Could it be that I've become a Victim

[CorFL]

Hi,
I live in the netherlands and we will be arriving on thursday dec 23 in the evening...

Rented (hopefully) a villa in the subdivision Esprit,

The problem occurs that while asking for the CheckIn info, the owner keeps telling me it will arrive by email.

First he writes I'll receive within 14 days before arriving
Then he writes it will be 10 days
Last week he wrote me 7 days

And since it's now only 6 days to go, I wrote him again, requesting the info with the door key codes, etc. etc...

I'm getting a bit nerveous...
There could be an honest reason... or simply that I've been had...

Everything has been paid for last october, even meat him then...

Is there anyone who would be so nice to give me some advice
Is that owner known by anyone of you...

I'm getting the shakes, doing business like this

Regards...

[blott]

Cor, I don't for a minute think that you have a problem. However, as you're sounding worried, please contact Roger with the owner's name, etc (I've removed it from your post) and he can tell you if he's an advertiser on the OV websites.

Have you tried ringing the owner (if you have the telephone number)? Sometimes, with spam deletions, etc, it's possible that email isn't getting through properly?

[LiesaAnna]

hopefully not............
do you have a phone number for them????????????

call him......
or .......seee how it goes, but leaving it until the last minute could be disatrous!!!!!!!!!!
you must have a contact number for them?
i felt a little concerned about mine, thinking he would have contacted us early, but he did so 10 days after we contacted him, simple explanation, he was in florida on vacation!!
hope all goes well, my fingers are crossed!!!!!


did you book through here??????????? if yes then DM john and set you mind at ease as you probably are aware they are all verified owners on this site!!!

let us know how you get on!!!!!

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

DM me with the name of the owner and I can see if they advertise with us. Hopefully there is a very good reason why they have not contacted you but I will be able to say with more certaibty with the owners name.

[DarrenShort]

Hi Cor,

I am sure that this will be a small problem with email, as said above, some emails are now stopped by spam scanners which can cause problems with delivery.

I am certain that if you have booked through this site with its verified owners, you will be able to resolve your non-contact from the owners.

Good Luck

[Katys Grandad]

I sincerely hope you haven't been 'had' and things work out. Please let us know how you get on.

I don't know how often these things happen but I heard a worrying story from someone I met on the Gulf Coast earlier this month.

It seems that the couple I met were relaxing by the pool of a condo complex when an American man on the sunbed next to them asked which condo they were in. He went on to tell them that he owned 1 of the condos and could save them money (and tax) if they rented directly through him if they came back at a later date. He took them to the condo and showed them around and they agreed a price for their next visit some months later. The man was insistent that they didn't tell the renting agent about the arrangment or he would have to pay the commission fee and pass it on to them. A small deposit was handed over and e-mails were exchanged over the following months. Shortly before the rental dates a key arrived from the US and the balance was posted back.

I think people reading this will know what's coming next!! The couple turned up at the condo as arranged and the key didn't fit the door. No contact could be established with the 'owner'. It turned out that the man had simply rented the condo for a week and had pulled this scam on at least 1 other couple.

With the benefit of hindsight it seems that the people handing over the money were foolish but they had checked that the unit had been reserved beforehand (of course the fraudster had done that in a false name) and he of course seemed perfectly genuine, even telling them about the decoration work 'he' had done on the condo.

Do you experts have any experinece of similar scams?

[Nostromo]

Even if it turns out to be scam (which I hope for Cor's sake that it does not), surely the authorities should be able to trace whoever is behind it? Cor say's that he has even met the man in October and probably has other info about him.

In all probability, the owner has immersed himself in Chrismas preparations and simply forgotten to make good his promise to Cor. I hope it all turns out well for Cor.

[chris c]

Hello Cor,
I sincerely hope that everything works out well for you.
It does seem a little unusual that you have not received the information yet!
I would have thought that you should have been given the details once you had paid the balance.
Look forward to hearing that it has all worked out all right!

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

I've been told the name of the owner and it's definitely not anyone on our sites. I too suspect maybe the emails are not gettinbg through - have you tried faxing them?

[ellie]

I have DM you, Cor, in case we can be of help.

[orlandobabe]

Hope you've got it all sorted.

I can't understand why the owner kept writing to you-telling you how long the details would take to arrive-instead of just sending them!

[Katys Grandad]

I'm hoping that the reason you haven't posted the outcome is that you are so busy getting ready for tomorrow's trip having received what you were wanting!

[LiesaAnna]

am hoping thats the reason to!

you've been on my mind alot, hurry up and let us know! fingers and everything else crossed!!!!!

[Ray&Sarah]

Hope this all got sorted out for you, have a lovely christmas.[msnsmile2]

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

It was all sorted out a few days ago now - I think the emails were not getting through but contact was indeed made [msnsmile2]

[Magical Dreams]

Another Good Ending!!

[xmas1]

So so Glad it is sorted

Have a Great time Cor!!


[xmas2]

[LiesaAnna]

Great!!!!!!!!!!! [clap][clap][clap][clap]

[jolliffee]

Well I hope Cor has a great time, though I would have thought an update would have been due since the original post generated quite a lot of activity.[msnsad]

[Magical Dreams]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by jolliffee
Well I hope Cor has a great time, though I would have thought an update would have been due since the original post generated quite a lot of activity.[msnsad]
[/quote]

I'm sure he will once they return!!

I think he will just be glad its all sorted out!!

[Katys Grandad]

As I'm sure we all are!!!

[Magical Dreams]

Too Right!!

Alls well that ends well!!
[xmas1]

[tuzanne]

We had a bit of a problem contacting a future guest because all the emails we sent to him were being returned. He must have very high protection against virus and our mail was being intercepted by his software. He had set it up so that you could only reply to his emails and not send him one unless you were. I wish that people who are renting a villa would put the email address of the owner in their address book to stop this sort of thing. I always include my telephone number incase someone has a problem with emails so that they can ring to check up on details.

As for the above scam I think that the man who rented a villa from someone who he just met sitting by the pool was mad. At least if anyone rents from someone on a site like this or similar will know that the owner has been checked out. I bet he was being offered a really cheap rate. Why can't people learn that you never get something for nothing nowadays.

Sue

[Katys Grandad]

The scam was more sophisticated than that. Like all these things, they seem obvious only after the event. I have deliberately not posted the details because it was pretty clever and was supported by other activities and documentation which are best kept out of the public arena.

I prefer not to be overtly critical of others without knowing the full facts.

All these transactions rely to some extent on trust. Sometimes that trust isn't justified but that doesn't make the individual 'mad'.