A group of more than 50 Argentine tourists, from the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro, are currently stranded in Scotland after falling victim to an alleged scam organised by a travel agency. According to reports, the organizers disappeared after receiving payments amounting to approximately eight million pesos.
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“To her [la organizadora] We paid him every month and at no time did we have any doubts about the viability of the trip,” said one of those affected.
The affected people, originally from towns such as Roca, Regina, Catriel, Cutral Co and Zapala, left Argentina on July 6 with the promise of a tour of the main cities of Europe. They spent several days touring France and Portugal; however, upon arriving in Edinburgh, they were faced with the reality of not having accommodation and they discovered numerous irregularities in the organisation of the trip.
The situation worsened when, amid uncertainty and without sufficient resources, they were informed that they would need an additional payment to guarantee their return flight, scheduled for July 28 from Madrid. They are currently staying in a student residence in Edinburgh, organizing themselves collectively to survive.
“Now we are adrift. Many of us have return tickets for the 28th, but we don’t know what to do because to return we have to pay a sum of money that many of us don’t have,” said one affected woman.
The response from the Argentine consulate in Edinburgh has been limited, informing the victims that this is a dispute between private parties and, therefore, outside its jurisdiction for direct intervention. This has led tourists to consider legal action for damages against the travel agency.
The explanation of the Argentine organizer
Liliana Silva, an English teacher from Catriel and in charge of coordinating trips with Simply English, also considers herself a victim of this situation. In statements to ‘Río Negro Radio’, the woman explained that The company was run by Lorraine Weston, who reportedly suffered from mental health problems.
Weston’s relatives have reportedly said they will try to return part of the money, but this does not represent a solution for the victims, since they have tickets to another destination but no accommodation or transport to Madrid, their last stop.
The Nation (Argentina) / GDA
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*This content was rewritten with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information from La Nación (GDA), and was reviewed by a journalist and an editor.
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