听说， 某私校给学生安排自愿下个假期去美国NASA参加的camp 活动，
由于美国负责这个活动的公司倒闭， 导致私校已经交了定金或全款的家长，
亏了。
因为这个活动是自愿的， 家长自己付费给美国公司， 学校好像没有责任
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新闻上说，有好多家
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Hundreds of parents have been left up to $11,000 out of pocket after the abrupt collapse of a tour company offering school students “once-in-a-lifetime” study trips to NASA headquarters.
Actura Australia said it had gone into liquidation last week, immediately cancelling all of its 2024 and 2025 international space school expeditions.
Lucia Haigh has lost $7000 in deposits paid for her daughters to attend a space camp.
Lucia Haigh has lost $7000 in deposits paid for her daughters to attend a space camp.CREDIT:WOLTER PEETERS
Up to 700 students have been affected nationally, with private and public schools in Victoria and NSW holding emergency meetings over the company’s collapse. Some students were due to leave in less than a fortnight.
The affected schools include Reddam House, The King’s School and Forest High in Sydney, and Mentone Girls’ Secondary College, Firbank Grammar School and Korowa Anglican Girls’ School in Melbourne.
Tour company Actura offered two-week international study trips that promised to deliver “unforgettable” STEAM education in inspiring environments, including tours of NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, astronaut training and “immersive space missions”.
Actura chief executive Charles Chung told schools in a letter that the company’s cash flow had been severely affected by the COVID pandemic, a large increase in the cost of supply and significant reductions in registrations due to increases in the cost of living.
Space camp organiser Actura Australia announced it had gone into liquidation last week.
Space camp organiser Actura Australia announced it had gone into liquidation last week.CREDIT:ACTURA AUSTRALIA
Chung said Actura had “no financial resources to provide customer refunds”.
“We deeply apologise for this very devastating outcome,” he said.
One Reddam House parent, Lucia Haigh, said she had paid a $7600 deposit for her two daughters to attend a two-week space camp trip to the United States in July next year. She is one of about two dozen Reddam families affected by Actura’s collapse. Another Reddam parent said she had paid $10,900 upfront for one of her children to attend the camp.
“There were no signs this was going to happen. It’s very stressful, and many parents have been saving up for this trip,” said Haigh, who paid the deposit in three instalments. She said her last payment was on June 12, several days before the company went into liquidation.
Fourteen students from Melbourne’s Firbank Grammar School had been due to leave for space camp in less than two weeks. Their parents received news of Actura’s collapse late on Friday night.
‘We feel duped’
One father, who asked not to be named, said he had finalised payments for the trip in December, but there were still no flights booked under his child’s name. “We feel duped,” he said. “We’re just so shocked ... parents are extremely angry.”
Parents will meet Firbank staff on Monday night to discuss compensation. “We do feel like they are responsible for what happened,” the father said. “They brokered the deal with Actura.”
Westburn Advisory has been appointed to manage the liquidation process. All Actura staff have had their employment terminated, and the company’s office in northern Sydney has been closed permanently.
“Given all trading operations were managed out of Australia, this means that tours booked by students in other countries will not proceed,” said Shumit Banerjee, the appointed liquidator.
Reddam House has retained lawyers to advise and assist parents in communicating with the liquidator. In an email to families, the school expressed disappointment for the students who had enlisted in Actura’s programs.
“We are also very disappointed to have been informed that Actura has taken this step after undergoing financial difficulties for some time,” the email said. “We at Reddam House had no forewarning of Actura’s financial difficulties, and this information was not made available to us.”
Actura, which was established in 2014, offered international study trips, including CASE Space School, CASE Ocean School and CASE Film & Arts School expeditions.
Trips cost about $11,000 and were offered to a limited number of high-school students each year.
In the letter last Friday, Chung told parents that Actura had “exhausted all possible avenues for recovery of its negative cash flow position”.
Parents who have already paid some or all of their excursion instalments have been advised to contact their credit card issuer to make a chargeback claim.
On Monday, phones at Actura’s headquarters in northern Sydney went unanswered.
A message service told customers: “We regret to inform you that as of the 14th of June, 2024, Actura has permanently closed. Thank you for your understanding and support over the years. Goodbye.”
