Argentinian tourists facing ‘nightmare’ as scam leaves them stranded in Scotland

DOZENS of Argentinian tourists have been left stranded in Scotland after being scammed.

The 55-strong group of visitors travelled thousands of miles from the provinces of Rio Negro and Neuquen in the South American state.

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It is understood that they booked the multi-country European trip through a travel company in Catriel, Argentina.

The dream tour started on July 6 and was scheduled to end on July 28.

It cost each person nearly $8,000,000 pesos (£6,675) and they travelled through Portugal and France.

But issues began when they were moving onto Scotland, according to the Argentine news outlet ANRoca.

It is understood that they discovered that no hotels or flights had been booked.

The residents, from Roca, Regina, Catriel, Cutral Co and Zapala, had to make their own way to Edinburgh.

Speaking to ANROC, one woman, called Lorena, said: “There were flights that had not been purchased. Therefore, as we did not have the flights, we had to find a way to get there ourselves, by bus, train, to Edinburgh.

“We were not suspicious because we had already traveled with them and we had never had a problem.

“We got tired of asking for proof of things, but they told us ‘no, no’ that we should not distrust them.”

Those affected started paying for their trip, which was supposed to include several popular European cities, a number of months ago. 

But the itinerary has been unexpectedly cut short, leaving the tourists scrambling to finish their tour and make it back home using their own funds.

It is understood that some of the visitors had to stay with families who were willing to take them in.

They were supposed to spend two weeks travelling around Scotland, before splitting up to Greece and Naples, Italy, and finishing their trip in France and flying back to Argentina together.

Lorena revealed that the tourists will consider legal action once they return to home.

She said: “In February, they told us that all the flights had already been purchased and no, that was not the case. There are flights that were never purchased. 

“We had to pay money out of our own pockets. The trip cost us between £6,000 and £6,500 pounds.”

Another woman impacted by the situation said: “Now we are adrift. Many of us have return tickets for the 28th but we don’t know what to do because to return we have to put up a sum of money that many of us don’t have.”

Lorena added: “We paid a fortune and we are not considering the option of returning, because it would be throwing away the sacrifice we have made by being here and each one of us would have to take responsibility for the debt.”

“It is cheaper to try to continue with the trip than to advance it. It was a nightmare rather than a dream trip.”