Dubious yacht rental
How holidaymakers have to fight for money because of “Zizoo”
Suspected fraud at the promising boat charter start-up Zizoo: customers, including Georg B. and Thomas K., are said to have been cheated out of their money for bookings made in 2023. krone.tv spoke to the two victims, their lawyer and went in search of the alleged company headquarters in Vienna.
The vacation ruined, the down payments either not refunded at all or only partially - a sailing trip planned as a relaxing break has turned into a farce for many customers of the online boat rental company Zizoo. The platform, once a promising start-up, is now at the center of a scandal and fraud is suspected.
Promising start-up
The online portal allows you to charter anything from a simple sailing boat to a yacht or catamaran for your vacation. The start-up launched in Austria by founder Anna Banicevic promised success. After all, boating vacations became increasingly popular during the coronavirus crisis.
But last year, the wind blew from a different direction. Suddenly, down payments for a booking via Zizoo were apparently no longer being forwarded to the charter company.
Only noticed when it was already too late
Affected customers often only noticed this when it was already too late. Some even only noticed on the jetty when they realized that there was no boat for them. Those who were still optimistic were hit particularly hard: they paid the amount again, this time to the charter company, in the hope that Zizoo would refund the money later.
This hope was often not fulfilled. Instead, tourists are put off by Zizoo and any refunds are delayed. Even during krone.tv's research, the company delayed its statement on the fraud allegations further and further until it finally provided a substantive response.
Lawyer Paul Kessler represents five injured parties, including Georg B. and Thomas K. (see also video above). He speaks of around 50 victims in Austria, in Europe - as far as he knows so far - there are 100. "But I can't say exactly, I only know a small section," says Kessler.
The Charlottenburg district court in Germany initiated insolvency proceedings against Zizoo in February, a journalist familiar with the case from the German newspaper "Tagesspiegel" told krone.tv. In addition, preliminary proceedings have been initiated on suspicion of fraud and delay in filing for insolvency.
The search for the company headquarters
In the article above, krone.tv editor Aurora Bajgora talks to the injured parties Georg B. and Thomas K. and their lawyer - and searches for the alleged Viennese company headquarters and clarification from Zizoo CEO Anna Banicevic.
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