Travel agent jailed for claiming holidays were protected

A ROGUE travel agent has been jailed for seven months after falsely claiming bookings would be ABTA and ATOL protected.

Raja Janjua, who traded as Geotrips Limited, admitted two counts of engaging in an unfair commercial practice under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, when he appeared at Birmingham Crown Court. The claims related to the display of Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL) and Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) logos on signs at the premises in Alcester Road South, Kings Heath.

The company’s website even included a section titled ‘ATOL terms and conditions’ – despite it holding no ATOL and never having been a member of ABTA. ABTA became aware Geotrips was displaying its logo and emailed the company asking for it to remove all references from its website within 24 hours. ABTA also spoke to Janjua by telephone and made clear the company was not entitled to display the logo.

But when Trading Standards visit- ed the shop on September 20, 2016, they found the ABTA logo on the main shop sign and on a sticker on the main entrance door.

Janjua admitted he knew it was an offence but claimed he had not removed the logos as bailiffs had told him not to move anything from his shop. He told officers that Geotrips was not trading and was just a trading name for another company called Cloud Travel and Tours Limited, despite the latter company being dissolved on June 28, 2016. He also claimed the website was just a dummy website being tested.

However, when officers visited the premises in September 2016, they found it open for business and trading as Geotrips.