Travel agency closes, leaving vacationers hanging - New York News | NYC Breaking News

Travel agency closes, leaving vacationers hanging

Some folks on Long Island were supposed to be on a flight to China on Wednesday but it never happened. The travel agency went out of business and apparently took all of their money.

Linda Abt, Ann Tiss and three friends are retired and had planned a trip of a lifetime to China. But their dream vacation was ripped right out from under them. The ladies booked the trip through Club ABC Tours in Bloomfield, New Jersey. The travel agency had been in business since the 1960s, and the ladies had used them several times without a problem. But this time was a disaster.

Linda called the agency on a Friday because she had not received her airline tickets. Abt said the woman didn't want to talk to her, saying there was problem in China and they would call her back Monday

Abt said the travel agency didn't call her on Monday. So, she called them and the agency had gone out of business, leaving travelers stranded. Many of the travelers had paid for their trip or part of their trip with personal checks

Abt said she lost $2,200. She said drove to the office; a business next door said the travel agency snuck out, computers and everything, at night.

Tiss said she called the hotels they were supposed to stay in and half of them hadn't been booked.

The Better Business Bureau of New Jersey has an alert on its website advising consumers to file complaints with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, a part of the state Attorney General's Office, which is looking in to the matter.