Fraud charges have been laid against Indian Ocean island operator, Seyunique, following its alleged failure to follow through with promised reimbursements for holidays that were cancelled due to COVID-19. The company recently filed for voluntary liquidation.
Consumer attorney Trudie Broekmann of Trudie Broekmann Attorneys, confirmed to Travel News that her clients, Shawn and Lindy Cambouris, recently opened a case of fraud (case 31/07/2020) against the owner of Seyunique, Stephanie James (also known as Stephanie Stanley), and her mother, Jane James.
In an affidavit sent to Travel News, Shawn alleges that he made a payment of R82 072 on February 9 to Seyunique for a trip to the Seychelles. On realising the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic during mid-March, Shawn and Lindy requested a refund from Seyunique. They were informed by Jane from Seyunique on March 18 that she had tried to refund them R61 314,30 for the accommodation and transfer portion of their package. These funds never reflected in the clients’ account. The couple continued to follow up with Seyunique regarding their refund and were given a multitude of excuses for why it could not be paid out during March, April and early May.
On May 8 the couple received the following correspondence from Jane. “As a result of the lockdown and our inability to trade, cashflow is problematic and the company can only pay R40 000 now, and once we have been up and trading for a reasonable period of time, we will then refund you the balance, less our fee. I further confirm that we are still to be refunded by Air Seychelles for the tickets and this payment does not include that amount. This is the best we can do at the moment, so kindly remember that I have your best interests at heart, and continuously badgering me will not solve any problems, in fact it may mean me having to consult my attorneys about a possible harassment charge.”
On May 22, the day on which Jane had promised to make the R40 000 payment, a letter was allegedly received from Seyunique’s attorney saying that Seyunique would not be refunding anything, as they were likely to become insolvent. The couple then proceeded to lay charges against Jane and Stephanie at the Sea Point police station.
Kevin Chow of Harvard Corporate Rescue Services has been appointed to liquidate Seyunique and can be contacted at kevin@hcrs.co.za. Seyunique’s website appears to have been disabled this week.
There are a number of rumours circulating in the industry that the owners of Seyunique have fled to the UK. When questioned about this Jane responded to Travel News that her attorney had instructed for all queries to be forwarded to the liquidator. Kevin then confirmed to Travel News that according to his records Stephanie Stanley (nee James) was currently listed as the sole owner of Seyunique and that she now resided in the UK. Jane James is Stephanie’s mother and resides in South Africa, said Kevin.
eTravel ITC, Gillian Gerber – whose clients have been affected by Seyunique’s liquidation – has created a WhatsApp group to assist affected agents and their clients with communication relating to Seyunique’s liquidation. Affected parties can get in touch with Gillian at gillian@timelesstravels.co.za.
