Your funds are safe with TravelManagers
In December 2012, a majority of the states and territories approved a Travel Industry Transition Plan which removed travel agent licensing and the related compensation scheme operated by the Travel Compensation Fund. The Travel Compensation Fund continued to provide compensation to travel clients who suffered a loss when a travel agent collapsed and failed to account for money paid by the customer up to and until 30 June 2014. The Travel Compensation Fund will not provide compensation in relation to travel agent collapses after 30 June 2014, and will wind up in 2015.
With effect from 1st July 2014, a voluntary accreditation program called ATAS (AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme) is in place. There are a number of significant differences between these two arrangements, with the major difference being that financial protection of consumer funds is no longer guaranteed whilst in the hands of a travel intermediary including travel agents.
Therefore, prior to requesting a booking and before making payment to any travel intermediary (whether ATAS accredited or not), TravelManagers recommends you check that adequate processes and proof of these processes are in place to ensure your funds are protected against travel intermediary insolvency or embezzlement.
Here’s why your money’s in safe hands
The following is a summary of why you can trust TravelManagers and its Australia-wide personal travel manager network with your hard earned money:
- TravelManagers is a wholly-owned division of House of Travel one of the top 5 travel agent businesses operating throughout Australasia. House of Travel has been operating since 1986 and has an annual turnover in excess of $1.8 billion.
- All client payments, either by credit card or direct deposit, are directly deposited into an Australian audited client trust account with ANZ Banking Corporation ( BSB: 012 172 / Account: 4967-59407) and are held in trust until payment is made directly to each travel supplier. Under no circumstances will TravelManagers accept cash payments, nor should payments be made to any other bank account.
- TravelManagers operates a separate bank account for its day to day operational expenses with client trust funds and operational funds managed independently of each other.
- The Directors of TravelManagers Australia engage CIB Accountants, an accredited chartered accounting firm, to independently audit and review TravelManagers Client Trust account. The Directors of TravelManagers Australia make available copies of these ‘Independent Audit Reports’ to you for total peace of mind. You can view them here. This together with our TACTAFI insurance (refer below for details of the coverage this) provides you with the total comfort that your funds are secure in trust until payment is made to the relevant travel supplier.
- TravelManagers is accredited by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to directly issue tickets on behalf of all major airlines. In granting such accreditation IATA requires audited financial oversight and applies strict financial criteria which are reviewed annually.
- As part of our guarantee in providing you with comprehensive financial surety TravelManagers has a Trust Account Fidelity Risk insurance (TACTAFI) policy via Gow Gates, established in 1963 and one of Australia’s largest wholly owned insurance brokerages, which is underwritten by Liberty Specialty Markets who have been rated A (Strong) by Standard and Poors. This insurance protects your funds in the unlikely event that they are missing from, or not paid into the Insured Trust Account as a result of fraudulent or dishonest activity. If you wish to check that this insurance policy has been put in place as claimed please contact Gow-Gates Insurance Brokers Pty Limited, on 02 8267 9919. Protection is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and is subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. Each claim will be determined by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company on a case by case basis and, in some circumstances, insurance may not be available or declined. A copy of the policy is available on request.
Book with TravelManagers for peace of mind and a level of service only your very own personal travel managers can provide!
