Family left broke after Ballito holiday scam

A family of four from Newscastle were left disappointed and strapped for cash after their holiday accommodation booking in Ballito turned out to be a scam.

Tanja Parkinson told The Courier that she saw an advertisement on a Facebook page for a three bedroom house in Edward Place, Ballito opposite The Hops restaurant.

“We were desperate to find a place two weeks ago.

“I contacted the guy, whose name the police asked that I don’t disclose yet, and he emailed me an application and spoke to me over the phone.

“He said that we needed to secure the place by paying half the payment which was R8 000.

“Accommodation in Ballito is expensive and this was a last minute booking.”

Parkinson and her family planned to occupy the house from December 26 to January 2.

“I was also in contact with a lady who shared the advert on Facebook.

“She told me that she booked and cancelled at the last minute so the guy who advertised the house told her that if she also  shared the advert on Facebook – he would give her the deposit back.”

The lady later contacted Parkinson to tell her that she suspected the accommodation was a scam.

The panicked Parkinson asked a friend of hers from Ballito to drive over to the house and check out the place.

“My friend told me that the house was vacant and it looked as though it was empty.

“There was also a ‘Sold’ Rawson Properties board outside the property.

“That was when I realised that I had been scammed,” she said.

Parkinson’s contacted Rawson Properties in Ballito where the principal, Roelof Faul confirmed that the house had been sold recently and that the buyers knew nothing about the house being offered as holiday accommodation.

“The new owners have not yet occupied the house and the previous owners were a group of reputable people who would not have been involved in this scam,” said Faul.

“Every year there are similar scams and people probably find the property advertised online and decide to cash in.

“People should use reputable agencies when they are making bookings as agencies run a number of checks to make sure that everything is safe and legal before people occupy the place,” he said.

Parkinson has opened a case with the police and the scammer’s bank account has since been frozen, however his email account has been taken down and his number no longer exists.

“The advert has also been removed from Facebook.

“We are hoping that the police can trace him.

“My kids were really looking forward to going to Ballito but we do not have money for alternate accommodation,” she said.