Chan Brothers Travel has come forth with a statement responding to some Facebook livestreams, announcing that it is taking legal action against "false and unfounded allegations" made by certain public figures in the videos.

The case referred to a six-day five-night private Europe tour that the live streamers had booked under the travel agency in July 2023.

Chan Brothers did not wish to name the live streamers.

However, Wang Lei went live on Jul. 16, and claimed that he wanted to talk about a particular travel agency who made him feel like he "paid for salmon or cod, but got barramundi instead".

During the session, he said that he "just wanted to let [the viewers] know [their] point of view, and what [they're] uncomfortable about".

Wang said:

"We looked at the [itinerary] they gave us, but what they gave us was not exactly the same as what was written. It was completely different.

I used to say that I trusted the travel agency. I did trust them, because they’re a well-established brand [… but] I’m not asking you to reject this travel agency, neither am I asking you to protest against them."

Wang later revealed in another live stream that the travel agency was Chan Brothers.

Wang directed several of his complaints and frustrations with Chan Brothers staff at its group managing director Anthony Chan.

Chan Brothers' response

In July, Chan Brothers organised a private land tour of Croatia and Austria for a group of 15 including the livestreamers and their travel party, a representative of Chan Brothers told Mothership.

On the second-last day of the trip, an individual from the group contacted the staff over some feedback, which the company stated that they had "rectified to the best of [their] abilities".

They then invited the party to meet them after returning to Singapore, so that they could thoroughly investigate their concerns. 

"Dissatisfied with our response, the member of the party demanded to be promised compensation on the spot. He repeatedly mentioned how they would go live on Facebook if compensation was not promised immediately. On Jul. 15 and 16, 2023, the livestreamers appeared on multiple Facebook livestreams, in which they made a series of false accusations about Chan Brothers Travel."

Chan Brothers take legal action

Chan Brothers released a statement via Facebook on Jul. 31, saying that the company respected customer feedback.

However, it continued, the severity of the "defamatory statements" made against the agency had compelled them to take measured steps to "uphold fairness" and ensure that "truth prevails".

Mothership has reached out to Wang on Aug.1 for comment.

Top images via Chan Brothers and Unsplash