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02 November 2007
A rising number of British Muslims who pay thousands of
pounds to make the annual Haj to Mecca are being cheated
by rogue travel companies.
Community leaders are warning travellers to the Haj next
month to be vigilant after almost 1,000 British pilgrims
were conned out of their savings by travel agents and
tour operations last year, more than double the number
of complaints in previous years, according to the
Association of British Hujjaj UK (ABH).
An investigation by Eastern Eye newspaper found that
travellers were sent forged airline tickets for
non-existent flights, and some were forced to sleep on
the floor of cramped rooms despite having paid for
five-star hotels.
Khalid Pervez, the general secretary of ABH, said the
problem had escalated as unlicensed tour operators
sought to cash in. Mr Pervez has sent a petition with
5,000 signatures to the foreign and home offices,
demanding action against rogue agents.
"Tour operators and travel agents want to make money
through Haj trips. Normally it is a one-man show working
from home, he is not licensed. The majority of people
who travel are not very literate, people aged 70-plus,
who are not fully aware of their rights. They are very
easy targets for leaflets with false promises," he said.
Lord Ahmed, who hosted a Haj Awareness Event at the
House of Lords this week focusing on rogue travel
agents, highlighted the problem, saying that most of the
scams were led by travel agents in the south of England.
"Last year was one of the worst because the demand was
bigger than supply. Visas are given free by the Saudi
authorities but agents are charging £500 to £700 per
visa. When people complain, the agent says 'Haj means
struggle. You shouldn't complain or your Haj will be
void'. That is complete nonsense. Haj means comfort,
worship, being in touch with your creator. It is the
minority [of agents]. Most of them are south-based.
There must be a zero tolerance towards these illegal,
unscrupulous agents. People must report them to the
police and Trading Standards," he said.
Up to 25,000 British Muslims are estimated to go to Haj
this year. More than 80 per cent of them are aged over
65, and many have saved for many years to meet the cost
of the trip.
The Foreign Office has launched a website offering
advice to British Muslims. Its guidelines include
booking airline tickets through a company which holds an
Air Travel Organiser's License (Atol), as well as using
a tour operator who has been accredited by the Saudi
embassy. The Foreign Office also advised that copies of
passports and travel insurance policies should be left
with family members in Britain, and receipts for airline
tickets obtained from travel agents.
Naheed Kayani, who fell victim to a Haj scam, paid £900
to travel to Mecca with her mother and 22-year- old son
with a tour operator approved by the Saudi embassy. She
said the trip left her traumatised. "We were promised
direct return flights to Jeddah, but a week before
travel, we were told we have to pay £1,000 more. When we
refused, we were sent by chartered plane to Medina and
we had to make our own way to Mecca.
"[The agent] would not give us our plane tickets [to
London]. We were stranded in Medina for 18 days. My son
is a medical student and didn't get the results he
expected because he missed 10 days of lectures," she
said.
Qaisar Rizvi, 68, also had a bad experience after
travelling with a group of 80 people last year. "[The
agent] said it was £2,000 if we wanted to go by British
Airways and £1,800 with any other airline. We chose BA.
My wife stressed that I am a diabetic, I have asthma,
and had a heart bypass. When we got to the airport, it
was some Italian airline with a small plane. We got to
Jeddah airport. We didn't know where to go, where our
luggage was. It was absolute chaos. |
