AVG Travels enters liquidation every week after prospects report cancelled excursions

An Australian journey firm promoting closely discounted worldwide holidays has collapsed, leaving prospects scrambling and their plans in disarray.

Today, liquidators had been appointed to Melbourne-based company AVG Travels, which promoted cut-price flight and tour packages to locations the world over.

It adopted days of rising concern for purchasers who had reported their excursions being cancelled or positioned “under review” simply days earlier than departure, first reported by the ABC final week.

Insolvency agency McGrathNicol has been appointed liquidator, taking management of the corporate’s operations because it assesses what might be recovered for purchasers and collectors.

In an announcement, McGrathNicol mentioned it had “assumed control of AVG Travels’ affairs” and was “undertaking an urgent review of AVG’s financial position and business operations to determine the best course of action to preserve value for stakeholders”.

Ongoing operations have been suspended and prospects might be contacted about their bookings, it added.

In an e-mail to prospects, McGrathNicol warned future AVG Travels bookings could not have been paid for, with prospects who pay as you go for journeys now thought of unsecured collectors.

The liquidators mentioned until airline tickets had already been issued, flights, lodges and different journey preparations could not have been secured as a result of AVG Travels had not paid suppliers.

Customers at the moment travelling have been advised their journeys ought to proceed as deliberate until they had been contacted instantly about modifications.

McGrathNicol mentioned AVG Travels was unable to course of refunds as a result of it didn’t have the funds readily available, with prospects suggested to contact their bank card supplier to debate restoration choices.

It just isn’t but identified what number of travellers have been affected throughout the corporate’s excursions, which embody locations throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.

Frustrated travellers demanding solutions and refunds turned up on the firm’s St Kilda workplace in Melbourne immediately, solely to be met with closed doorways and a observe advising of the corporate’s liquidation.

The ABC has been contacted by greater than 100 prospects since final week, with some saying their itineraries had been modified or cancelled on the final minute.

A Facebook help group for AVG prospects now has greater than 860 members, with many immediately venting their frustration in regards to the firm’s collapse.

AVG Travels Pty Ltd is owned by Duc Tiem Dao, a Vietnamese nationwide residing in Melbourne, based on data from ASIC, the monetary providers regulator.

The ABC has contacted Mr Dao for remark.

On its web site, the corporate describes itself as “proudly Australian-owned” and mentioned it had taken greater than 200,000 travellers world wide.

The web site mentioned it started as a web-based journey company in Vietnam in 2012, earlier than establishing an workplace in Melbourne in 2015 and places of work in Japan and the United Kingdom final 12 months.

In an announcement final week, AVG Travels mentioned it took “customer concern seriously”.

“While current industry-wide and operational pressures have necessitated some itinerary adjustments, our team is proactively engaging with all affected travellers to provide fair and appropriate resolutions,” it mentioned.

“We are maintaining close collaboration with our global network of partners to ensure the continuity of our services.

“Our focus is on resolving all pending issues swiftly and restoring the excessive normal of service our prospects count on.”

‘Very scary and unhappy’

Gold Coast resident Mary Tait, 71, was due to leave for a 16-day tour of China next week, but never received her flight details or an itinerary from AVG Travels.

She said she and her travelling companion paid about $3,400 each for the trip, which included visits to Beijing and Shanghai.

“It’s been very scary and unhappy,” Ms Tait mentioned.

“We have been in limbo, questioning if this journey would go forward, and now it seems to be prefer it most undoubtedly will not.”

With the company now in liquidation, she said they were scrambling to make alternative plans.

“We’re going to have to determine methods to attempt to get our a reimbursement, and I’m undecided even when we [ever] will.”

AVG Travels was removed from an accreditation scheme run by the peak body for Australia’s travel businesses more than six years ago for failing to meet “monetary and moral requirements”.

Dean Long, the CEO of the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA), said the liquidation represented a “sorry day” for customers, many of whom now face the difficult process of trying to recover lost money.

“This state of affairs is a robust reminder to Australians to at all times select an ATIA-accredited journey enterprise. ATIA-accredited companies are among the many greatest on this sector they usually meet excessive monetary and operational requirements assessed on an annual foundation,” he mentioned.

“Accreditation is a real high quality threshold that ensures companies are working at a premium stage.”