The news of the last few days, of travelers who arrived at the Ezeiza airport and found that their tickets did not exist, shook the tourism industry.
The affected passengers had bought their packages at the Turismo Felgueres
travel agency
, which was authorized to operate by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Nation, and with a strong presence on social networks and the media.
They also used to have tempting price offers.
Evidently the controls also failed.
As reported by Aviabue, the Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies of Buenos Aires, this company "has packages already sold until 2024, so it is not ruled out that there may be more people scammed in the coming months."
Passengers at Ezeiza International AirportPhoto Juan Manuel Foglia
From the entity, they commented that this agency wanted to join a few months ago as a partner of Aviabue.
"When they were presented, the Board of Directors decided not to treat their admission due to a lack of transparency in their offers," said Mario Ijelman, president of AVIABUE.
"Their offers were impossible to fulfill," he added.
What to do in the event of breaches by a travel agency
The first thing to note is that the agency had a file number, that is, it was authorized by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Nation.
The number 1 rule when choosing where to buy packages is that the agency has this authorization and Turismo Felgueres had it.
The current scenario is that there are passengers who had to board at Easter who stayed on land and, for now, without news from the company, their package or their money.
Those who have trips in the coming weeks are waiting for an answer.
Photo Shutterstock
And on the other, travelers who have travel dates in the coming months and who are on alert and demanding answers.
Faced with this type of non-compliance by a travel agency, "users have two great options that are complementary: the
administrative route and the judicial route
," explains Santiago Aramburu, a lawyer specializing in Tourism Law and head of Turhelp. (turhelp.com.ar).
By administrative means, they can go to the Consumer Defense (www.argentina.gob.ar/servicio/iniciar-un-reclamo-ante-la-direccion-nacional-de-defensa-del-consumidor-y-arbitraje-del) or to the enforcement authority for travel agencies, Ministry of Tourism and Sports (www.argentina.gob.ar/servicio/presentar-una-denuncia-contra-una-agencia-de-viajes).
"These administrative channels serve to
leave the precedent
and help prevent it from happening to other people; and in the conciliation instance, if the company appears, they can reach an agreement that consists of the return of the money," says Aramburu.
Regarding the judicial point of view, "in the commercial jurisdiction the corresponding lawsuit
can be initiated
in order to obtain the return of the money with its interests, updated amounts and the corresponding moral and punitive damages," explains the lawyer.
At the same time, it clarifies that the risk in this case is that the company falls into insolvency and there is nowhere to collect.
"That's why it's important to act quickly."
Another alternative is to "initiate a
criminal complaint
for the improper retention of money that implies limits to the owners of the company in what it does to the movement of money if they had it or limits to their departures from the national territory."
This case demonstrates
the importance of prior control
by the enforcement authority.
"With agreements with other public and/or private entities, economic monitoring of the companies can be done that could prevent this type of situation," adds Aramburu.
look too
Rescheduled departures, money for tips and a trip of 15 on hold: passengers who report and wait for answers
They arrived at Ezeiza and realized that the travel agency had scammed them
