European holiday dreams shattered
The Benoni resident said he only communicated with her via voice note.
Seven European countries, luxury accommodation, meals, surprise excursions and memories to last a lifetime were what Mohammed Essop of Benoni and his family were looking forward to when they booked a holiday in late 2019.
Now, Essop is one of more than 200 people who have brought criminal charges of fraud against travel agent Hello Darlings’ CEO Tasneem Moosa.
Following raving reviews from acquaintances and testimonials from social media influencers, Essop said he did not once doubt the legitimacy of the agency.
“So many people had made use of her services and got everything and more during their trips,” he said.
“When I saw the offer of this European tour at R25 000 per person, I jumped at the opportunity to take my family on a holiday of a lifetime.”
Because of the 2020 worldwide travel ban, Essop opted to have his trip postponed to September this year.
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Having received their airline tickets and travel itinerary, the family excitedly applied for their visas.
“On March 7, I heard the news that all the Hello Darlings social media platforms have been deactivated, Moosa’s numbers are no longer in use, emails are returned and her website is offline. I was in a state of disbelief,” he said.
“I logged onto the airline’s website and saw that our tickets had been cancelled. They allege that the refund was paid to the booking operator.
“She didn’t just take the cake, she stole the entire bakery! She has stolen people’s life savings, and no one saw it coming.”
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According to reports, the South African Police Service’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) is currently investigating the matter and a Telegram group of over 3 500 participants are sharing their stories and experiences.
Essop believes that Hello Darlings may have started as a legitimate business; however, greed has led her to take advantage of trusting customers.
A statement received from Aphane Attorneys in Pretoria, who is representing Moosa, said: “We have advised our client not to conduct any further interviews as this matter is bound to be ventilated in one forum or another (Civil and/or Criminal).”
