Basketball legend Brett Maher among clients affected as Champion Travel goes into administration

CHAMPION Travel at Rose Park has gone into administration leaving clients wondering how they will get tickets they had paid for.

BASKETBALL legend Brett Maher is among a growing number of people discovering they are owed tens of thousands of dollars after the collapse of Champion Travel at Rose Park.

The company still has its website operating but is locked and vacant, the phone is not answered and records show it went into administration on May 14 with BCR Advisory.

A BCR Advisory spokesman confirmed the company was now in liquidation.

Maher, pictured, worked with Champion Travel several years ago to form the company Brett Maher Basketball Tours.

However, he told The Advertiser he now has no association with the company.

“I’m actually owed quite a bit, and I know a lot of people who are owed a lot of money,” he said. “A lot of people have been hurt by this.

Basketball legend and Special Olympics ambassador Brett Maher with athlete Nicholas O'Brien during promotion of the event earlier this year.

“I certainly don’t have any connection with them now.”

Last year, Maher wrote a promotional piece on his venture saying: “A couple of years ago I joined Champion Travel and formed the company, “Brett Maher Basketball Tours”.

“We work with clubs and schools to put together basketball tours from Australia to USA and also USA to Australia. These tours include games, accommodation, travel, sightseeing and through our unique network of contacts some really specialised, exciting NBA and NCAA experiences.

“The reason I got involved with these is because when I was 13 years old I went on a similar tour to USA and had an unforgettable time with lifelong memories.

“It’s now my goal to create similar memories for the kids of today.”

With the website still up and no message on the phone line advising of the situation, clients are only discovering the company has gone bust by word of mouth or visiting the office.

One client who repeatedly tried to contact the firm by phone and email only discovered the situation when he visited in person to find the office empty and locked.

He says he paid $4500 for air tickets last November for his family’s dream trip to Europe which he has now discovered were never purchased.

He said he now faces paying thousands more for tickets for the planned trip — or disappointing his family.

“We have since learnt there are many more people like us who thought tickets had been purchased with the money we paid,” the man, who did not want to be identified, said.

“There was real pressure to pay upfront to get early bird prices.”

The Advertiser contacted Champion Travel director Mal Simpson for comment but his mobile phone is on voicemail and the call was not returned.