Man left $3000 out of pocket as travel agent goes bust

Auckland travel agency Guru Travel has gone bust. It's not known how many people are affected.

A man is more than $3000 out of pocket after an Auckland travel agency went bust - and it's not known how many more people are affected.

Guru Travel, based in Mt Roskill, was put into liquidation last Thursday. It's not known how many people are potentially affected.

In an email sent to the agency's customers and which was seen by the Herald, the liquidator, Ecovis KGA, said it was aware of a number of customers who'd paid deposits or the full cost of their trips but hadn't been issued tickets.

Ecovis KGA, however, has been able to establish that this money was not held in a bank account or paid to a third-party provider, so it is "highly unlikely" people will get their money back.

Instead, they'll likely become unsecured creditors of Guru Travel.

Ecovis KGA could not confirm to the Herald exactly how many people had been affected as it was still in the early stages of its analysis.

Auckland travel agency Guru Travel has gone bust. It's not known how many people are affected.

A Christchurch man, who wants to remain anonymous, said he booked $2700 return flights to Fiji for his parents through the agency six months ago after seeing them promote a deal on Facebook.

He spoke to an agent, was sent an email confirmation at the time and was told he'd be sent the itinerary two weeks before the travel date.

The man - who'd used Guru Travel 10 years ago - was impressed with the service so then booked accommodation for the Fiji trip and one-way flights for his parents to return to India next year with the agency.

When he hadn't been sent the itinerary two weeks out from his parents' November 19 flight, he followed up and was told it would instead be issued a week before.

He then followed up with Fiji Airlines and Singapore Airlines about the bookings and was told they'd never been made so he had to book emergency last-minute flights to Fiji, at a cost of $1730.

In total, he believes he's more than $3000 out of pocket.

"I'm stressed, I'm angry and I'm confused ... I'd been saving bit by bit and now all that money's gone and I'm in debt."

The man has also laid a complaint with police.

What are your rights if your travel agency goes bust?

According to Consumer NZ, if you've booked with a bonded member of the Travel Agents Association (TAANZ), the association will pay up to $250,000 for unticketed bookings if your travel agent goes bust.

You can check if your travel agent is a TAANZ member on its website.

Unfortunately, if your travel agent isn't a member and your tickets weren't issued, you'll be unlikely to get your money back and will become an unsecured creditor.

If you booked with a credit card you might be able to make a chargeback claim and if you had travel insurance, you might be covered by that but you'll need to check with your insurer.