Clients smash travel agency window after pilgrimage cancelled
Customers smashed a travel agent’s window and mobbed his home after he cancelled their pilgrimage to Mecca when their visas failed to arrive.
Almost 200 customers planning to make the once in a lifetime trip to Hajj were told they would be unable to make the journey by Babar Hussain, said the Manchester Evening News.
As a result, the window of Ashton Travel in Manchester was smashed and several customers turned up at Hussain’s house to complain, resulting in the police being called in.
He told the newspaper: "Our customers are so angry with us and we understand, they have saved up for this special spiritual pilgrimage. We are deeply sorry but we are suffering, we have been threatened at work and in our homes.
"We ask that the public support us while we get this money back, we promise our customers will get their money."
He said the cash for the visas had been refunded, but he had to make an insurance claim to recover the cost of flights and accommodation.
"We are part of this community and our families live here. We are ashamed of what has happened, this is a matter of our spirituality but we were only told at the last minute the visas had not arrived," he added.
Hussain said he was only told by London-based Travel Star the day before the first group were due to travel on September 27 that the visas could not be issued, by which time he had already paid £161,000 for flights and £230,000 for accommodation in Saudi Arabia.
Travel Star told the paper that it had warned agents not to buy flights before the visas had been confirmed. It said the problem was due to a policy change, with 20% fewer visas available this year.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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