Be careful of fly by night holiday letting agents
You don't want to lose your money and not have a holiday at all.
There can be few things as distressing as booking and paying for your holiday, only to find you have been fleeced.
In the past there have been many calls from people stranded at their holiday destination and then realizing that the place does not exist and realizing that they have lost all their money that they have paid. In most cases the full amount of their booking, and not only a deposit had been paid.
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: Warning: Be careful when booking a holiday
Most of the people who have been scammed then need to find alternative accommodation and pay again for it, and it is nearly impossible to find accommodation at such a late stage especially over the July and December periods.
Joan van Loggerenberg from Uvongo Holidays urges people to watch out for these agents who steal photos from websites and advertise it as their own. “Clients then pay them in full and when they get to their holiday destination the place does not exist, or they let the client know they have a double booking and never pay them back for the accommodation.”
Joan suggests checking following before paying over any money:
- Do you know you have to be an estate agent to be able to do holiday letting bookings
- Do you belong to the Estate Agency Board
- If yes, could you please send me your latest Facility Fund Certificate, which must be for the current year as it needs to be renewed annually
- Are you a registered company, and if so please supply the CK registration number
- Check if the advertisers website carefully
- Should it be advertised by an owner you could request proof of ownership.
- Please be careful when booking though advertisements in Junk Mail or OLX, as scammers seem to advertise there.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
For news straight to your phone, add us on WhatsApp 082 421 6033
