The drama surrounding a Minnesota travel agency continues.
The story follows Minnesota travel agent Monica Faulkner as her fellow travel agents share their stories. FOX 9's Karen Scullin reports on this story.
(FOX9) – First, there was the Carnival cruise debacle, then there was the trip to Costa Rica, and many of our paid future trips are now cancelled.
FOX 9 found travel agent Monica Faulkner outside her St. Cloud home and tried to get answers. When we knocked on the door, a man told us, “She's not here.”
FOX 9 after Faulkner took a group on a cruise and watched from the pier as some travelers departed without rooms and their spring break plans departed without them. began receiving complaints in March.
Melissa Nash, another travel agent at the same agency, initially thought the cruise accident was an innocent mix-up. But then her doubts grew while she was on a training trip to Costa Rica with 76 other of her agents. Everyone paid for their lodging, and Faulkner even had their shirts redone. However, the problems started the moment we arrived by bus.
“We were on the corner for five hours. One of the female couples was on a walker. One of them is diabetic and fell. Her blood sugar levels got low and she almost passed out,” Nash said. said.
While the group stood and waited, Mr. Faulkner tried to book accommodation. Nash says he had no idea what would happen next. “When I got there, I went upstairs and they said, 'You can share a bed with another travel agent.' I didn't know that,” she said.
“I said, 'No offense to you, but I don't just randomly jump into bed. I don't care if you're a man or a woman. No, I don't just randomly jump into bed with someone. I’m not going to share it. I don’t know.”
Mr. Faulkner did not show up for Monday's training, and the homeowners where the agents were staying were demanding money. “And all of a sudden they say, 'Monica's missing, we can't find her, blah, blah, blah. Let's pray.' And we're all crying and I'm like, she's had her fill. It's like–” Nash explained.
The agents were eventually kicked out of the house after Mr. Faulkner failed to pay. She left her country and returned to Minnesota. She informed Nash that all of her upcoming trips to Acapulco, which she paid for, would be cancelled. Tourists on Aruba also had their treks canceled.
She is promising refunds to those who lost money.
“What if she hurt someone? Someone is going to die because of her negligence or whatever,” Nash questioned.
Some say they were able to get some of their money back from Faulkner. On the other hand, some people are working with their banks and credit card companies to try to get their money back. But it looks like a lot of money has been lost. FOX 9 spoke to one woman who reported losing $10,000 on 10 trips she purchased. She said Mr. Faulkner stopped speaking to her.
FOX 9 is told a police report has been filed and someone has contacted the Attorney General's Office. But it's unclear what the next chapter of this story will be.
