CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION SETTLES WITH BALTIMORE TRAVEL COMPANY

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has entered into a consent order with Ahidjo Travel, Inc. of 6126 Belair Road, Baltimore, Maryland and its owner, Chukwulozie N. Okoye. Okoye sold travel services to consumers, including the arrangement of flights to Nigeria. Consumers paid Okoye in full for airline tickets, but did not receive them. The Division alleged that Okoye violated the Consumer Protection Act by promising to provide travel services and collecting payments in advance, and then failing to provide the airline tickets to the consumers.

Under the consent order, Okoye promised to stop engaging in the practices that had been alleged, and to stop accepting advance payments and deposits from consumers. Okoye will pay restitution of all monies he received from Maryland consumers who did not get the airline tickets they paid for, including $30,000 that is specified in the consent order. To that end, the Division has obtained a lien on his real estate.

" When consumers pay for airline tickets in advance, they must be given the tickets or a full refund," said Curran.

Many of Okoye’s customers had paid for their tickets in cash. Curran encouraged consumers, when paying in advance for goods and services such as airline tickets, to use a credit card so that they can exercise charge-back rights with the credit card company if they do not receive the goods and services for which they paid.

#