Virginia Travel Agency Accused of Fraud

By Terry Green
Jan 18 2011

European Travel Services, a travel agency based in Virginia, is currently under investigation according to a law enforcement statement this morning, after several companies and travelers have alleged fraud.

The statement from police officials said that the company owes thousands of dollars in commissions to booking agents from around the US and that several travelers have been left stranded after their bookings were not paid.

One couple, who asked to not be named, made the trip to Rome only to find out when they arrived that they had no hotel rooms as they had never been booked by European Travel Services.

European Travel Services is a bulk deal agency that uses booking agents to sell their services. They then pay commissions to the agents when the bookings have been paid in full by the travelers. However, those agents have said that they are owed thousands in back commissions and European Travel Services is not paying up.

The company issued a statement this morning after the investigation was announced stating that they have a cash flow problem and that they understand what they owe. However, they are claiming that it is not fraud but a simple problem of no cash to make the payments.

The company also denied that they have ever stranded a passengers in a foreign country without a hotel room. They have said that the travelers are simply disgruntled customers who were not happy with the accommodations that they booked and used lies to get their point across.