A Lower Hutt schoolgirl whose family helped fundraise thousands of dollars for space camp has been left reeling following the liquidation of provider Actura.
Families around the country received emails after midnight on Saturday from the business saying all education trips had been cancelled and there wouldn't be refunds.
Consumer New Zealand chief executive Jon Duffy called it a "really difficult" situation.
He said if Actura took money knowing it could not supply the services, it could be a breach of the Fair Trading Act.
But enforcement of the Act can be difficult.
"For example, the Disputes Tribunal requires a New Zealand address in order for someone to make a claim," a Consumer NZ spokesperson stated in an email.
Actura New Zealand Ltd, which had an office in central Auckland, was owned by Actura Australia Pty Ltd.
Operations here and in Australia ceased on Friday.
The liquidator, Westburn Advisory, has not responded to 1News' questions.
Duffy advised the public to pay for trips through tourism businesses with a credit card, which may give customers the option to make a chargeback claim to get their money back.
He said financial collapse is not usually covered by insurance.
In an email to affected families, Actura chief executive Charles Chung apologised for the "very devastating" outcome.
"The company’s cashflow has been severely affected by the compounding financial effects of a precarious recovery from the Covid-19 global pandemic, a large increase in cost of supply coupled with significant reductions in registrations due to the ongoing increases in the costs of living being experienced by families," he said.
Australian media reported another space camp business, Edu School Tours, went into liquidation in March this year.
'Look at the director's history'
Lower Hutt father Mike Renata is advising other families to do thorough research when considering signing up for an overseas education trip.
"I suppose now if I'm using external providers, I'll look at the director's history and if there's any shady dealings going on... or if they've been involved with any insolvencies or liquidations of any other companies," he told 1News.
Renata said when his daughter Esmé, 12, found out about the opportunity to visit NASA in February last year from her school, the family launched a fundraising plan to support her lifelong dream to be an astronaut working at the International Space Station.
Esmé's mum took on extra shifts as a nurse at the local hospital, while the family fundraised by selling around 100 cooked meals as well as holding raffle and movie ticket events.
Extended family members also raised financial support for Esmé's trip through their businesses.
The trip was meant to take place next month, but the family is now around $13,500 out of pocket.
"A week ago, everyone was so excited and we're counting down the days and saying, 'Oh this time next month you're gonna be in Houston' and we just had no idea this was gonna happen. No inkling at all," Renata said.
He said parents should get feedback from other families who have experienced a trip through a business.
"Even if it was a successful programme, there still might have been underlying things in the background like lack of health and safety, lack of protocols, were the kids looked after, because you're trusting these people with your kids, you know, a world away so I'll do my due diligence that way."
Renata said the company's operations felt "legit" with regular communication from Actura staff members.
He said now reviewing the information provided he believes there were gaps, such as the flight number and departure time being provided, but no booking reference for the flight so he couldn't verify the flight had been purchased and down the line, if his daughter had been checked in.
"It's just so many things that you just wouldn't know to look into it because it gets promoted a lot and it's a dream for a lot of kids and as parents we want to keep our kids dreaming and knowing that they can achieve it if they want to, set their mind to it and so you don't want to stop them from doing that," he said.
A fortnight before the liquidation, the family paid more money off the back of another email offering a grade point average of 5.0 through the University of California upon completion of the space camp, for those who register.
Six days later, the company contacted the family with the subject line 'Esmé's last chance to grab exclusive Space School Merchandise!' and a brochure highlighting how a proportion of the merchandise profits would be donated to a scholarship fund.
'I didn't believe it was real'
Esmé said she experienced a range of emotions when she found out the trip was cancelled and her family had lost their money, which left her feeling numb.
"It almost felt like a dream because I didn't believe it was real, but I did at the same time," she said.
"So, I was just in this kind of out of body state of what should I do? Where should I go?"
Esmé said the trip was an opportunity to learn from the US about space.
"America is a place where dreams can really be set free and going to what I assume would be the only space school that I would have the opportunity of going to would likely help me feel better about this and want to pursue my dreams more than just staying at home and only thinking about what I could do," she said.
Despite the news, Esmé said it was just a setback on her journey.
"I guess the quote that's helped me throughout this whole thing was 'no pain, no gain'."
Napier Girls' High School principal Dawn Ackroyd was also shocked to find out the trips were cancelled in an email from Actura.
"Someone needs to be held accountable," she said.
"We're at a bit of a loss as to what we can do, but we will do anything and everything that we can. We've been in touch with our insurers and sought legal advice to see where we stand."
The school has had students go on space camp through Actura previously.
Eight students were signed up for a trip in December.
New Zealand-based space company Rocket Lab is in the process of planning visits to its Auckland base for affected students, but transport for people outside of town would not be covered.
"To be a child dreaming of working in space, or whatever your dream is, to have that ripped away from you is so gutting and heartbreaking and if that doesn't make you feel something and want to help, then we just absolutely had to," Rocket Lab communication senior director Morgan Connaughton said.
"We have arguably something better right here in New Zealand, which is a rocket factory and a mission control... and, you know, 700-odd engineers and rocket scientists that they can come and meet so we'd love to have them through the factory as soon as we can."
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