UPDATE: Holidaymakers lost thousands of dollars and had “dreams stolen” when an Altona Meadows travel agency went into voluntary liquidation.
CTS Travel at Central Square Shopping Centre is in the hands of Brisbane firm Robson Cotter Insolvency Group, which is holding a meeting with creditors in Melbourne on Friday.
More than 70 individuals, couples and businesses have lost more than $344,000.
Altona Meadows’ Jodie Twigg has set up a Facebook page called ‘CTS travel liquidated’ to communicate with others who have lost money. Her daughter and her boyfriend had planned to leave for America in four weeks and lost about $9000 after money paid for airfares, accommodation and tours wasn’t passed on by CTS.
“They had booked their airfares with CTS, which on their itinerary were supposedly booked through United Airlines,” she said. “That cost $6500 for both of them, which they paid in cash and received a receipt for.”
Ms Twigg said United Airlines told her the bookings had been cancelled because the money had not been received.
“They took all the money and didn’t pay – I’m just disgusted,” Ms Twigg said.
Travel insurance doesn’t cover insolvency or liquidation. The Commonwealth Bank sent Ms Twigg a letter stating that part of the money paid by Eftpos was not refundable because they had “authorised the transactions by supplying their card and PIN/or signature to the merchant”.
Altona Meadows’ Julie Walsh said she paid CTS more than $7000 in February for tours of Ireland and Europe.
“When I contacted the tour companies last week, they told me only $450 had been paid to hold the tours and the balance was still outstanding,” she said.
“Holidays have been destroyed and the dreams of everyday people have been shattered. For many people, their holiday was the trip of a lifetime and some will never realise that dream, now their money has gone.”
David Stoodley, husband of former CTS director Jenny Stoodley, said his wife is seeing a psychologist and cannot comment.
“The liquidator, I am sure, will give you and others a full report once his investigations have been completed,” Mr Stoodley said. “I will, personally, make one comment – no one has lost more money than Jenny, personally.”
Mr Stoodley, who is a bankrupt and as such is banned from being a director, is the former director of Williamstown Travel Services. This agency went into liquidation last year.
Mr Stoodley advised Star Weekly not to email or call him again.
Liquidator Roland Robson said the cause of CTS’s insolvency had not yet been determined.
