AN Adelaide couple are devastated they had to cancel their wedding in Bali after 60 guests who booked through online travel company Bali Indulgence were allegedly conned out of more than $30,000.
Karina Theel and Justin Brozyna were set to tie the knot next May but their wedding plans were cancelled after 60 of their 80 wedding guests did not have flights or accommodation booked in Bali, despite paying in full or in part for their holiday.
Instead, Chivonne Betts, who runs Bali Indulgence, allegedly took off with their money and is yet to be tracked down by authorities.
Ms Theel, of Flagstaff Hill, said she had been in regular contact with Ms Betts when she first contacted her in May — 12 months before her wedding — to organise the celebration.
“Chivonne put together airfare and accommodation packages for all of our guests,” she said.
“We didn’t take the decision to engage Bali Indulgence lightly — we did extensive research on the company.
“When I first became aware of a problem there were a few people who had commented on her business Facebook page.”
She said she asked Ms Betts about the comments and was assured they had been taken “out of context”, before she pushed the blame for past bungles on to her Balinese staff.
The next day Ms Betts’ personal and business Facebook pages and company website had been deleted, Ms Theel, 38, said.
“My heart sank,” she said.
“I immediately fell to the ground hysterical, crying, just knowing that she had disappeared and so had all our friends’ and families’ money.
“It was the beginning of a nightmare.”
She said her father later contacted Ms Betts and demanded she return all the money she had taken from her wedding guests.
“We have had no contact from Chivonne Betts or anyone from Bali Indulgence since August 22,” she said.
“The guilt I have been carrying for the last two months has been overwhelming — I feel so entirely responsible for all our family and friends losing their money.”
Ms Theel said her wedding guests would have lost about $30,000. She said some guests had paid in full, while others had lost their deposits.
“We are currently trying to get our wedding plans back on track as we don’t want her to have ruined our dream of getting married in Bali,” she said.
She and her fiance were still hopeful they would get married in May.
Queensland Police’s Major Fraud Squad has received about 50 complaints from Bali Indulgence customers across the country.
The Office of Fair Trade, in Queensland, and Consumer Protection, in WA, have issued warnings about Ms Betts.
Disgruntled customers have also taken to TripAdvisor to warn people against booking holidays with Bali Indulgence.
The Australian Federation of Travel Agents has confirmed Ms Betts never held a travel agent’s licence in Australia.
