Consumer Protection Probes VIP Express Tourism over Accusation Of Consumer Rights Abuses

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News Friday, September 11th, 2015

Ayodele Afolabi, Abuja – The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has beamed its search light into the operations of a Nigerian hospitality company, VIP Express Tourism Limited, following complaints alleging gross abuse of consumers’ rights.

The Council’s action was informed by the number of complaints against the company, some of which alleged that the company reneged on its terms of agreements with consumers on their subscriptions to its hospitality packages.

VIP Express Tourism Limited is into hospitality business through which it enlists subscriptions from members of the public for their future holiday investments with the promise of facilitating subscribers’ holiday destination desires after their completion of agreed payments.

According to some of the complainants, VIP Express Tourism Limited, which has affiliates in South Africa, allegedly reneged on the agreement to provide the desired holiday destinations to them upon completion of their subscription payments, while some others accused the firm of misleading them with mis-representation of facts.

Other allegations against the company included exertion of undue influence on their subscribers, making them to sign documents immediately after presentations without proper perusal and understanding of the terms as well as accompanying intending subscribers to homes to pick cheques late at night, among others.

The Council few weeks ago began investigation into the allegations and has taken responses from the company on the consumer complaints against its operations and activities.

CPC, in continuation of the investigation, has summoned the company’s Chief Executive Officer and two others, identified as Owoseni Samuel and Isaac Omagbemi to further answer enquiries about the allegations contained in the consumer complaints on Monday, September 14, 2015.

The Council, in its summon sent on September 2, 2015 to each of the company’s officers invited, hinted that they are being invited to “testify, make depositions and provide evidence in relation to the allegation of consumer abuse leveled against the company”.