...and finally

A sale and purchase broker had acted for the Scandinavian sellers of a small cruise ship. An Australian company had signed a Memorandum of Agreement but had failed to pay the deposit or take any other steps to complete the purchase. The MOA was accordingly terminated, and the broker was instructed to find another buyer. Nothing was heard from, or of, the original buyer for several months until it came to the broker's attention that he was advertising tickets for cruises on the ship in a number of newspapers. Enquiries also revealed that travel agents had been sent brochures of these cruises. The broker realised that the cruises could never take place and the Club reported the matter to the Australian police and other authorities. These steps clearly prevented members of the public paying for cruises that would never have taken place.