Actura’s closure has also affected students in New Zealand, where the company was reportedly charging up to $13,000 for children from 25 schools to attend a two-week space school program at NASA headquarters in Houston.
A NSW Department of Education spokesperson said 10 students from Forest High School had been affected by Actura’s liquidation. A Victorian Department of Education spokesperson said the department was identifying and working with affected schools to determine whether fees paid in advance could be recouped.
- SMH
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这样的？好多学校参加的。
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我觉得这事 多少学校也有些连带责任吧
不过肯定之前有免责条款 “霸王条例”
也是没辙
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这种皮包公司破产， 肯定是骗子公司
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以澳洲合同之严谨出了事基本上就是“活该，死去”。
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11000澳币两个星期算便宜了的，可惜破产了。
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上次聽說好像是印度人搞的活動。不曉得真假
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once in a lifetime的损失，反正私校有的是钱，应该赔偿家长们
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想叫学校赔钱基本是不可能的
一条disclaimer就把锅甩到太平洋那头了
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台湾人，小某书上有
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除非学校有过错，比如明知这家公司有问题，或者组织活动的人有受贿之类的行为，否则学校能有啥责任。这种事情都是没有过错就没有责任，否则学校没办法组织活动了。
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David Sunton?
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好像是去年也有一家倒闭的吧？这是第二家？
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这么理解您看恰不恰当
公司推荐了一个旅行社给员工 结果员工交了费用后 旅行社关了也好 卷了也罢
公司是不是也担沉重啊
虽然有免责之类的声明 但是大家会不会觉得 “这公司 也太不靠谱了吧？”
当然了 你说公司就是没责任 那也没办法
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有钱人的烦恼
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有的家长只是交了$1000定金，正在联系信用卡公司退款，不知道是否能得偿所愿。
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我得天啦，他们最近刚把最后一笔退款给我，算是他们良心发现吗？？？
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刚发现，邮件：
It is with regret and sadness that I must advise that Actura Australia Pty Ltd has with immediate effect gone into liquidation Friday, 14th June 2024.
Actura has exhausted all possible avenues for recovery of its negative cashflow position. Unfortunately, the financial position is unrecoverable. The company has ceased its operations effective today and Westburn Advisory has been appointed to manage the liquidation process.
Actura has no financial resources to provide customer refunds. Parents that have paid some or all of their expedition instalments via credit card are advised to contact their card issuer to make chargeback claim(s) which may provide for some recovery of costs.
Parents will soon be contacted by the liquidator with more information about the liquidation process. All parent enquiries should be directed to the liquidator. All Actura staff have had their employment terminated. The Actura office will be closed permanently and the phones will no longer be answered.
We deeply apologise for this very devastating outcome. The company’s cashflow has been severely affected by the compounding financial effects of a precarious recovery from the COVID-19 global pandemic, a large increase in cost of supply coupled with significant reductions in registrations due to the ongoing increases in the costs of living being experienced by families.
Kind Regards,
A close-up of a drawing
Description automatically generated
Charles Chung
Chief Executive Officer
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我想知道旅行保险是否保这种情况
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旅行保险一般都是机票，行李，事故，疾病
这个属于他们公司破产，和旅行没关系
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信用卡公司是可以退回的。但是，家长是用信用卡付给学校还是直接付给travel agent? 如果付给学校，那就没法追了吧。除非学校用信用卡付给travel agent.
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这种恶意倒闭很常见。毕竟多次破产的都可以当总统。
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真坑人
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校外活动适可而止，即便是奥林匹克竞赛之类，在澳洲也多是自费，感觉就是民间自发活动。自己甄别。
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现在是好好的事情就被这些老鼠屎搞臭了孩子们一起在学校和各方面的合作下出去开阔视野、锻炼能力，家长也省心些，多好的事情，就被这些老鼠屎搞砸了！
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去一次nasa能学到什么呢？
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我们学校也有这个， 不知道有没有受影响
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公司肯定没责任啊，还是前面的那个，除非你能证明公司在这个过程中有过错
这种只能靠自己买旅游保险保护自己
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