Hundreds of Vietnamese in Australia have been cheated when trying to buy cheap flights to return home for the coming Tet holiday.

Many people found out that their tickets had been cancelled

The owner of the Vi Tran Facebook page has helped buy cheap electronic tickets for Vietnamese people in Australia for a year and built up a good reputation. However, many people had not checked the information on the booking right away and only found out that their tickets had been cancelled when the flight date was near. Vi also called many people just a day before their flights, saying that their flights were delayed. It turned out Vi used money of other customers to buy tickets from other airlines to complete the deal.

As more people became cautious and shared their stories on internet, it was discovered that over 400 Vietnamese people in Australia had been cheated. Some people claimed that the e-ticket they received might be fakes as there seemed no evidence they were in the airline operating systems.

When being questioned by customers, Vi said the person who worked for her had ran away and promised to pay compensation. Vi's Facebook page then shut down and her phone number now no longer works.

M.H, one of the victims, said she successfully bought a ticket via Vi Tran previously, so this time, she ordered tickets for her and her fiance's family for a trip from Melbourne to HCM City, Dak Lak and Hanoi and then from Hanoi to Melbourne for a total of AUD8,000.

As it became clear the tickets were useless, she is now rushing to prepare for the wedding as her fiance's family live in Singapore while waiting for tickets to Vietnam.

Vietnamese students in Australia are seeking help from the local police and the Vietnamese Consulate. Hundreds of students gathered at Vietnam Airlines' office in Melbourne on the morning of January 7, hoping a solution would be found.