DBS Bank to help some Misa Travel customers keep travel plans
The shuttered offices of Misa Travel pictured on June 1, 2017. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY
SINGAPORE — DBS Bank is working with Cathay Pacific airline to help hundreds of customers left in the lurch following the sudden closure of Misa Travel.
The bank had a tie-up with the travel agency — whose licence was revoked on Tuesday (May 30) for failing to fulfill its obligations to its customers — for a travel promotion during the June holidays.
A DBS spokesperson said on Thursday that the bank is “taking the extra step” to work directly with Cathay Pacific — the airline engaged for the promotion — to ensure that all customers who have taken part in the promotion will not have their travels disrupted.
However, other Misa Travel customers are not so lucky.
The Consumers Assocation of Singapore (CASE) said that as of 5pm on Thursday, it had received 17 complaints about Misa Travel’s closure, with consumers reporting that they had paid about S$18,000 in total for their tour packages.
A 50-year-old IT executive, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tong, paid about S$15,000 for a trip for five to Greece in September. However, he had been unable to contact the travel agency through the available channels listed on is notice online.
Known for its affordable packages, Misa Travel had been in business since October 1994. No Misa Travel employee turned up for work on Thursday, except for a man who retrieved a CPU unit and a keyboard from one of their Level 4 units. He declined comment.
Neighbouring tenants told TODAY the monthly rental for one 500sqft shop unit at Hong Lim Complex was between S$2,000 and S$3,000. They added that at the time of its sudden closure, Misa Travel was operating from at least 13 units, some of which were used for training or accounting purposes.
“I was very surprised by the way they were taking over so many units of office spaces so quickly (in recent years),” said Mr Wong, who owns an import and export business at Level 4.
“A few weeks ago, I saw that they threw away a lot of office chairs. That’s why I thought they were expanding and making money since they seem to be changing furniture,” he added.
On Thursday at about 9.30am, a group of travel suppliers affected by the sudden closure, three of them from a Japanese company, gathered outside Misa Travel in a bid to get some answers.
The Japanese company that supplies only Japan tours to MISA Travel was shocked as it was just “business as usual” the day before.
The company’s manager, a Japanese man who declined to be named, told TODAY: “I don’t know what to do next”.
He added that he could lose “tens of thousands of dollars” as he might need to fulfill the company’s obligations for outstanding tours booked via the agency.
In a media release on Wednesday, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said the agency was served a notice of revocation on Tuesday after it found the company to be “unable to fulfil its obligations towards its customers”.
A notice seen on the now defunct websites ran by Misa Travel on Wednesday included a note that a team “will be contacting passengers in the next couple of days” to provide more details on how claims could be made.
In the event that Misa Travel cannot be reached or failed to provide the relevant service delivery or refund, consumers with applicable travel insurance should approach their insurance providers for assistance, the STB said.
Consumers who are not covered by travel insurance can approach CASE or the Small Claims Tribunal, “where appropriate”, it added.
Ms Alicia Seah, director of marketing communications at Dynasty Travel, told TODAY that Misa Travel’s demise did not come as a surprise as the agency had dealt mainly with airplane, cruise and hotel bookings. These fetched “very thin margins” at a time when travel agencies face many challenges with the emergence of online travel agencies and direct suppliers, she added.
Ms Seah added that her company has prepared staff to provide information on travel insurance claims and alternative travel options to those who are affected by Misa Travel’s closure.
