An Edmonton based, Wild Rose Vacation travel club has been charged for supposedly taking money from customers' bank accounts without any authorization, misleading members and failing to compensate customers on given time.

The club and its Director John Kenneth Purdy are charged with 17 counts under the Fair Trading Act and the Travel Clubs Regulation for offences that allegedly occurred between March and December 2009. Eight couples were involved in the conspiracy.

In year 2006, Company didn't have travel club license and was ordered by Service Alberta to shut down. But later on they obtained license and resumed operations. But again in 2008, they were again ordered by Service Alberta to refund consumers who canceled their agreements.

The Government laid the charges after vacation club members continued to complain about the company. If found guilty, Purdy and the Company could be fined up to $100,000 or sentenced to up to two years in jail for offences under the Fair Trading Act, Service Alberta Minister Heather Klimchuk said.

"Alberta has clear rules to protect the rights of consumers who deal with travel clubs," Heather Klimchuk said. According to Alberta, there are serious consequences for businesses that fail to follow those rules. Consumers, however, continued to complain to Alberta about Wild Rose's practices.