ARC has announced a special agency audit project as the next step in its efforts to ensure integrity in the ARC agency ownership change process. The first phase of this initiative was announced in April 2010 in an effort to address concerns from both airlines and travel agents regarding potential violations of the ARC Agent Reporting Agreement (ARA).
Beginning September 22, 2010, the second phase of this effort will commence with an audit of approximately 30 agents. This project will select a random group of agency locations that have processed an ARC ownership change application within the past two years, ARC said.
These agency locations will be receiving a letter from ARC addressed to an owner of record asking the agency to certify that the ownership status of their locations(s) remains in compliance with the Agent Reporting Agreement (ARA). The agency will be asked to sign an enclosed certification document, which will be returned to ARC for review, ARC said.
If an agency changed ownership during this period but did not process the change with ARC, the agent will be asked to complete the appropriate ownership change application and submit it to ARC for processing. Normal ARC fees will apply but no penalty will be charged to the agent for the updating of these records, ARC said.
ARC expects this special audit process to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2010.
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