Associated Press – October 3, 2007
TRENTON, N.J. – A travel agency is accused of charging more than 50 Muslims thousands of dollars on a Mecca pilgrimage tour only to leave them standing in airports at the last minute without tickets.
The state attorney general’s Office alleges Shama Hajj Ziyarat Tours L.L.C. and its owner, Molana Syed Alihaider Abidi, violated the state’s Consumer Fraud Act by selling the trip packages to Saudi Arabia, then failing to provide either the tour or a refund.
The state wants the company, which also does business as Karwan-E-Iman-E-Sajjad (USA), to give refunds.
“These last minute cancellations without explanation cost consumers thousands of dollars and prevented them from making a pilgrimage to Mecca,” Attorney General Anne Milgram said in a statement.
A man who answered the telephone at the travel agency who identified himself as Abidi’s son wouldn’t answer questions. He directed all inquiries to Thomas Monahan, a lawyer representing the agency. Monahan didn’t return telephone calls seeking comment Wednesday.
The complaint alleges that the travel agency’s Hajj Travel Package was supposed to include round-trip airfare to Saudi Arabia, hotel accommodations and travel within the Arab kingdom. The trips cost $4,500, and some customers paid an additional $1,000 for upgraded hotels, according to the attorney general’s office.
The customers were supposed to leave Dec. 20, 2006, and return Jan. 4. But when they arrived at airports around the country, they discovered there were no tickets waiting for them.
During the next few days, the agency told the customers the tour had been canceled. A few of the customers received partial refunds of $1,000 but most never received any money.
Muslims are expected to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life. Around 4 million people make the trip every year.
The travel agency has been advertising for hajj tours that would leave this December, but a judge ruled Friday that it must stop advertising and selling the 2007 trips.
On the Net:
http://www.nj.gov/oag/
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
posted October 3, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Hopefully the state will successfully get the money returned to the folks who had paid for the trip. Buyer beware…even the travel agent might be a crook!
posted October 3, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Perhaps this company thought Muslims would not be protected by the law or would be afraid to complain. I hope the owners lose their shirts.
posted October 4, 2007 at 12:04 am
From the sound of it, the company does not overtly appear to be owned by your typical white evangelical red-stater, thus I think it is safe to assume for now that their was little thought as to their customers being Muslim or not. As in any scam where the buyer is basically left high-and-dry, this is absolutely disgusting. How on earth did they intend to keep money for a product they didn’t deliver? My hope is that is was simply a tremendous manifestation of incompetence, as opposed to some type of con. Negligent idiocy seems, in this instance, preferable.
posted October 4, 2007 at 10:33 am
Yes, from the sound of it, these were Muslims allegedly ripping off other Muslims. Assuming this is found to be purposeful, shame on them for trying to fleece people’s faith.
God bless.
posted October 4, 2007 at 11:37 am
Ripping off tourists is probably the fourth or fifth oldest profession. Certainly throughout the Crusades there were all manner of people taking travelers for all they could get. So I am not surprised this happened (we once had a high school band of more than 200 get ripped off at the least minute by an unscrupulous travel agent). That people of the same “faith” victimize each other is not new either. Scum is scum, no matter how it presents itself.
Let’s hope the government gets’em, and the people get some satisfaction.
posted October 5, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Travel Agencies have lots of small print to read, you must read it or else you may be left holding a bag you don’t want. I’m wondering if everything is being told about this problem. When trips have gliches notices are sent out and you are given time to change your plans, so the agency will know what to do with your money. This could have occured here.