TRAVEL agents have been
left dealing with clients
who haven’t received
visas, after visa service
company, Republic of Service
Excellence (Rose), suddenly
shut its doors at the end of
March. Rose sent clients a
letter on March 22 saying the
company had been forced
to close its doors due to the
ill health of the owner and
financial constraints.
In the letter, owner Jan
Schavemaker, says the
company is committed to
getting every visa in its office
submitted. “It is therefore
imperative that your invoices
due to Rose get paid without
delay so that we may submit
your outstanding visa,” the
letter reads. “Any unpaid
visa applications still in our
offices at end of business on
March 24 will be returned to
your office and the invoices
credited.” Alternatively, clients
who wish to have their unpaid
visa applications returned,
will have these sent back
to them. Clients have been
advised that they can submit
requests for outstanding visas
at accounts@visaservices.
However, Paola Kaltenbrun,
owner of Kal Travel, says
although she has two paidfor
applications for Canadian
visas with Rose visas, she
has been left stranded, both
without visas and without
reimbursement for her clients
after Rose simply returned
her clients’ passports.
Paola is not the only one. An
anonymous source told TNW
that his company had been
inundated with calls from
disgruntled clients wanting to
know what had happened to
their visa applications.
Rose staff say they were
given no forewarning of the
business’s closure. A source
says that not only have former
employees been left to try
and assist clients where they
can, but they themselves have
not been paid salaries.
What agents can do
Exactly how much of a
predicament a scenario
like this leaves agents in
will depend a great deal
on the agent’s contractual
relationships with both the
supplier and the client, says
advocate Louis Nel. If the
services of the visa company
were engaged, regardless of
payment or terms thereof,
non-performance may amount
to breach of contract, he
says.
Prevention is always better
than cure, Louis says,
advising agents to have
comprehensive contracts
and terms and conditions in
place that are in line with the
Consumer Protection Act.
Agents should also note
that while travel insurance
companies do provide travel
supplier insolvency cover,
this does not include visa
service companies, says
Simmy Micheli, TIC sales and
marketing manager.
As there is little possibility
of an agent having recourse
in this situation when faced
with short time frames, they
are left with no choice but
to drive to the embassy in
person and present their
case, says ITC, Carey Milne.
“As an agent you are the one
who has made the decision to
use the visa service. It’s not
the client’s fault and it would
be very bad PR to leave your
client with the problem.
“This happened to me once
before with a client who was
due to travel in 24 hours. All
you can really do is explain
the situation to the client and
throw yourself at the mercy of
the embassy,” she adds.
