Without valid visas, duped family reaches Singapore

The next time you approach a travel agency to make bookings for your family trip to a foreign destination, be sure the agency is trustworthy and not one that will leave you stranded at some international airport.

The next time you approach a travel agency to make bookings for your family trip to a foreign destination, be sure the agency is trustworthy and not one that will leave you stranded at some international airport.

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As this is exactly what happened with Jeevan Kumar Maddewad, owner of NTCC School in Malwani. Maddewad lodged a complaint of cheating against Nomads Travels at the Kandivli police station on August 28 after his family was left stranded at the Singapore airport without a visa. Maddewad along with a friend, Dharmendra Pal, had approached the agency in May.

According to Maddewad, the agency, located in Kandivli (West), charged them Rs56,000 per adult and Rs50,000 for children below five years. “The total amount for both families came to Rs5 lakh. A lady named Sujata assured us that we would get our visas once we landed at the Singapore airport,” said Maddewad, adding that on May 17 they flew down to Singapore.

However, as they landed in Singapore, the families were informed that their visa applications had not been cleared. “Sujata, who was accompanying us, told us things would soon be sorted out. At around 4.30pm, the visas of Pal and his family were cleared,” added Maddewad, who then approached the immigration counter, but was told that their names did not feature in the visa applicants’ list.

According to Maddewad, by this time Sujata had disappeared. Maddewad called his Singapore-based brother-in-law, who approached the embassy and their visas were finally approved the next day. Maddewad approached the travel agency after coming back to demand a refund, but the agency refused to budge.

However, when contacted, an employee of Nomads Travels said they never had an employee named Sujata.