.png)
.png)
Judicial letter filed against Fantasy Tours over cancelled trips
138 enraged holidaymakers preparing for class action after overnight closure of Fantasy Tours.
6 September 2013, 12:00am
Chris Mangion
Chris Mangion
2 min read
138 individuals this morning filed a class action suit against the former owners, shareholders and directors of Fantasy Tours Ltd and Golden Travel Club Ltd.
The judicial letter, signed by Lawyers Franco Debono and Mario Camilleri called on Karl Azzopardi, owner of Fantasy Tours, his wife Audrey, a shareholder of the same company and his mother Emma as company director to refund monies the applicants paid for travel and holiday services, within the next three days.
The judicial letter also demanded the repayment of damages suffered by some of the holidaymakers when their holiday plans were ruined.
On 7 August Fantasy Tours closed down overnight, canceling nearly €400,000 worth of paid-up holidays and leaving customers stranded in foreign airports. The holidaymakers were informed of the shutdown through an SMS.
Enacted last year, the law on class action gives a group of complainants the possibility of seeking justice through a single court case rather than individually. The measure may only be used to seek compensation or to request that an illicit action be halted.
Meanwhile, police investigations are still underway after the cancellation of holidays by Fantasy Tours was classed as misappropriation. Sources claimed that a company official had already been released on police bail after being questioned by investigators.
It is believed that Fantasy Tours may have also failed to pay its annual dues to the Malta Tourism Authority, and despite numerous warnings by the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA), the company remained operational. Backdated fees amount to €4,000.
Last year on 26 October, the MCCAA issued a public warning stating that Golden Travel Club Ltd, which operates commercially under the trade name Fantasy Tours, had failed to abide by obligations it had taken upon itself. The company's operations were seen as detrimental to consumers. By October 2012, the company had failed to honour 12 decisions of the Consumer Claims Tribunal. Moreover the Complaints and Conciliation Directorate had received 150 complaints against both Fantasy Tours and Golden Travel Club.
Fantasy Tours operated as tour operator, travel agent, tourist agent, travel and tour charterer, and contractor, caterer for all travel and tourist requirements and promoter of all kinds of conveyances of tourists and travellers.
Chris Mangion is MaltaToday’s photojournalist, joining the newspaper in 2013.
In 1995...
•
This is more proof that you get what you pay for. The owners and operators of fantasy Tours should be kept in prison until they find a way to pay off all their debt. This is also more proof that "We are Maltese and we do as we please".
•
Just a few days ago some pickpockets were arraigned in court by the police and jailed 13 months each for their crime. A distant light in the dark corridors of our law courts instead of the usual suspended sentence. But here we are faced with a much more serious crime and strangely enough it is not even considered a crime by our judicial system and the victims have to seek justice on our civil courts at their own expense. We live in a very strange land where the powerful are intrinsically protected by our laws, where the 2 weights and 2 measures formula is applied abundantly. Where is it acceptable to double park my car opposite Fgura police station blocking a major road and get a fine if I happen to touch an invisible double yellow line in some harmless remote corner. When is our judicial system become truly blind to the aggressor and the 2 weights 2 measures system be abandoned?
Joseph MELI •
So what actually happened as a result of this "public warning " being issued by the MCCAA which clearly indicated that Fantasy Tours "had failed to abide by its contractual obligations and that its operations were seen as detrimental to consumers ?"Why and by whom was this company still allowed to operate under these unacceptable terms and standards given these findings ?A judicial letter should be filed against the MCCAA,The MTA and the MFSA citing inaction,lack of demonstrable protection and dereliction of duty in its failure to protect consumers effectively!
