Language trip organiser leaves families without trips or refunds

Dozens of families paid thousands of euros for children’s language trips arranged by entrepreneur Gerri Vihman’s companies, but some journeys were cancelled at short notice and the money was not returned, ERR reported. Vihman said the parents of about 40 students are waiting for refunds totalling approximately €50,000.

Twelve pupils from a school in Jüri were due to travel to Spain this autumn. Their teacher organised the trip with Keeleõppereisid OÜ. Parents first paid €450, with the full €1,260 cost due by August 18. “Every parent paid this amount,” one parent told ERR.

The organiser was to arrange flights, accommodation with host families, a language school in Madrid and insurance. One parent said the arrangements seemed trustworthy until a final meeting with Vihman, the owner of Keeleõppereisid.

At the meeting, a parent raised concerns about previous problems with Vihman’s travel arrangements, including a cancelled trip to England for Lagedi school. Vihman replied that he had learned from his mistakes.

Vihman had promised to send the parents flight tickets, but on Tuesday he emailed them to say the trip would not go ahead. Teachers then asked whether the parents could book the tickets themselves. According to a parent, Vihman said he had no money left to refund them. The parents later found that no payments had been made in Spain. Vihman had collected €15,120 from the Jüri families.

One parent said the families came to believe they had been defrauded. Vihman told ERR that any business can have both successes and setbacks, and that things do not always go as planned. He said he had organised language trips for nearly 20 years and had never started a project intending to cancel it later and take people’s money.

Vihman said most trips had gone well and customers had generally been satisfied. He said he had cancelled seven trips over the years for various reasons, including at customers’ request and because of shortcomings in his own financial management. He said refunds had been made for all cancelled trips except the two most recent ones.

He said he was working on refunds and had been in contact with the Consumer Protection Board. Vihman also said a trip for a school in Tartu had been cancelled in a similar situation to the Jüri trip, and that he would work with the parties involved, including the consumer protection authorities or police.

Margot Leen, who leads consumer rights advice at the Consumer Protection Board, told ERR that four consumers had contacted the consumer disputes committee this year about Keeleõppereisid OÜ. Two received refunds, one withdrew their application and one case is being processed.

In 2024, 10 consumers approached the committee about Keelereisid Eesti OÜ. Five received refunds and four withdrew their applications.