Fake agent enjoys eight free luxury cruises before scam is spotted
A retired nurse who posed as a travel agent managed to bag herself eight luxury cruises worth £55,000 without paying a penny.
Kay Hooper, 58, spent up to 10 days at a time cruising in the Mediterranean, the West Indies, Bermuda and Canada having booked penthouse state rooms on all-inclusive deals on Norwegian Cruise Lines
She had set up a bogus business called Travel Connections from her Devon home and filed on online form to gain an ABTA number. She managed to book the cruises without even paying a deposit because she told Norwegian her business was part of the Freedom Travel Group.
Exeter Crown Court heard she had booked a total of 54 cruises costing more than £300,000 for herself and her family for this year and next, but her scam was uncovered in October.
Hooper said she had planned to scam in revenge for the way she had been treated on a previous Norwegian cruise, which she had paid for.
She was given a 20-month suspended jail sentence, given a curfew for six months and ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge. The court heard Norwegian is suing her and she had offered to repay the cost of the cruises at £50 a month out of her pension and benefits.
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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