Legal Question in Business Law in California

Travel agency frauds

We are spoofed by our travel agent. We reserved/bought our airline tickets two months in advance. We paid our trvel agent by check. We were given airline confirmation number and travel itinerary. We checked with airline, everything was fine except our travel agent needed to pay for airline ticket in order to allocate inflight seating arrangements. Our travel agent never paid to airlines and certainly did not inform us. As a result we went to airport on scheduled date but couldn't get on the flight. We retured back home frustrated and angry. We have to cancel our entire trip and all other connecting flight arrangements/reservations in the visiting country. I want my travel agent to pay me each and every penny that cost me (forgetting about all the agony and anger he has caused)and I want to teach him a good lesson so he can not do this to any other unsuspecting family and ruin their hard earned money and vacation. What should I do? Any thoughts!!!


Asked on 8/02/04, 9:06 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Sheldon G. Bardach Law Offices of Sheldon G. Bardach

Re: Travel agency frauds

It would seem that Five thousand dollars ($5,00.00) would cver your inconvenience and not blow the case into a major litigation. That can be handled in Small Claims Court without an attorney, just you and the agent to tell your story. Costs are minimum, time of resolution is minimum, and you keep 100% of what you win.

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Answered on 8/03/04, 8:19 pm
Julian Summers Summers Rubinstein, APLC

Re: Travel agency frauds

Dear Sir,

I have read your query sent through LawGuru.com. From the facts you presented, there appear to be a number of claims you can make against the travel agent, including fraud, intentional or negligent inducement of emotional distress, theft by deceit, and other potential claims. Please note that this e-mail does not establish an attorney-client relationship and any information you provide until such relationship is established will not be protected by this privilege and may be subject to discovery.

If you wish to further explore your rights with respect to this issue, please contact this office using the information provided herein below, or you may reach of office at: 866-668-4868 or through our site at www.summersrubinstein.com.

Sincerely,

Julian Summers

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Answered on 8/02/04, 9:18 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Travel agency frauds

It sounds like you have a pretty good case against the agent; if he isn't willing to settle with you then you can take him to court. You are entitled to recover the amount you paid him as well as any funds you spent on travel plans which were ruined by his inaction. However, if you could have salvaged your plans by spending an additional amount to get last-minute tickets, your damages may be limited to the difference between the price of those tickets and the price you actually paid. You may also be entitled to recover for the intangible value of the travel experience which you would have enjoyed had the agent done his job.

If you believe the agent intended to do this to you when he booked your trip, you can also sue him for fraud. If this claim succeeds, you should be able to recover damages for emotional distress and possibly punitive damages as well.

Probably your first step should be to write a demand letter and explain how much you believe you should receive in compensation. If he works for a reputable agency and/or has liability insurance, there is a good chance you will receive a fair settlement without going through the time, cost and aggravation involved in suing someone.

Good luck.

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Answered on 8/02/04, 9:20 pm


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