Warning bells about Jacques Bezhuidenhout from Travel Crossings
22. Oct, 2009
9 Comments
I’ve received an email from a concerned Gia Callinicos who is trying to get hold of Jacques Bezhuidenhout from Travel Crossings in an effort to recover money paid for a ‘holiday’.
Jacques Bezhuidenhout from Travel Crossings has been a regular reader of Travelwires.com and I even did a profile feature on him titled “Local tourism operators don’t embrace technology – Travel Crossings”.
On getting the below email, I tried getting in contact with Jacques to offer him a right of right, however all his contact details are no longer in use. I also recently noticed that he has launched www.tourismvibes.com which unfortunately doesn’t have his contact details.
Please read below email to get a clear picture of the warning…and to you Jacques, do respond to this post, as I’m sure you’ll set your eyes on it.
Hi Muzi
I thought that I would inform you that Jacques Bezhuidenhout from Travel Crossings interviewed on your blog 18 June 2009 is a scam artist.
I used Travel Crossings to book my December holiday to Mauritius in early September. After agreeing to what looked like a fantastic package, I signed the booking form, received confirmation and an invoice and paid the amount requested. I was then asked to send copies of our passports in order to receive the final travel documents. After doing so and not hearing back from the agent that I had been dealing with as well as seeing that the website, e-mail address and telephone number were no longer in use, I became suspicious. I decided to contact the airlines and hotel myself. I was told by both airlines and the hotel that the bookings were held, but payment had not been received.
The hotel then informed me that Travel Crossings is supposedly in liquidation and that no suppliers to date have been paid. To this end, I have done some of my own investigation as well as contacted a lawyer and am in pursuit of uncovering this. I have yet to be informed by anyone at Travel Crossings that the company has gone into liquidation.
In light of the fact that you have an influential blog that deals with travel, I thought I should notify you of this so that others do not fall victim to the same types of cons that scourer the web. I also wonder how many foreigners have been scammed in similar situations and the effect that this has on 2010 travel.
Please let your fellow travel friends know. While I understand these types of incidents occur frequently as well as globally, it’s always good to spread the word so that people like Jacques Bezeidenhout are exposed and hopefully eventually brought to book.
Thanks
Regards
Gia Callinicos
My name is Muzi Mohale a full-time travel blogger, your host at Travelwires.com responsible for all editorial on this blog. I blog about the travel and tourism industry in Africa. Apart from blogging about tourism, I also run 
Hi Muzi
I would like Gia Callinicos to contact me as we had a similar experience with Travel Crossings, We were dumped in Zanzibar without return flights and none of our hotel accommodation being paid.
Maybe we can pull together and sue this fraudster.
Thanks
Johan
Hi Muzi
It is so unfotunate what happened to us. What people do not realise is that how difficult a step like this is. I lost 17 years of my life through this. The reason for the step was 1) The non payment of one of our big debtors 2) The decline in internation travel 3) The fact that airlines like 1Time start their own tour operator and then undercut airfares to direct clients.
People might see me as a scammer but a scammer does not operate a business for 12 years and then just give it up. I feel extremely bad about client who where left stranded. We are not the first operator that had to close their doors. Top Holidays liquadated in Jan 09 and Air Tanzania left 1000’s of people stranded in Dec 08 not to mention the high number of IATA agents that are suspended each month. This clearly show that we need a consumer protection law in SA and I hope that government finalize the bill very soon.
How do I clear my name and face people again. Clients lost money, I lost all my money and my life. If I could I would repay every single cent from my own pocket but I also lost everything.
To all our clients that spported us during 12 years and the agent who trusted us with their bookings I would like to appologise but such a huge step is not taken likely.
An application for liquidation will be finalized early next week and once a liquidator has been appointed by the court we will contact all clients and creditors with the contact details. In the mean time my e-mail jacques@travelcrossings.co.za is still active and I read it once a day. I will reply to all e-mail that does not include any personal attacks
Jacques, if you truthfully feel so bad about all of this you should have had the decency to inform your clients who have booked holidays with you. Any reputable business or business man would have come forward and explained the situation instead of simply leaving people hanging with no word.
The only way I found out about this was through the hotel and via the airlines after taking the initiative to contact them myself. I had no word from your agent who I dealt with nor you. I became suspicious after seeing that e-mails were bouncing back, the phone number was no longer in use and the website was off-line.
If the reasons why your business closed are true, why did you agree to take my money at the end of September 2009 if you could not honour your commitments? I find this most questionable. I await to be contacted by your liquidator as that I believe, is where the truth might lie.
Hi Jacques, just tried to contact you. Strang – your email bounced back… is there another contact email you have?? I think I could have a proposition for you.
To Gia
Ask any person who had to make a desision like this, it does not come over weeks or months. As the only share holder and director I tried to save the company but had to look at the facts. I gathered all information and figures and only made the final disision on 7 October. Until then I still was possitive that I could save all.
I appointed an attorney on 7 October and gave them a list of all the affected clients. They were suppose to call each one. I have changed attorneys since then as I realized that they were not doing their job.
To Nic
My e-mail jacques@travelcrossings.co.za is still working. I receive e-mails on this address. You are welcome to contact me.
What’s that I smell? Something fishy?
Jacques, sounds like you’re trying to play the sympathy card, but I don’t buy it! Gia is right – if she hadn’t contacted the various parties *herself*, she would have been stranded.
Surely if you had done everything by the book and you’re as honourable as the ‘character’ that you are portraying, then comms with the customers you feel so bad for, would have been a natural first step.
Remember Jacques, Karma’s not the most forgiving of characters, and setting up tourism company after tourism company is not the wisest move. The online world is very small and its a lot easier to piss people off nowadays – especially those 1800 followers on twitter…
I look forward to seeing you open your door in the coming weeks with Derek Watts shoving a microphone and a camera in your face for the entire country to learn the ‘truth’ on this matter!
Mic
I understand your frustration and agree that I would feel exactly the same. You did however make me realize that I need to be reachable and have therefore issued a statement on twitter and the website http://www.travelcrossings.co.za. Please feel free to contact me.
Comment above is meant for Mike…