Jack S. Pujji, Lowest Airfare Finder ripoff dishonest travel agent Flushing New York

I contacted Jack Pujji, an airline consolidator, on 11/11/2003 about airline ticket from Chicago to Moscow. He made a reservation with AIR FRANCE departing on 12/19/03 and returning on 1/3/04. After I paid $915 with a personal check (ticket's full price) immediately, and Mr. Pujji told me that I would receive the ticket in two weeks. The ticket didn't arrive when promised. I contacted Mr. Pujji several times after that and every time that I spoke to him he said that he would send the tickets the following day. I started to panic when there was one day left before departure and I still had no ticket. After numerous attempts to contact Mr. Pujji, he told me that my reservation has been changed to SWISS AIR, but there was a problem with the return date. However, he promised to resolve that issue as soon as possible.

Nothing was resolved quickly, though. Needless to say my vacation in Moscow was spoiled because I was very concerned about my return date. While I was in Moscow my close friend in Chicago was in contact with Mr. Pujji. On 12/30/2003 Mr. Pujji told my friend that I had the option of flying back to Chicago with SWISS AIR on 1/5/04 (which was NOT my intended date of departure) or on DELTA AIRLINES on 1/3/04 (departure date that I had originally requested). However, I had to pay an additional $846.10 for the DELTA flight with my credit card because, according to Mr. Pujji, DELTA does not accept third-party credit cards. However, he promised to reimburse me for this amount immediately.

After I returned to Moscow on 1/3/04, I contacted Mr. Pujji requesting my refund, which according to him, was going to be sent on 12/30/03. He said that I would receive the refund in two-three days.
Since then I have been phoning and emailing him, but the refund has not been sent. He answers his phone only about once a week and each time he says that the refund will be sent the following day.

I contacted Better Business Bureau and New York Office of the Attorney General for help, but their attempts to contact Mr. Pujji were to no avail. Office of the Attorney General suggested that I go through small claims court, but since I do not live in NY, it would be quite difficult financially. I just filed another complaint with Department of Consumer Affairs, but I suspect that it will not bring any results.

As it turns out Mr. Pujji scammed countless number of clients and the disturbing fact is that he is still in business!!!

He has several websites: pujji.com; discounttravelbureau.com; abfcorp.com

If you have any suggestions on how to get my money back and how to stop this guy, I would appreciate very much your advice.

Tatyana
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.