaps ask the trip organiser if they are personally covering liability insurance for all travelling, as it's quite unlikely this vendor won't be.


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## vandriver (24 Jan 2017)

They have a new website [broken link removed]

Apparently you can book 'Australia' for $500


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## Dirac (25 Jan 2017)

I'd bet my last euro this is a Russian scam as the lafrenchfly website above is designed by promodex which is a Russial host. Click on the feefo rating and it links to a different page on the website entitled Palm.

Please please do not send money to this crowd.


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## Laramie (25 Jan 2017)

Here is the Whois information on their .com company name.

http://www.whois.com/whois/lafrenchfly.com


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## Laramie (25 Jan 2017)

....and their previous name...
http://www.whois.com/whois/touristheaven.co.uk


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## vandriver (25 Jan 2017)

What I know:
(1)There is a travel agent registered in Hong Kong called LaFrench.
(2)They operate out of a serviced/virtual office in Hong Kong.
(3)The management of the centre have no contact number for them.
(4)The director of LaFrench is a Frenchman called Gilian Charly Michel Bittoum.(not Bittoun)
(5)M.Bittoum lives in Shanghai.
What is not clear is the connection between Tourists heaven (.Com or .org) and this travel agent.(If indeed there is any connection)
(6)Their new website [broken link removed]
Looks sketchy to say the least(if it is a website that has any connection to La French)
I got the new website details through Facebook messenger on the touristsheaven page.


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## onekeano (25 Jan 2017)

So, the update is that the organisers are now saying that they are satisfied that everything is in order - they are *now saying that they are able to pay through Paypal which would provide protection but my friend is not sure if that is really a guarantee*? Definitely that link to Russia would ring alarm bells with me, to be honest I'm not sure what the significance of feefo & Whois is as I'm not a tech person.


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## Leo (25 Jan 2017)

onekeano said:


> ...*they are able to pay through Paypal which would provide protection but my friend is not sure if that is really a guarantee*?



PayPal protection is very limited, even if they find in your favour, they will only refund money if they can take it out of the other party's account.


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## Brendan Burgess (25 Jan 2017)

I think you have enough answers to your question here. 

There is a tendency towards defamation in these replies and I don't have time to review them all.

Brendan


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