A Queensland travel agent has been fined $10,000 by the Townsville Magistrates Court and ordered to pay back a total of $24,011 to three clients after she never booked their holidays.
Debra Lee Durrington, the former owner of Travel Experience Charters Towers, pleaded guilty to five counts of wrongly accepting payment for flights and accom she failed to book or provide refunds for.
Before Travel Experience Charters Towers ceased trading in Aug 2016, Durrington accepted payment from three affected consumers to book five holidays for themselves and their families including flights, accommodation, tours and car hire from Nov 2015 until Jul 2016.
Durrington failed to process the bookings of the three consumers before the business ceased trading, with one consumer left $16,890 out of pocket for two holidays which weren’t booked.
Fair Trading exec director Brian Bauer said traders who accept payment with no intention of supplying goods do not have a place in the Qld marketplace.
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Source: traveldaily