Friday, 20 November 2009 08:25
In these days of arranging your own flights and accommodation instead of booking a package, it is tempting to search for websites that can offer apartments, bungalows etc in the destination of your choice. Beware however as there are unscrupulous people out there who are only too eager to relieve you of your cash only for you then to find that the website is bogus and you will get nothing in return for your money.
Horror stories have recently come to light on a popular Gran Canaria website telling of people turning up on the island at their chosen accommodation only to discover that no booking existed. They booked their accommodation through a website named grancanariaholidays24h.com which, it transpires, was operated from Germany. The fraud originally came to light as a result of an eagle eyed, reputable accommodation agent discovering that the bogus site was offering rooms in properties for which he is the sole agent. The fraudsters had even copied the details directly from his own website. The agent immediately contacted the web hosting company which took steps to close down the fraudsters websites.
Further discussion in the web Forum of www.gran-canaria-info.com revealed that the crooks were also operating a site named parquesantiago24.com offering accommodation in Tenerife. Sadly, before the sites could be taken down, people had parted with money. This only came to light when a member of the Forum reported that he knew of people turning up at Villas Mirador del Mar and another apartment complex in Puerto Rico. Of course, no booking existed and they were faced with the choice of paying again or returning home on the next flight. This is not the first time this has happened and it is doubtful that it will be the last. Only a few months ago, unwitting Dutch holidaymakers suffered from a similar scam. So what can you do to avoid being caught by schemes such as this?
· Try and ascertain how long a business has been trading. These schemes are simple but open to
detection therefore they are not around for long.
· Google the name of the business and see if
anything adverse comes up.
· If prices look too good to be true then they
probably are.
· Be sceptical. Give the business a call and question
them. If you cannot make immediate direct
contact then treat that as a warning sign.
· Try contacting the accommodation direct to check whether the agent is bona fide.
These kind of crooks give the island a bad name even though they are not even based on Gran
Canaria. BBC Radio 4s consumer programme, You and Yours is showing an interest in these scams so it is to be hoped that more people will become aware of the risks they face when booking accommodation independently. If you have been caught in this way, it is important that you contact your local Trading Standards (if you are in the UK) and/or the police. The sooner these scams are stopped the better for all.
In these days of arranging your own flights and accommodation instead of booking a package, it is tempting to search for websites that can offer apartments, bungalows etc in the destination of your choice. Beware however as there are unscrupulous people out there who are only too eager to relieve you of your cash only for you then to find that the website is bogus and you will get nothing in return for your money.
Horror stories
have recently come to light on a popular Gran Canaria website telling of people turning up on the island at their chosen accommodation only to discover that no booking existed. They booked their accommodation through a website named grancanariaholidays24h.com which, it transpires, was operated from Germany. The fraud originally came to light as a result of an eagle eyed, reputable accommodation agent discovering that the bogus site was offering rooms in properties for which he is the sole agent. The fraudsters had even copied the details directly from his own website. The agent immediately contacted the web hosting company which took steps to close down the fraudsters websites.
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