No travels for clients booked with Tshiamo Travels

A travel agency has been accused of stealing from and ill-treating its customers after a trip to Turkey for 22 travellers was cancelled at the last minute last week.

Khosi Zwane cried when she found out while at OR Tambo International Airport that her flight to Turkey had not been booked by Tshiamo Travels owner Pearl Khumalo and that her drive from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg had been a waste.

Zwane was part of a group of 22 people who were supposed to go on a 10-day holiday to Turkey this month. They had used Tshiamo Travels’ services and each had to pay R16,000 for a trip whose package included a champagne breakfast on a hot air balloon, a swim at Prince Island and a three-hour cruise on a yacht. But it was all a dream.

Sowetan was told on the day they were supposed to depart from SA that their Qatar Airways flights were not booked.

The company sent  a text message to the group, saying: “We would like to apologise for the delayed response and poor communication. We have had to unfortunately cancel the trip at the 11th hour due to unforeseen circumstances. One of our employees issued out fraudulent tickets to the clients. This means that the tickets were never booked.

"I acknowledge that I should have taken steps to insure that the tickets are in order, but this employee has been with us for years and we never thought things would turn out this way. We have been trying to remedy this issue on our side and we are not winning. We realised this yesterday when we attempted an online check-in. Flights have now tripled in price (now costing more than the package price).

“We are sourcing refunds from our service providers in Turkey. We will be able to start issuing refunds in 7-14 days. Please send us your banking details.”

By the time Zwane received the text she had spent R1,800 on fuel, R1,100 on accommodation in Johannesburg and R225 on toll gates. Like most of her fellow travellers, Zwane also had to book a few days of leave from work.

Zwane said she noticed red flags about Tshiamo Travels a few days before she drove to Johannesburg.

“A few days before the trip we asked her (Khumalo) for flight tickets but she was not answering her phone. I kept calling but her phone was always on voicemail. I found another number on one of her flyers on Instagram, called it and I found her.  She assured me all flights are booked. It was only when I got to the airport that I found out that we have been duped,” said Zwane.

Thandeka Nkosi started planning for a trip overseas last year but she didn’t know where she’d go until she saw pictures of Tshiamo Travels’ Turkey holidays on the company’s Instagram post in August.

“It was those beautiful pictures that made me decide to go to Turkey and my friend and each paid the R12,000 deposit in September. I have since realised that Pearl (Khumalo) uses those pictures to lure people.

“Initially, there was regular communication between us and her and she even created a WhatsApp group for all of us to communicate. And it was all good until last week when we started inquiring for further details about the trip. She could not even tell us about the hotel she booked for us,” said Nkosi.

Nkosi had already spent on items such as clothes, a power bank and a tripod. “I went all out because this was going to be my first trip overseas. I would not have bought all these if it wasn’t for the trip.”

She too found out only on the day they were supposed to leave SA that the trip had been cancelled. “I called Qatar Airways and they told me that they couldn’t find our names and that we have not been booked to fly with them. I started calling Pearl but she was not picking my calls until hours later when she said that an employee had stolen money from her company.

"She promised to refund us but we have also noticed that she blocks people who ask too many questions and she even deletes our comments on the company’s Instagram,” said Nkosi.

Sowetan Consumer has seen a letter written by the company to one of the aggrieved clients in which they acknowledge the cancelled trip and also promise to refund the affected customers.

Khumalo did not respond to calls, text and emails sent to her for comment.

Tshiamo Travels has had bad reviews on social media and Hello Peter, with many customers blaming Khumalo for poor communication and general lack of care for her clients.

Mmathato Lentswe used Tshiamo for her 10-day visit to Egypt in May. She paid R18,000 for a package that included sightseeing, a visit to the pyramids and meals.

But things went horribly wrong before she even left SA. She experienced delays with her boarding pass because her name was misspelled. She also paid for a visa at the airport in Cairo when she was supposed to have a visa.

The company also booked her into a hotel that did not match the standard of what was promised. Khumalo only joined Lentswe the following day and she was allegedly made to pay for her trips to the pyramids, the Nile River and Siwa Oasis.

“People go on these trips with Tshiamo and they have fun and take pictures for Instagram but there is a lot of nonsense that happens in the background,” said Lentswe.