Crooks in east Delhi are running tourist operations in the name of international hotel chain
Crooks in east Delhi are running tourist operations in the name of international hotel chain
It seems that even Bollywood actor Aamir Khan-led 'Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign promoted by Ministry of Tourism has failed to make any impact. In an attempt to earn quick money, travel agencies in Delhi are coming up with innovative plans to cheat tourists. 
A webshot of the Hotel express site. The Norway-based agency has a
similar web address, www.hotel-express.com
The scam assumes importance in the wake of thousands of international tourists expected in the national capital for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. An east Delhi-based travel agent duped Jerin Joseph (name changed on request) who wanted to take his family on Himalaya darshan that too in the name of an international tour agent.
Joseph was trying to find a suitable operator that could take care of his vacation, lodging and travel needs. He came across a website www.hotelexpress.in, which had a Patparganj address. When Joseph tried to find more details he came to know that the agency was the franchise of a Norway-based travel firm.u00a0 The agency asked him to take the membership for Rs 6,990 which will entitle him for two free trips in a year anywhere in the country in the hotels listed on their website.
"In the first trip we planned to go to Mussoorie and the agent informed that the hotel has been booked. However, when we reached there, we came to know that the payments had not been made. When we called up the agency, the officials told us that it would be done in a day or two.u00a0 But, when finally nothing happened, I paid out of my own pocket," Joseph told MiD DAY.
Smelling something fishy, Joseph wrote to the head office and was shocked to see the reply. Over an email, CEO of Hotel Express International, Yngvar Andersen replied that the office in India is not a valid Hotel Express distributor. "We terminated their contract long time ago.
We believe that they have sold memberships not approved by us and used our logo and name for a while. We are trying these days to find a way to stop it completely or that the office there pays us for the sold memberships and sends us member details so we can take action and make sure all our guidelines are honoured," the agency said.
"The situation today is that they print their own cards, fill in a serial number without our knowledge and sell them. After many years in the business we have learnt that the best solution is often to avoid court. We do not have any office or contact person in India and it would therefore be difficult to go to court in another country. Also this would not help the clients who have already dealt with them," the email further said.
The site is running with a similar domain main. While the original website is www.hotel-express.in the one run by this agency is www.hotelexpress.in. Almost all the webpages on the fake website are similar to the original.
"Now that I have received a reply from the head office, I am planning to file a police complaint against the agency," said Joseph. Other travel agents feel that such fraudsters should be immediately checked. "If timely measures against these fake travel agencies and agents won't be taken, I am sure security agencies will have to deal with a flood of complaints during and after the Games. It will be a national shame," said Sachin Bhalla, a hotelier in the city, who also runs a travel agency.
Help at hand
To give tourists visiting the Capital during the 2010 Commonwealth Games a helping hand in dealing with harassment of any kind or to facilitate information regarding the city, the Delhi government is coming up with a 24-hour helpline. About one lakh tourists are expected during the mega sporting event.
The Other Side
Vice President of www.hotelexpress.in Vivek Dikshit refuted all allegations, saying there was some miscommunication in Jerin Joseph's case. "We promised to refund him all the money on his return. However, he neither received our calls nor replied to our messages. He also stopped payment on the cheque which he issued."
On his agreement with the original company Dikshit said, "That company is fraud. They took a huge amount of money for their franchise. However, after some time they started cheating the members. After collecting large sums of money they disappeared. But we took the onus and are still running the company."
ADVERTISEMENT
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
