A travel company called Five Bulls Leisure got into big trouble. They took money from a family in Harare but didn't book their Christmas holiday. The company's leader, Tichatonga Mudzonga, and worker Eve Tsvangira went to court. They had to pay $200 each to stay out of jail until January 27.
The story started when a person saw Five Bulls' ad on Facebook. The ad said they help people book cruise ships, flights, and hotels in Durban. The person went to their office at Longcheng Plaza. They wanted to plan a trip for eight people. The cruise would go from Durban through Mozambique to Japan.
Mudzonga and Tsvangira told them it would cost $12,377 for the cruise. The flights would cost another $4,987. The person paid all the money, $17,364, bit by bit from February to September. Mudzonga gave them receipts and said he'd book everything with MSC Cruise Ships.
But things went wrong. The family was meant to leave on December 23. They kept asking about their tickets. The company only gave them plane tickets worth $4,986. They never got cruise tickets. The person checked with MSC Cruise Ships. MSC said Mudzonga tried to book some spots but never paid. Some people weren't even booked at all. The cruise was full after November 20.
The travel company bosses took the money and used it themselves. They stopped talking to the family. The family called the police. They lost $17,364. The police found $4,987 of the money. The rest was gone.
The court will decide what happens next when they meet again in January. The family learned a hard lesson about trusting travel companies they find on Facebook.
The story started when a person saw Five Bulls' ad on Facebook. The ad said they help people book cruise ships, flights, and hotels in Durban. The person went to their office at Longcheng Plaza. They wanted to plan a trip for eight people. The cruise would go from Durban through Mozambique to Japan.
Mudzonga and Tsvangira told them it would cost $12,377 for the cruise. The flights would cost another $4,987. The person paid all the money, $17,364, bit by bit from February to September. Mudzonga gave them receipts and said he'd book everything with MSC Cruise Ships.
But things went wrong. The family was meant to leave on December 23. They kept asking about their tickets. The company only gave them plane tickets worth $4,986. They never got cruise tickets. The person checked with MSC Cruise Ships. MSC said Mudzonga tried to book some spots but never paid. Some people weren't even booked at all. The cruise was full after November 20.
The travel company bosses took the money and used it themselves. They stopped talking to the family. The family called the police. They lost $17,364. The police found $4,987 of the money. The rest was gone.
The court will decide what happens next when they meet again in January. The family learned a hard lesson about trusting travel companies they find on Facebook.
