Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Bowlers burned
by travel company

Wayne's Travel fails to
deliver on Las Vegas air-
and-hotel packages

Tips for selecting a travel agency

By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

Up to 36 people may have lost their money before even making it to Las Vegas casinos after yet another travel company failed to take care of arrangements.

This is the third time in less than two years that local travel companies have offered packages they couldn't deliver.

Police and the state Regulated Industries Complaints Office are investigating Wayne's Travel, a company run by Wayne Abe, which was supposed to take care of a Las Vegas trip for a group of bowlers who were going to a Hawaii Government Employees Association tournament at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino on Feb. 17-18.

Stanley Sano said he and the others paid $420 each in November for the tour package, which included air and hotel. But last week, they found they had no reservations or tickets.

About $13,000 is missing, Sano and police said.

Wayne's Travel is not listed in the phone book, and Abe's home telephone number is disconnected.

Abe did return a phone call after the Star-Bulletin was able to get in touch with him after a visit to his apartment in Moiliili.

Abe would not say what happened to the $13,000. But he promised to pay back the missing money this week, along with a free trip.

"They're going to get reimbursement. I'm getting it from my friends to pay back."

"That's nice," Sano said. "I believe in Santa Claus, too."

Abe said he has worked out a deal with police to pay the money back.

However, police said they do not strike deals between suspects and complainants.

Sano said some people in his group have made other arrangements to travel; others are just taking a loss.

According to HGEA spokesman Randy Kusaka, of 290 bowlers, only those who made arrangements through Wayne's Travel have reported problems. HGEA offered air and hotel packages ranging from $519 to $689, depending on the number of people in the room and the length of stay.

"This is the third time it's being held in Vegas, and the first time something like this has happened that has been made known to us," Kusaka said.

RICO is investigating allegations against Abe ranging from noncompliance with rules and regulations to incompetency, professional misconduct and unethical conduct. By state law, all travel agencies must set up a client trust account. Money paid to travel agents must be put in the account and not used for any other purposes.

"There is a very heavy criminal sanction if a person hasn't received their travel package," said Jo Ann Uchida, RICO's complaints and enforcement officer.

In 1998, Jimmy's Travel closed abruptly, leaving 2,000 customers without their Las Vegas packages. Last September, RICO received 14 complaints from customers who never received mainland airline tickets they paid for in cash at Nancy Tickets.

"I wouldn't say it's common, but it's more common than I'd like," Uchida said. "Unfortunately, it tends to be, when travel agencies go under, a lot of people are affected."

Abe's license expired on Dec. 31, and although he has not yet submitted a renewal application, he said he plans to get relicensed.

---

Anyone who has experienced difficulty booking a trip with Abe should contact RICO at 587-3222 and ask to speak to an investigator.

---

If using travel agency,
get arrangement
in writing

If a travel package seems too good to be true, it probably is, warned Jo Ann Uchida, the head of the state's Regulated Industries Complaints Office.

While Uchida said it's difficult to choose a good travel agent, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs has issued the following tips to make finding a legitimate agency a little easier:

When you make full payment to the travel agency, make sure your receive your ticket or similar documentation. At this time, the agency should provide you with a written statement including:

The agency's name, business address and telephone number.

The amount paid, the date of payment and an itemized statement of any balance due.

The name and address of the financial institution that maintains the travel agency trust account and the name of the trust account.

The name of the entity the travel agency has arranged the services with, along with pertinent information such as the types of accommodations, the dates and times of services, and all restrictions, limitations, conditions and fee assessments that pertain to the person's right to cancel, obtain a refund, change itinerary or make a claim for lost tickets.

The cancellation provisions of the contract between the travel agency and the consumer, and the rights and obligations of the parties.

The agency also must provide you with a disclosure of your consumer's rights no later than when it issues the tickets.

More information is available at the DCCA Web site, http://www.hawaii.gov/dcca/divisions/rico/brochures.html.

Source: State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs