Ananda Travel, anyone?

tinmei

New Member
Yes indeed, even radio & TV.
Must buy a copy of ST to read about this article.
If anyone has it, can post it on the net so that can share it with others.

Anyway I have signed up with Chan brothers.
Today flying off to Hokkaido.
Finally................. Honeymoon.......
After 8 months of HARD waiting...............
 


jozy

Active Member
hey tintin,

good choice to go with chan. I enjoyed my honeymoon with chan.

You enjoy har and update us!
 

tinmei

New Member
Article from Straits Times dated 26 Jul (HOME Page H4)


Ananda Travel suspends business

Well-known local travel agency Ananda Travel has suspended business after several years in the doldrums, leaving several customers stranded.

The National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas) said it has received several complaints from customers whose tours have been cancelled, while the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said four consumers have filed complaints against Ananda this year.

Ananda general manager Joseph Chan said that so far 60per cent of eligible customers have received refunds and the rest will do soon.

He said the agency had to cancel half of its travel bookings last month and has also stopped taking in new ones.

“We are undergoing some internal restructuring,†he said.

Mr Chan took over as general manager six weeks ago after the previous management team resigned en masse, apparently because they had not been paid. He said the agency will resume business once its “restructuring†is complete.

The 17-year old company is a shadow of its former self. At its peak, it had up to six outlets. Today, it has just one.

Yesterday when The Straits Times visited its lone office at People’s Park Centre, it was deserted, except for three staff members who were busy answering phone calls from customers asking about their refunds.

The first sign that the company was in trouble came in August 2003, when the four outlets it was operating at that time closed down suddenly for one day, without warning.

Although it later denied having any financial problems, it seemed the company never quite recovered.

Industry players say the agency is most likely a casualty of owner Chan Yeuk Wai’s various unsuccessful ventures at home and abroad, including the Malay Village and the Floating Seafood Restaurant in Geylang Serai.

Mr Chan and his youngest brother Yuek Pun once owned the Hong Kong-listed Ananda Wing On Travel, which was also mired in debt.

One industry player put Ananda’s woes down to a cash-flow crunch, adding that it has likely been affected by unrest in the Middle East, a region in which it specialized.

Another industry figure said Mr Chan and his brother fought about two years ago, which further crippled the elder Chan’s finances.

But the source added: “To be fair, they really tried, they are not an agent that cheats and runs.â€

However, 32-year-old businessman Chen Yeow Poh, who booked a trip to Japan at the March Natas travel fair, feel otherwise.

He has not been able to get a refund for the $4,000 he paid for the trip, despite lodging a police report. He is going to Case today to lodge another complaint.

He said:†I’ve been calling every day but I can never get hold of the manager. They also tell me to wait because they are having financial problems. But is that fair to us, the consumers?â€

The Singapore Tourism Board, which is in charge of issuing travel agent licences, said it has not revoked Ananda’s licence as it has met the requirements of the Travel Agents Act and Regulations.

One of Ananda’s staff told The Straits Times that they are a very new team.

She said: â€WE are just picking up the bits and pieces. We are trying very hard to do what we can.â€

Ananda’s troubles come on the eve of a new accreditation scheme for travel agencies, to be launched by Natas and Case to bolster consumer confidence.

Travel agents which undergo accreditation will get the CaseTrust mark, which will signal to consumers that they abide by a set of rules laid down by the consumer watchdog.
 

ixora15

New Member
hi all..
I read abt the news too.. they hv caused us so much stress and worry.. dun think anyone wld sign up with them even after their so-called "restructuring"..

hi ryes,
so sorry i din read your earlier post on chking out the LV prices when I was in Paris..Anyway, dunno if u had known this LV website, it has prices for their products.. apparently, the prices are the same as what I saw in the shop.. check it out? The "France" link has the prices quoted..
http://www.louisvuitton.com/web/flash/index.jsp

I'm back fr HM for abt a wk++.. after how Ananda had "played us out", we decided to DIY our HM.. It's so much better, dun think we wld enjoy as much even if the tour gp was formed..esp if we 'sway sway' get that rude tour manager we encountered at the branch for the trip...

hi hm(chm777),
it took us one mth to get back our deposit from the cancellation date.. it was only after many pestering.. very frustrating..
 

butterkiss

New Member
I think they were already having problem when I went for my HM last year, October... I didn't travelle with them... but I heard from my tour guide and someone from the group...
Scary....
 

chm777

New Member
Ryes & ixora15, thanks for replying to my question.
I guess i didn't pester them hard enough
sad.gif

Anyway.. went to SCT and AT promised to pay full by next month. I doubt SCT can do much also if AT can't pay in the end. We have to get a court order to enforce it. by the way, the people at SCT sucks.

In addition, today's ST stated that CPF board is taking legal action against them, and the company might declare bankrupt or wind up if they can't pay. CPF board has the right to their assets first than any of their creditors.

I hope ANANDA will survive through this 'internal restructuring', cos if it won't, it is going to be a really expensive lesson for me.

Tintin,

enjoy your HM... and floral hokkaido..my intended destination...and post some beautiful pics here if possible. I am not going unless i get the money back.
 

ixora15

New Member
yah really hope they will survive thru & pay back those they owe.. it's really a bad experience for all.. going thru all the hassle to get back our hard-earned $$
 

jozy

Active Member
Hi ixora15 (ixora15)

no worries lah. ahaha, my craze over LV has died...

Hey hm, SCT pp sucks? erm..bad service ah? You must follow up closely okay, I think u are not the only one who didnt get back refund, there must be plenty others. So keep close update and chase chase chase! Is not a small amt of $100, $200 okay.
 

tinmei

New Member
Thursday July 27, 8:17 PM (Channel Newsasia)
New CaseTrust-NATAS trust mark launched with pioneer batch of 7 travel agencies



SINGAPORE: Singapore's Consumers Association (CASE) and National Association of Travel Agents (NATAS) have launched a new joint accreditation scheme, and 7 travel agencies have been given the new CaseTrust NATAS mark.
They are Chan Brothers, Commonwealth Travel Service Corporation, Hong Thai Travel Services, Sino-America Tours Corporation, Scenic Travel, Pacific Arena and WTS Travel & Tours.

NATAS expects some 30 more to be accredited within the year.

They have to meet stringent criteria like having clear-cut refund and cancellation policies.

Wednesday's launch comes a day after news that local agency Ananda Travel suspended business for what's been described as an 'internal restructuring'.

The agency's office at People's Park centre was empty on Tuesday, except for a few staff deployed to answer customers' queries on cancelled tour packages and refunds.

It is understood the company's financial troubles date back to last year.

The CPF Board has told Channel NewsAsia it is taking Ananda Travel to court - for not making contributions for 12 of its staff last December.

About half, or some 320 of the travel agencies here are members of NATAS. Ananda is one of them. - CNA /dt
 

chm777

New Member
Hi Ryes,

Thanks for the concern.
I feel heartache whenever i think of it, so not thinking about it too often ... anyway...they promise in SCT that they will pay next week... i will know soon.

As for the trust mark... Tintin, you fail to highlight that both CASE and NATAS stressed that they cannot prevent the company from going bust even after they get accredited. My thought is they are just trying to win back the consumers' confidence by putting up a show that they are actually doing something.... and the newly launched insurance policy... what can they do besides asking us to pay more?

This will be an expensive lesson for me if i fail to get the money back next week. In future, i either sign up tour packages the very last minute and pay then or simply give up tour agencies and plan my own itinery to go on my own.
 

tinmei

New Member
This is indeed a very expensive & “unforgettable†lesson for us and everyone out there too !!!

Even the consumer watchdogs, CASE & NATAS, can do nothing to help us much. All remains in the hands of our own. As for NATAS, they only provide registry of travel agency. Any complains or so, they could merely give you a “filing no†if you happen to lodge an official complain to them. In the email that NATAS wrote to me, it was clearly mentioned that they cannot assist us further except to monitor their situation and in case they do not meet their requirements or standards, they would decide whether to revoke Ananda’s membership with NATAS or not. As for CASE, they do not want to handle this matter too. They only advised me to approach SCT. In other words, I implore where & what are the CONSUMERS’ rights here???

