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'Hajj tour company fails its pilgrims'

Thursday, 27 November 2008 22:20

A Luton based religious pilgrimage company has been wound up in the High Court following an investigation by Companies Investigation Branch.

Go4 Hajj & Umrah Tours Limited organised religious pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, known as Hajj. Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, a trip that every Muslim must undertake at least once in their lives and takes place at a specific period during the Islamic calendar. In 2007, this period was between 17 and 21 December.

The company commenced business in August 2005 and obtained an Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL) in March 2006, which was renewed in 2007. It started marketing Hajj trips for 2007 in June 2007. A website was established, advertising material was sent out and by the end of October 2007, the trips offered by the Company were fully booked with 101 pilgrims.

The company had advertised a two-week travel package and a three-week package. The three-week package was due to depart on 5 December 2007 and was booked by 38 customers, at a cost of £3,500-£4,450 (depending on the number of people sharing a room). The two-week package was due to depart on 12 December 2007, and was booked by 63 customers, at a cost of approximately £3,500-£4,195. However, due to changes to the programme and visa difficulties, only 30 clients travelled in the first group. No one travelled in the second group as the company was unable to supply the proper Hajj visas for them.

At a hearing on 19 November 2008, the Court heard that Go4 Hajj & Umrah Tours Limited seriously misled its customers. It had claimed that all its Hajj travel packages included guaranteed visas and Hajj drafts as required by the Ministry of Hajj. In fact, neither the company nor its officers were granted status as a Hajj organiser by the Saudi authorities and the company was unable to obtain visas from the authorities. Even those customers booked on the first package who were able to travel on visas obtained via a "grey market", suffered as the services provided fell short of those promised in the company's promotional material. In particular, the company claimed that:

* The package included ground transportation on "private air conditioned coaches" or "super deluxe air-conditioned buses". In fact, customers were transported in standard government buses.

* There would be "excellent and dedicated tents in Mina close to the Jamarat" and emphasised that the "private air conditioned tents" were in a "private camp only 100-120 metres from Jamarat". In fact, the tents provided by the company were in a general camp more than 3.5km away.

* Religious guides would be constantly present and an educational programme would be maintained throughout the tour including doctors and "several Imam Guides and scholars that offer educational programs and daily lectures throughout the trip". In fact, the company did not provide doctors, Imams or guides.

* Flights would be on Emirates Airlines or Saudi Airlines and would go direct from London to Madinah. In fact, flights were on Gulf Air via Bahrain and/or Jeddah.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Go4 Hajj and Umrah Tours Limited was incorporated in January 2005. Its registered office and principal trading address is at Balfour House, 50 Guildford Street, Luton, Bedfordshire LU1 2PA.

2. The petition to wind up the company in the public interest was presented on 28 August 2008 under Section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986. The company was compulsorily wound up by the Court 19 November 2008.

3. Companies Investigation Branch is part of the Insolvency Service and carries out confidential enquiries on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform.

4. The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. The Service also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

5. All public enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to the Official Receiver at Public Interest Unit, The Insolvency Service, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3SS. Public Enquiries 0207 637 1110.

6. Further information about the work of The Insolvency Service is available from http://www.insolvency.gov.uk

Client ref Ins/Coms/35

COI ref 168093P

Source: News Distribution Service

Comments

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Victory for pilgrims - About time action was taken!

|2008-11-28 10:34:30

It is about time that these rogue operators were shut down. Every year we hear terrible stories of pilgrims being cheated and conned by tour operators.

There should be a public rating system whereby Hujjaj state how they found the service provided by these operators and whether they fulfilled their duties and promises.

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