Blatrip operators held over refund row
Print Edition
TWO operators of Blatrip have been detained for suspected fraud after the unlicensed tour operator failed to refund hundreds of consumers.
The Shanghai Consumer Council had received more than 1,000 complaints about Blatrip, which is known for providing flight and hotel packages at lower prices than other outlets. But it requires customers to pay first before their trips are confirmed. Customers complained that their bookings were “unsuccessful” far too often. The cheated customers went to the office of Blatrip, seeking a refund, but found the office empty.
Blatrip claimed its bank account had been frozen because of investigation and could not ensure trips to customers who had already paid for them.
A tourist Iris Liu had over 10,000 yuan (US$1,591) left in her account.
“I wanted to use Blatrip’s package to Guangzhou in December, but the booking was canceled immediately,” a victim Iris Liu said. The package deal combined three-day hotel stay and return flight tickets costing 998 yuan.
She applied for a refund on December 6, but never got back the money.
“I hoped to get my money back as quickly as possible, but it seems very difficult now,” she said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
