As much as $250,000 in consumer claims is expected in relation to Sydney-based Travel Access, which was non-voluntarily terminated from participation in the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF) on 2 May 2014.
The TCF confirmed that it has already started and continues to receive claims connected to Blacktown-based Allied Summa Travel & Tours Pty Ltd which trades as Travel Access (ABN: 86 002 764 212). “It’s a substantial one,” TCF CEO Glen Wells said.
Travel Access was founded in 1982 and focused on the travel needs of Filipino Australians in Sydney. It formerly operated as Jetset Travel Fairfield.
The company also ran a wholesale operation called Allied Holidays which specialised in golf and sports packages to the Philippines, while its website promotes “cosmetic tourism” to “Philippines — the Island of Wellness.”
Despite claims and the termination from TCF, the company appears to still continue doing business, with its phone number still being answered with queries for flight bookings.
A booking engine on the <www.travelaccess.com.au> website was also still active and accepting bookings and payments.
ABOUT MAYA TRAVEL & HOLIDAYS
Maya Travel was set up on behalf of Travel Access to facilitate claims of about 150 paid passengers without a ticket.
These passengers planned their trip and made payment 3 to 6 months earlier but without their knowledge, payments for their ticket were not remitted to the airline. Several passengers were affected. But no apology from Travel Access was heard or published.
Since the closure of Travel Access, passengers needed to deal with MAYA TRAVEL so they could get their ticket issued through Travel Compensation Fund.
Maya holidays has since been managed by Tess Goodchild but the sole owner was registered as Jane Crame, daughter of EMMA DE VERA (whose picture appears above).
According to reliable sources, MAYA TRAVEL is for sale but is still being managed by some old staff and is still located in the same place along Flushcombe Road in Blacktown NSW.
This should serve as a warning to travellers. Verify your e-ticket directly with the airline to make sure that you have a valid ticket in your hand.
What happened to passenger payments made to Travel Access? If payments were not remitted to the airline, who benefitted from the money?
The signature email of Maya Holidays says “”Celebrating 30 Years of Serving the Community.” However, most people living in Blacktown know that Maya Travel is not even one year old. (Source: Travel Daily)