An Edinburgh woman says she lost thousands of dollars after booking what was supposed to be a dream vacation for a mother and daughter.
Diana Lopez says she started planning a trip to Europe last year through Velamar Travel, a travel agency she found on a Facebook group.
The trip was supposed to be a graduation gift for his daughter.
Lopez started making payments this year, but as the trip date approached, she began to notice things weren’t right.
“I noticed she sent me another link and it was an additional $300 fee. She told me if I wanted to avoid the fee, I could send it to myself through CashApp or Zelle,” Lopez said. “About a week before, she sent me an updated itinerary with the flight and hotel name. So I had the intuition that most moms usually have. They searched for my name, my daughter’s name. My email, my phone number, and nothing.”
In total, Lopez spent more than $7,000.
The Better Business Bureau says sending money through cash apps is always risky.
“Some of these consumers are paying through CashApp, Zelle. The problem is if you pay that way, it’s harder to get your money back if the payment doesn’t go through. Your best bet is to always use a major credit card,” said Hilda Martinez, president of the BBB South Texas Chapter.
The BBB recommends using a credit card, that way you can contact the credit card company to dispute the charges.
Channel 5 called the numbers listed by the agency, as well as the number Lopez used to contact Velamar, but received no answer.
As for Lopez, she was able to recover about $3,000 and hopes the agency will return the rest.
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