Holiday warning as family book property that doesn’t exist ‘be careful’

Natasha Shek from Lingfield in Surrey, now wants to warn others about the risks involved of not booking through a legitimate site.

Natasha paid a £220 deposit to stay at a converted barn property to celebrate her mother’s 60th birthday. Unfortunately, she lost the money after discovering that the Cornish venue didn’t actually exist, as reported by Cornwall Live.

Natasha had booked the property for eight family members and their beloved dog for a four-night getaway starting from next Friday. She found the picturesque home, located on Polmear Hill in Par, advertised on Facebook Marketplace. Although initially skeptical, she received plenty of reassurance that the booking was legitimate.

The scammer even engaged in telephone conversations with Natasha, sent her a booking confirmation, and shared pictures of the property. To add a personal touch, he promised to arrange a birthday cake for their arrival.

However, just 10 days before their scheduled trip, he suddenly stopped responding to Natasha’s messages. It was then that she made the shocking discovery that the property never existed in the first place.

Recalling the events, Natasha said, “I had put a search online and a Facebook Marketplace advert came up. I was a bit dubious but the guy messaged straight back. He sent me photos of the place and then he sent all the information and breakdown with details and said the website was in the middle of being made.

Despite her skepticism, the scammer went to great lengths to appear genuine. He even provided a utility bill with his name and address and assured her that he would email the booking details and bank account information.

Natasha also had a 20 to 30-minute phone conversation with him, during which he sounded perfectly normal and friendly.

She said: “He even said his daughter could help sort a cake and put some bunting up and we’d already had one Airbnb cancel months ago because the owners sold the rental and he made a joke of it and said ‘don’t worry I’m not going to be selling’.”

The scammer gave no reason to doubt the legitimacy of the rental. He even mentioned the name of his housekeeper in their email correspondence and explained the absence of electric points, in case they had electric cars.

Natasha said: “After paying a £220 deposit, the remaining amount was supposed to be paid upon arrival. Once I completed the booking and exchanged a few more messages, I put it out of my mind. A couple of weeks ago, I messaged him to inquire about the cake, but I didn’t receive a response. I assumed he was busy or on holiday and didn’t think much of it.”

Days passed, and Natasha’s attempts to reach him were in vain. His phone calls went straight to voicemail, emails remained unanswered, and she noticed that the Facebook account used to advertise the holiday let had changed its name. Eventually, she was blocked from contacting him.

“Then I suddenly twigged,” she said. “I felt so stupid and if I could change anything it would be Googling the address and his name first because nothing comes up.”

Determined to uncover the truth, Natasha spent hours conducting her own detective work. She stumbled upon a nearby pub and decided to message them for help.

To her surprise, they responded within 10 minutes, confirming that the property didn’t exist. They also revealed that other families had fallen victim to the same scam.

Natasha said: “So other families have turned up and said [his name] and had nowhere to do. He’s getting away with it.”

Fortunately, Natasha managed to find an alternative place for her family to stay, ensuring that their weekend plans would proceed as scheduled. However, she suspects that she won’t be able to recover the £220 deposit since it was paid via bank transfer.

“It’s just about warning other people now about these scams and to be careful about what you’re doing.” she said. “I’ve never done anything like this before so it could happen to anyone.”

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