Hurb and government negotiate agreement to reimburse customers who had their trips canceled – Money Times

The travel agency Hurb, formerly Hotel Urbano, and the federal government, through the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon), are about to close an agreement to reimburse customers who were harmed when their trips were canceled by the company.

Hurb and Senacon are negotiating a conduct adjustment agreement (TAC), which does not yet have a date to be signed, but negotiations are at an advanced stage, according to the Ministry of Justice itself.

“The National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon) informs that there is still no date for the signing of the conduct adjustment term (TAC), given that the company needs to comply with the determinations made by Senacon. Negotiations are advanced, and the signing should take place soon,” the secretariat informed in a note.

The company reached an agreement with the Federal Court, in which it agreed to launch a platform to negotiate the amounts owed to consumers. The platform is scheduled to be launched in October. This agreement, according to Senacon, is “in line” with the requirements of the TAC proposed by the government.

“The TAC is an agreement in which the company undertakes to comply with the established clauses, including measures to repair damages to consumers and refunds; therefore, it can only be signed when the terms are in accordance with what Senacon required”, states the Secretariat.

According to the government, if the agreement is not complied with, the company could be ordered to pay a daily fine of R$1 million.

“When the platform goes live, Hurb will notify customers so that they can register and negotiate prices and services. The expectation is that all consumers will be reimbursed,” Senacon reported.

Crisis at Hurb

Last year, Senacon ordered the suspension of sales of flexible packages by Hurb and opened administrative proceedings to sanction the company for disrespecting the rights of consumers who purchased travel packages through the platform. At the time, the National Consumer Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, Wadih Damous, stated that the situation was “unacceptable”.

The crisis began in 2022 and worsened last year. In the first four months of 2023 alone, the number of lawsuits against the company in the São Paulo courts was already 46% higher than that registered in the entire year of 2022.

Customers were unable to travel and the company was already having difficulty honoring payments to partner hotels. On social media, users began classifying the company's practices – of offering travel packages below market price – as a “Hurb scam”.

Many of the complaints refer to the non-delivery of packages sold in the flexible mode. In this mode, customers must suggest three possible travel dates for the company to select one of them – or a date close to it.

The flexibility given by customers to the company to seek the best offers on the market, combined with the technology used by Hurb in the process, would be the reasons for the low prices.

Customers, however, waited until the deadline and were left without a response from the company.