This case is now crystal clear :
1) Ananda has cancelled our tour failed to refund our MONEY promptly to us within the stipulated time frame, and disappointingly, this happened even upon many, many requests made by us personally
2) Providing the untruthful dates of promise in an attempt to delay refund bluntly
3) Causing everyone trouble, financially and mentally
 

tinmei

New Member
Anandan has been ordered by the high court to wind up. The liquidation company will be contacting the consumers for filling up some forms. But no guarantee that consumers will be getting back their money.
 

spidy108

New Member
I agreed with hm. Ever since the AT incident, I tell myself to forget about NATAS. I will only make my tour confirmation last minutes for tour that is confirmed to go. I'm not keen on the discount and goodies offered during Natas for early booking. Its does not worth the saving and trouble. All the parties (NATAS, CASE and SCT) can't do much to help when problem occurs. Already lost confidence on all of them.
 

sallykoo

New Member
Spidy, I agreed with you. I think it will be better if you book 2-3 weeks ahead, else nobody will know what will happen to the tour agency. I never succeed in joining a tour group through my previous bookings because the group always not enough pple to form.... sigh....
 

teoal

New Member
one of the 'victims' here with over $2k stuck with ananda. The refund date was 25 Aug but guess it was just a delaying tactic.
Thanks hm for supplying the email address. Will do the necessary and hope can at least get back some money.
 

ahtan

New Member
anyone knows how long the claim might be?

Heard that if there is any claim we be last in line after all the creditors, banks etc...
 

sky588

New Member
We, the affected customers, are the last in the quece after CPF, Banks, ASATSU-DK,....

I have filed a complain with SCT last month and I knew that ASATSU-DK had submitted a windup petition earlier before me. I brought up this issue to the SCT meditator during the consultation session but he said I could go home and wait for the refund. Now "All-is-lost"

I have been to AT's people park branch. They only have a few old PCs/phones/Fax machines.. Even if they sold everything, they will not have enough to pay CPF. Frankly speaking, I think I can forget about the refund already.
 

jozy

Active Member
Hey guys,

did you all read the straits times on 19th Aug, sat abt ananda winding up liao?

They mentioned smthing like ananda dont have much assets left except computers etc and that the creditors would get priority first before customers can get back refund and by then there might have nothing left for customers to claim.

I think was adviced to go small claims tribunal leh..

tintin, u got a copy of the article bo?
 

tinmei

New Member
Ananda Travel told to wind up

Customers hoping for refunds must wait for staff, secured creditors, CPF to be paid first


Article from Straits Times dated 19 Aug (HOME Page H2)
By LIM WEI CHEAN


WELL-KNOWN travel agency Ananda Travel was ordered to be wound up yesterday by the Supreme Court. The agency had been in business for 17 years.

All the company’s assets will be sold and the money recovered will be used to pay creditors. It is uncertain how much assets or debt the agency has.

Customers hoping to get refunds for tour cancellations will not get back their money back just yet.

Staff who are owed salaries have to be paid first, followed by the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board to which Ananda owes the December 2005 contributions for 12 employees. Taxes must be cleared and ban loans settled as well.

Last in line are unsecured creditors such as trade partners and customers who are waiting for refunds. It was advertising agency Asatsu-DK Singapore which applied to have the tour operator wound up. Asatsu is owed more than $326,000.

Mr. Don Ho, the appointed liquidator, estimates the entire process will take up to six months.

He said: â€Right now, our top priority is to get the accounting books in order – to investigate where the money went, who took it, and how much can be recovered.†The last audited accounts were done in 2004.

He sent a team down to Ananda’s office at People’s Park Centre yesterday afternoon to take a look.

Mr. Ho said that, from what he saw, the company did not have much physical assets. The office is a rental unit and all it has is office equipment like desks and computers.

Singapore Tourism Board stipulates in the Travel Agents Act that each company must have a minimum paid-up capital of $100,000, but this is money that can be used for business operations, said Mr Robert Khoo, chief executive officer of National Association of Travel Agents Singapore.

Mr. Seah Seng Choon, executive director of the Consumers Association of Singapore, advises consumers waiting for refunds to obtain a judgment from the Small Claim Tribunal.

But he also cautioned: “ As banks and creditors have priority to Ananda’s assets, consumers may find themselves in a situation whereby there is nothing left after the secured creditors have been paid.â€

The unraveling of Ananda Travel, which at its peak had six outlets, started in June when more than 80 per cent of its 50 staff resigned.

The resignations were followed by a spate of tour cancellations, a lawsuit from CPF for not paying employee contributions and finally suspension of business last month.

