San Diego resident Blanca Nieto doesn’t miss a chance to travel.
“For 30 years, I’ve been traveling all around the world,” Nieto said, adding that she’s been to places like Spain, Paris, London and Switzerland.
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But this trip was very special.
“I wanted to take my son for his birthday and [my] granddaughter,” she said.
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While scrolling on social media, she saw what she thought was a great deal from a company called Blue Travel Group. It was a 12-day trip to Europe that included flights and hotels.
“They had a very nice trip supposedly to south of Spain, like Sevilla and Granada. That’s why they caught my attention: the price and the places,” Nieto said.
She made five payments for a total of $7,394 for three people.
According to her itinerary, Nieto, her son and granddaughter were supposed to fly from Los Angeles to Madrid on Dec 28.
About a week before her flight, Nieto asked her assistant to call the airline to pay for their luggage. To their surprise, their names were not on the flight.
Nieto said she called her travel agent at Blue Travel Group, who told her the company changed her flight and that it would send her the new information.
For days, Nieto said she tried to reach Blue Travel Group. With no luck and getting desperate, on Dec. 27 — one day before her trip — Nieto dialed from a different number. To her surprise, her travel agent answered.
“They said, ‘You’re going to travel by the 30th,’ and I say, ‘I’m ready.’ The 30th was almost around the corner, and nothing happened,” Nieto said.
“She was very upset because we had to change some of the dates at the beginning of the trip,” said Elder Salazar, owner of Blue Travel Group.
Salazar blames Nieto for not taking the trip.
“We never received a confirmation, email, or call saying, ‘Yes, I approved those changes,'” he said.
But Nieto showed us a WhatsApp message, in which she accepted the change on Dec. 27.
Nieto ended up taking Blue Travel Group to small claims court earlier this year and won, but she hasn’t received any payments from the company.
NBC 7 Responds asked Salazar if he is planning on paying Nieto the money he owes her, to which he said, “Yes, of course, but she has to file a form.” Nieto said she hasn’t received any forms to fill out.
Nieto is not the only Blue Travel Group client who has seen their European trip crushed. After paying $3,499 for a trip in October of last year, Maria Palacio said Blue Travel Group left her abandoned in Milan.
“My dream trip turned into a nightmare,” Miami resident Palacio said.
She said when they arrived in Milan, they had no hotel rooms, only a message from Blue Travel Group that operational issues were preventing the company from paying for the rooms.
Palacio said she paid her own way to get to their final destination in Barcelona, where she was able to fly home.
“They give you a form to fill out and wait 90 days for a refund,” said Palacio, who told NBC 7 Responds she never received a response.
After we asked Salazar about Palacio’s request, he offered her a travel credit — something she told us she’s not interested in.
Maria has filed a complaint with the California Attorney General’s Office, which regulates sellers of travel. The attorney general’s office told NBC 7 Responds in an email: To protect its integrity, we’re unable to comment on or even to confirm or deny, potential or ongoing investigations.
NBC 7 Responds was able to confirm with the California Franchise Tax Board that it suspended the company’s registration in May due to not filing tax returns.
The state of Delaware, where the company was incorporated as BTG Travel, told NBC 7 Responds that the “entity is void” and owes about $188,000 in taxes. Salazar said they are working on paying those.
We asked Salazar if he’s taking money from clients and not planning their trips. “No, not at all. Every client or case has to be investigated because it’s not just like, ‘Pay us, and forget about BTG Travel, and we will never call you again,'” Salazar responded.
Nieto said she will keep finding ways to get her money back and regrets not doing her due diligence before sending money to Blue Travel Group.
“I’ll be more careful what I do on social media,” she said.
Here’s what to do before booking with a travel agency:
NBC 7 Responds found three other small claims cases Blue Travel Group lost in Los Angeles County.
The court system is another place we can all search when deciding whether to hand over thousands of dollars to a company.
