JEDDAH, 6 November — Several Umrah service companies in the Kingdom complain about heavy losses as a result of the fraudulent practices of their foreign agents, Al-Watan reported yesterday.
Owners of these companies also complained about being penalized for the negligence on the part of their foreign agents.
One of the ploys commonly used by the foreign agents is to demand from the Saudi companies the final clearance receipt for issuance of visas before the completion of procedures and payment of fees to the companies. On receiving the receipt, the agent informs the Saudi Haj Ministry that he has completed the contractual agreement with a Saudi company. (The receipt is the proof). He also informs the ministry that he does not want to continue collaborating with the particular Saudi company. He then chooses another Saudi company for umrah services. The ministry permits this though the agent has not paid the fees to the first Saudi company.
Another problem faced by the Saudi service companies is that the their foreign agents do not inform the Saudi companies in advance about the time of arrival of the pilgrim. According to Umrah regulations the Saudi company should be responsible for the pilgrim’s transportation and accommodation. The company is penalized if it fails to provide these facilities to pilgrims. The companies wonder how they can provide such services if they are not informed of the time of arrival of pilgrims.
Asaad Salama, who runs Bahas Establishment for Umrah Service, said his foreign agents owed him more than SR400,000 in fees for services rendered. The latest loss he suffered was at the hands of an Egyptian agent, who first said the payment was delayed because the documents were insufficient. So he sent the final clearance receipt to the agent. Instead of sending him the fees immediately on receiving the documents, the agent requested the Haj Ministry to cancel the contract with the Bahas Establishment and chose another service company.
The Saudi companies demand the ministry take immediate steps to protect their rights.
Abdul Aziz Al-Khereiji, chairman of the Haj and Umrah Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said several Saudi companies fell prey to fraudulent practices because they chose their foreign agents without verifying their credibility and financial status.
