For the past few weeks the News has reported about Vision Sport, a tour operating company that cancelled all their December tours on short notice, leaving children heartbroken and their parents wanting answers and their money back.
The Chief Executive Officer of Vision Sport South Africa and Mauritius, Michael Beyneveldt has however responded to claims made against him.
Read the initial article here:
https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/396855/parents-want-to-know-where-is-the-moneyorwhere-is-the-tour-money/
When a well-known TV programme requested an interview with him, he responded to some of their questions rather than appearing on air.
He explained that the tours had been cancelled due to factors beyond their control.
“I realised that Vision Sport found itself in the invidious position where the majority of clients whose children were supposed to participate in the year-end tours, had not yet paid the full fees due to Vision Sport,” Beyneveldt explained in his statement.
He continued to explain that the company’s terms and conditions stated the necessity for all clients to adhere strictly to the payment terms and each parent had to accept these terms and conditions.
The participants were also added to WhatsApp groups and received regular updates and reminders as to when the fees were payable.
“In most cases the clients were also contacted individually to remind them of overdue payments,” he said and added that the prices quoted were based on the participation of the sport tour group as a whole.
According to the statement, Vision Sport depended on the payments because all necessities like flights and hotels had to be booked in advance.
“It is an industry norm that all these service providers impose a strict cancellation policy whereby the whole or substantial parts of the deposits are forfeited in the event of cancellations,” he said.
The statement also said that it is not unheard of for service providers to levy surcharges or escalate their prices if the payment date is exceeded.
Also Read:
https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/397065/vision-sport-not-closing-down-parents-open-cases-against-beyneveldtorschool-children-supposedly-defrauded-of-thousands/
Claus 5 of Vision Sports standard terms and conditions read, “In the event that the client has not made payments as per the schedule, the client takes the risk that the last/ final payment can increase and the client will be liable for payment thereof, you also risk service availability in this regard”.
Beyneveldt wrote that the company had experienced a high number of defaults among the clients and as a result Vision Sport had to defer final payment on hotel fees and airfare charges. These deferred charges also brought about price increases.
Beyneveldt added that many parents refused to pay the increased prices despite the terms that they had accepted.
“An amount of R918 896 was still due to Vision Sport, which excludes the increases in flight and hotel fares, which could have been brought about by late payments by these service providers,” the statement read.
He explained that on 22 November he had sent a WhatsApp message to all the clients whose kids were to tour in December. He cautioned them that the majority had not paid in full and the defaults were putting the tours at risk.
“This message went unheeded and few parents in fact made further payments to Vision Sport. This left me with no alternative but to cancel all the tours on 27 November.”
He claimed that he was held hostage at a local security company’s offices on 28 November, while he was attending a meeting with the parents and children. He said that on 23 November he did inform the parents those who were to go on the tour to Argentina that an amount of R180 000 was still outstanding.
“Despite the default, the parents forced me to refund an amount of R330 000 to them and even wanted a refund of the deposits that Vision Sport had already paid to the overseas service providers.
“The management of Vision Sport deeply regrets that it had to take the very difficult decision to cancel all the tours that had been scheduled for December. I refute the allegations that the parents’ money had been stolen or misappropriated. The decision to cancel the tours was not an easy one but was made with the interest of the children in mind and to avoid the situation whereby some tour-goers could have been left stranded overseas by reason of the default of other parents.”
The News also received a spreadsheet of the payments made to Vision Sport.
