April 14, 2002
In an agreement with the California Attorney General, the owners of the defunct Class Travel International have agreed to pay $30,000 in consumer restitution and legal costs.
The Redondo Beach tour operator, which operated trips for high school and college students, was the focus of a rash of consumer complaints in 2000 and 2001, leading to a lawsuit by the Attorney General that accused the company of defrauding consumers.
An attorney for the defunct firm denied that the company had defrauded its customers and said it agreed to settlement only because it could not afford to fight it. Geoffrey Gold said the company served more than 30,000 students per year and had many "happy and satisfied" customers.
Class Travel International to ConsumerAffairs.com complained of substandard hotels and meals, travel delays and mix-ups and difficulties in obtaining refunds when reservations had to be cancelled.
A California agency, California Travel Consumer Restitution Corp., said it has already paid nearly $5,000 in claims and more are pending.
