Member Article

Manchester’s Mecca pilgrims advised to check before travel

Muslims in Manchester preparing to go on Hajj pilgrimages are being advised to book using reputable travel agents.

Manchester City Council’s trading standards officers accompanied by an officer from Birmingham trading standards, visited companies selling Hajj packages on September 2, making sure they were able to guarantee their customers’ money would be protected.

Birmingham City Council has received National Trading Standards Board funding to make sure British Hajj pilgrims are not being ripped off by unscrupulous businesses.

They visited several premises and had concerns that businesses were not providing proper documentation, while one business was displaying a fake Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL) logo.

The officer will also now be visiting mosques across Manchester to advise residents about what they need to check before they pay for packages, and to listen to concerns about potentially rogue companies.

The Hajj, which this year takes place in October, is an annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia and is the largest gathering of Muslim people in the world.

Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it is expected to perform the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.

The City Council is advising anyone booking a Hajj package to make sure the operator is ATOL protected, meaning their money is guaranteed if the business ceases trading.

They should also make sure the tour operator confirms travel arrangements in writing, including names and addresses of company representatives at the destination, before the departure date.

All travel agents providing packages for the Hajj, or the smaller Umrah pilgrimage, also need to be accredited with the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia and registered with the Ministry of Hajj, which is responsible for visitors once they have arrived in the kingdom.

Councillor Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council’s deputy leader, said: “The Hajj is an incredibly important occasion for all Muslims, but sadly there are some unscrupulous businesses out there that are willing to exploit members of the community.

“We are advising anyone making the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia this year to make sure they are protected by booking their travel through a legitimate operator.

“We will also be visiting mosques with a specialist officer, so anyone who has been reluctant to come forward and complain about previous incidents can talk to us discreetly and in confidence.”

Sajeela Naseer, Head of Trading Standards for Birmingham City Council, said: “Today’s action by our Trading Standards officers and Manchester City Council has maximised our effectiveness in tackling Hajj package tour fraud.

“The visits related to businesses which we believe are defrauding and misleading their customers.

“We have been successfully prosecuting such operators for a number of years, and through our investigations we are identifying many more operators like these who are trading nationally through the internet or advertising.

“As we believe this is an under-reported but widespread problem, the National Trading Standards Board responded by establishing a National Task Group led by Birmingham City Council to help tackle these illegal activities.

“This has enabled us to adopt a co-ordinated approach working with different local authorities, including Manchester City Council, to clamp down on the perpetrators.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .