“So Sad”: SA Stunned as Woman Accuses Travel Company iLikeTravel of Fraud, Company Fires Back

A South African woman known on TikTok as Susa, real name Philile Nozile Sikhakhane, went viral accusing uMhlanga-based iLikeTravel of fraud and failing to refund her around R60,000.

The videos, posted between 6 and 8 June 2026, showed a heated confrontation at the company’s offices. But documents shared with Briefly News tell a more complicated story.

Sikhakhane had enrolled for a US J-1 hospitality trainee programme through iLikeTravel, acting as a local recruitment partner for American Journey Cultural Exchange. She was successfully placed at the prestigious Sea Island Resort in Georgia, with her training set to run from October 2025 to October 2026.

What the documents show

Official US Department of State documents show Sikhakhane signed her training placement plan on 27 August 2025. She was placed in a four-phase culinary and hospitality programme at a five-star resort. Her visa application was later declined by the US Consulate, which ended the placement before it began.

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iLikeTravel told Briefly News the total amount paid was R43,100, not R60,000 as claimed. The signed contract Sikhakhane put her initials on states clearly that if a visa is declined, up to 80% of the full programme fee is non-refundable. A separate clause states that applicants aged 30 and older are not entitled to any refund at all in the case of a visa denial.

Despite this, ILikeTravel says it paid two refunds totalling R36,600 as a goodwill gesture. Sikhakhane says the outstanding balance has not been settled and that the company blocked her on all platforms before she tracked them down.

The company denies blocking her, saying communication was redirected to email to keep records. On the office confrontation, ILikeTravel says she arrived without an appointment and became verbally aggressive. They say CCTV footage and security statements confirm no physical contact took place.

iLikeTravel has referred the matter to its legal team over what it describes as defamatory social media posts.

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Briefly News contacted Sikhakhane for comment before publication. She declined to engage, saying she would not be providing her side of the story or participating in a media discussion. She said any further engagement would need to happen through her legal representative and added she had no further comment.

Watch the drama in the TikTok clip below:

Source: Briefly News