THOSE booking holiday accommodation on the South Coast need to be aware of opening their wallets to fraudsters who advertise falsely online.
Durbanite Talia Kambarran (21) contacted the Herald after she was defrauded of R2500.
Ms Kambarran saw an advert on a popular website advertising a 16 sleeper holiday home in Bairn Road in Margate.
She made booking arrangements with a man named ‘Armand Abbott’ and paid the R2500 deposit into his bank account.
Ms Kambarran said she had been in contact with Mr Abbott until she asked him if her parents could view the place beforehand.
When she tried calling him afterwards his phone was turned off and she has been unable to contact him since.
Ms Kambarran said Mr Abbott had sent her pictures of the house and even an invoice of her 50 percent deposit. “We are very disappointed that we don’t have a place to go to,” she said.
Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said a case of fraud was opened at Sydenham SAPS for investigation. The case is still under investigation and no arrests have been made.
Ugu Tourism South Coast CEO, Justin Mackrory, said this kind of thing was not unique to the South Coast and that Tourism had been proactive in bringing this to the attention of the Provincial Tourism Authority.
Mr Mackrory said he was very concerned that this trend had permeated the tourism sector and urged all prospective visitors to use extra caution when using third party accommodation brokers.
“If you are in doubt, contact Ugu South Coast Tourism, or approach the property owners directly, or use a credible travel agent. Consumers can also check out our listings on the website and in the Southern Explorer,” he said.
He advised consumers to first check out the credentials of a selling agent, for example, check directly with the property they are interested in to see if their selling agent is legitimate.
Mr Mackrory said consumers must not book online without making telephone calls to those agencies and requesting a reference from the trade and, if in doubt, double check with a local tourism body or association. “No telephone number, don’t deal with them,” he said.
He advised consumers to use letting entities that are based in the destination area you wish to go to. “Most tourism offices know their local service providers and they will notify you if an agency is appropriate or not.”
He urged consumers to check to see if the property for rent/lease is in fact an operational enterprise. “There are instances whereby properties are in fact fictitious and by contacting any one of our Visitor Information Centres, our databases can clarify if a property has the correct credentials,” he said.
