ECNS, Dalian, February 1 (reported by Song Taisheng and Zhao Yuan) -- At the mention of "Spring City" Kunming during the Spring Festival in the Year of the Dragon, Ms. Zhu, a tourist from Dalian, was struck with a chill. She had been subjected to harsh threats from a fake Kunming International Travel customer service representative, who canceled her flight tickets without reason, causing her travel plans to be disrupted and resulting in a loss of over 1000 yuan.
Before the Spring Festival, Ms. Zhu and her son planned to use the holiday to travel to Yunnan. They bought round-trip tickets from Dalian to Kunming on Tongcheng.com for January 22. To arrange their itinerary in Yunnan, Ms. Zhu decided to find a reputable travel agency.
On the evening of January 21, Ms. Zhu searched for "Kunming International Travel" on Baidu and found the website http://www.kmlvyou.com/LYXL/HTML/220.html. She then contacted the customer service via the phone number provided on the site to inquire about the price and detailed itinerary for an 11-day tour of Yunnan. During the consultation, the customer service asked Ms. Zhu for her flight information, mobile phone number, and ID information under the pretext of booking train tickets.
Subsequently, Ms. Zhu repeatedly requested the customer service to provide a specific itinerary corresponding to the quoted price, as well as details regarding when the travel contract would be signed and bank card payment methods. However, the customer service only provided the 11-day itinerary webpage on the company's website and refused to provide a detailed itinerary. They promised that upon arrival, they would immediately check into the hotel for rest before starting the tour at 8 o'clock. The contract could be signed at any time, but cash payments were required during the holidays. When Ms. Zhu suggested resting on the 23rd and signing the contract before joining the group on the 24th, the customer service refused, citing the lack of seats on the tour bus on the 24th.
"I and my son will arrive at the airport at midnight, and strangers will pick us up without an itinerary or pricing information, and they know I have a lot of cash..." Considering safety, Ms. Zhu decided not to join this tour group.
At noon on January 22, Ms. Zhu informed the customer service through QQ messages that she would not participate in their arranged tour. The customer service replied via text message, saying that the hotel had already been arranged and the train tickets had been issued, hoping the tourists would continue to participate in the tour. Otherwise, the tourists would need to compensate for the losses of the reserved train tickets and hotel bookings, which would also cost the customer service their job.
"You stood me up, I'll make sure you can't enter Kunming," said a male manager reportedly associated with the customer service, threatening her over the phone. Feeling trapped and coerced, Ms. Zhu no longer wanted to join their tour group and planned to make alternative arrangements upon arriving in Kunming.
At 1:37 PM on January 22, Ms. Zhu received a text message from Tongcheng.com notifying her that her flight tickets had been refunded. Ms. Zhu informed them that the refund was not made by her and hoped to restore the tickets, but was refused.
Unable to proceed due to the refunded tickets, Ms. Zhu was forced to cancel her return ticket as well, resulting in a total loss of over 1000 yuan.
On the morning of January 1, reporters called the customer service number listed on the website of Kunming International Travel. The customer service claimed it was a colleague using their personal phone to send the text message. Customer service manager Chen Feng denied making any threats to Ms. Zhu or using the tourist's information to cancel the tickets. According to the business license shown by the institution, the company's name is "Kunming China International Travel Service Tourism Consultation Center", and the customer service manager claims it is a branch of Kunming International Travel.
A staff member of Kunming International Travel stated in an interview that their website had been inaccessible since late December 2011 due to data center adjustments, and has remained so throughout the Spring Festival. Many travel agencies operate under the name of "International Travel" to receive tourists, and they do not handle complaints from tourists who have been defrauded. After verification by the staff of Kunming International Travel, the office phone and 400-number provided on the website do not belong to Kunming International Travel, and there is no such institution as "Kunming China International Travel Service Tourism Consultation Center" among their branches.
When the reporter called the complaint hotline of the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Bureau, the staff member receiving the call stated that if the situation is true, the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Bureau will investigate the reasons and motives behind the cancellation of the flight tickets, determine responsibility based on the results, require Kunming International Travel and the tourists to negotiate, compensate for the tourists' losses, and impose penalties accordingly.
Attorney Wang Jinhai from Liaoning QingSong Law Firm said that Kunming International Travel or its branches used the tourists' information to cancel the self-booked flight tickets, constituting an infringement, and should bear the responsibility for compensating the tourists' losses. From the actual situation, Kunming International Travel was impersonated by a third party through the internet, which falls under the "apparent" agency defined in the Contract Law, and the tourists' losses should be compensated by Kunming International Travel. After Kunming International Travel assumes compensation responsibility, they can seek recourse from the maliciously impersonating third party.
Attorney Wang advises tourists to always sign tourism service contracts through legitimate travel companies. If arranging tours through the internet, they should verify through the official telephone numbers published by the travel companies to avoid similar incidents. Kunming International Travel should strengthen management and promptly report to the industrial and commercial department or file a police report if they discover any malicious third parties operating under the company's name to provide tourism services. (End)