Now, the only recourse for creditors is to submit their proof of debts to Mr. Ho, the liquidator, and hope for the best.

One creditor told Straits Times: “Now, all is lost.â€
 

tinmei

New Member
Email which I received from Natas

---------------------------------------------

Ananda Travel was ordered to be wound up by the Supreme Court over the
last weekend.



Below are some info regarding compulsory winding up of companies.



Distribution Of Assets

Creditors should as soon as possible after the winding up of the company
lodge their proofs of debt

together with supporting documents with the liquidator. Before declaring
dividends, the liquidator is

required to publish in the Gazette a Notice of Intention to Declare
Dividends and send the notice to

all the creditors who had been disclosed in the Statement of Affairs but
had not filed their proofs of

debt, giving them 14 days to lodge their claims. The liquidator will
thereafter adjudicate all the claims

lodged against the company and admit or reject the proofs of debt
accordingly. Any creditor who is

dissatisfied with the liquidator's decision in respect of his proof of
debt may appeal to the Court against

the liquidator's decision.



Dividends will be declared according to Section 328 which provides the
order of priority according to

which the liquidator should repay the debts of the company. If there are
any surplus after paying the

creditors and costs of liquidation, the liquidator will apply to Court
to settle the list of and adjust the

rights of contributories amongst themselves to enable the return of
capital to them.



You may wish to register with the official liquidator:



Don Ho & Associates

Certified Public Accountants

Corporate Advisory & Recoveries

Equity Plaza,

20 Cecil Street, #12-02/03

Singapore 049705

Tel: 6532 0320

Fax: 6532 0331



For enquires pertaining to the process, please contact Mr Francis Lim
[email protected] or Ms Fanny Teo [email protected]
at Tel: 6532 0320



We hope the above information will be helpful and leave the decision to
you to decide on your next course of action.
 

chm777

New Member
Seriously, I don't think i can get back my money too. But feel that i still need to file with the liquidator no matter how small the hope is.

Never thought the company would use NATAS to get more money when they are already unsteady since last dec...

So far i had only dealt with the new GM, Joseph Chan...when i ask to speak to his boss, he said his boss is difficult to find, always overseas....does anyone know where are the guys who brought down the company - the directors ? no mention of them in the papers too ... i heard that they have gone hiding overseas ? don't know how true ... also heard that there were cash transferred to dormant companies under AT... hopefully...the liquidators can recover amount big enough to pay off everyone...that is my final hope.

When i see recent news on the different travel agencies fighting for business at Suntec... i am disgusted.
 

rover75

New Member
I am also one of the affected guys of the Ananda Travel case. If you really want to know where the directors live, all you need to do is to get the ROC Cert (Registry of Company Certificate) from Apollo Centre. The cert will show the addresses of where all these people stay in SG.

I also have the general feeling that I would not be getting my money (ie. more than 10K) back but still need to file to the liquidator fo that little bit of hope.

Over night, loose so much hard earned money. Really "sianz".
 

ahtan

New Member
heh people,
I am also one of the refund case....I got the form 77 but in section 3, there is still portion on creditor refernce. what do we put in it...

yes, pray we can get the refund back....
 

chm777

New Member
no need to put anything. I faced the same problem, got the advice from Ms Fanny - Don Ho Associates.

When I filed the case with SCT, I had to pay S$4.80 for a copy of that company's ROC. Luckily i didn't make a copy at that time, cos now i might just do what the loansharks do - go to his place and put O$P$...or buy a pig's head to put at his doorstep....heehee... know his address also no use... he may have fled the country.
 

icebubbles

New Member
hi,

hows the outcome? when are we gonna get news from the liquidator?
i hv also filed to get back my 2k deposit...
also booked in natas in march 06...
planned to go for honeymoon in jun.
ruined my trip and made me lost 2k.
ended up with chan bros, thumbs up for their service
 

rover75

New Member
Only can wait and wait till the cow come home lor.
I lagi "si" , loose 11K for nothing and it not even for stock and share.
 
The National Association of Travel Agents Singapore said it has received several complaints from customers whose tours have been cancelled, while the Consumers Association of Singapore said four consumers have filed complaints against Ananda this year.Ananda general manager Joseph Chan said that so far 60per cent of eligible customers have received refunds and the rest will do soon.


http://www.welovekohsamui.com/
 

Top