SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (WLS) — They paid several thousands of dollars, only to see their vacations disappear and their money vanish, too.

Six people say they were cheated out of their dream vacations after trusting a South Holland travel agent who stopped responding. So, the ABC7 I-Team went searching for answers and for that travel agent.

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Many said they met the travel agent, Vikki McNuckle of ACL Travel Group LLC, through church or through other south suburban residents. Some had even been on trips with her before. They say the cost of their trips covered airfare and hotels.

“So no, I’m not postponing it any longer. I say if the trip’s not a go, then send me my refund,” said Christopher Suber.

Suber and his wife, Harriet, say they lost $35,000 after paying for two trips in 2024 to Dubai and Greece. They say those trips were rescheduled multiple times and then abruptly canceled by McNuckle. She acknowledged the money owed in a letter.

“And that’s a financial burden on us, you know, hurting us from doing other things that we may want to have tried to do, you know, when we still sitting here waiting to get $35,000 back out of our retirement fund that we took out,” Suber said.

Others in this group have similar stories.

“Postponed twice. And the second time, twice now, is totally canceled,” said Arnold Watkins.

Watkins says he paid $14,000 for a canceled Dubai trip and has been waiting for a refund since January. But he says he recently won a credit card dispute for $4,000.

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“Makes me feel disheartened and very disheartened because the simple fact of it is this was supposed to be my honeymoon trip,” Watkins said.

Eunice Lockett and her sister, Dorothy Eichelbergar, booked separately for a trip to Greece in October 2024 that never happened.

“Just tell me, you spent the money, OK? I rather for you to be honest with me, then just, you know, ignore me. It makes me angry, very angry,” Eichelbergar said.

Lockett says she did get the airfare refunded, but she filed a small claims court lawsuit, asking for the rest of her money.

Inez Thomas says she paid $10,000 for that same Greece trip but recently received a $3,000 refund, only for the airfare.

“Don’t steal from me. And that’s what I feel like. She has stolen our money,” Thomas said.

Consumers say McNuckle blamed the 2024 wildfires for the Greece cancellations but did not follow through on rescheduling, and refunds have not been issued. ABC7 also found another frustrated customer.

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“And this is going on a year. No vacation,” said Tracy Thomas.

Thomas says she and her roommate are owed $10,000 for the same Greece trip for her 16th birthday.

“I’m living paycheck to paycheck, so I should be able to use that to pay off whatever I need to pay off one if I choose to select another trip, that would be fine,” Thomas said.

Thomas says she was told a refund was on the way.

“She said that the refund would take 90 business days. That was the first time. Then when we started inquiring, she said, ‘It takes 120 days.’ Next thing I know, we haven’t heard anything and we’re calling,” Thomas said.

The I-Team found seven Illinois attorney general reports filed against the company. Many are from the consumers in our story, and some of these customers filed police reports. The South Holland Police Department told ABC7’s Jason Knowles that it is “actively investigating this case.”

Knowles sent several emails to McNuckle, called her and stopped by her home. We never heard back from that travel agent who these consumers say cashed in and broke promises.

“She cannot be trusted. Do not book any trips with her,” Watkins said.

You should always use a credit card when booking with a travel agent.

However, some of the consumers say they could not dispute charges on their credit cards because by the time the trips were officially canceled, it was beyond the window to dispute.

You can also research travel insurance. However, some consumers who had it say it did not cover losses since the vendor made the cancellation.

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