Paid deposit for Villa and now very nervous

[steph_goodrum]

Glad it's all sorted, now all you have to do is have a great holiday.

[brownm]

Great news that you got sorted Helen,

Have a great time in Orlando,

Regards,

Mark.

[thistle1314]

I was much too previous to think that this was all ok. Following on from my initial post I received information from the new owner on how to make the balance payment to him (international payment). I did using the details exactly as he'd emailed me. Below is the emails I sent to him, then took legal advice and sent the second email to the new and old owner. I'm so very worried now about my deposit. (2 emails sent are in quotes).

"I don't believe this. I've just called my bank to ask why this payment hasn't been confirmed by you and they say the money is sitting in your Canadian bank but your bank account should be 12 digits and they can't make this payment to you until they have the correct account number. I have Account No: XXXXXXXXX. I can't do anything more until I get the correct account number. They also close at 5.00pm (my time) which is noon (your time) so I'd appreciate if you could get back to me urgently as nothing will be done over the weekend either. Thanks"

after legal advice I wrote this.

"URGENT: Further to my note below I have taken legal advice and I now want to cancel this booking.

I have recalled the balance of 1360 pounds and the Canadian bank has charged me 15.00 pounds for this. I am entitled to the deposit back of 420 pounds plus the 15 pounds in bank charges refunded to me using a UK hard copy cheque as that was the way I paid. Can I suggest (name of new owner) and (name of previous owner) get this sorted with extreme urgency and confirm back to me today the measures in place to make this happen. Thank you".

I've got 52 days to find a villa and I'm so very nervous about using this site again. I should have trusted my instincts. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

[christhear]

Helen

As others have said there will still be villas available, put out a request on the associated sites. Please do not reply to anyone that offers their villa via this forum as they may not be verified owners.

[msmiff]

You've not given any time scale for the emails you have sent...
Many folk don't look at their emails on a regular basis & it could well be that the new owner hasn't read your letters...
Could you not contact the management company involved & get the owners' 'phone number ??
We've been renting our villa since 2003 & it's not unusual for people to send wrong bank details - either digits missing or transposed - entirely innocently....

[Katys Grandad]

I'm sure you aren't feeling very positive at the moment but I doubt you'll have any problem finding something that meets your needs in 52 days. I tend to be book late and haven't experienced real difficulties on much shorter deadlines.

If, as you say, you have taken legal advice, stick with that because while you will no doubt get supportive comments on here, most of us are well-intentioned amateurs on legal action matters.

Good luck!

[ujpest doza]

Quite often bargains to be had booking late as well, people with spare dates offering them out cheap.

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

As I mentioned above, if you want to let me know the owner's name (before and after the sale) and villa ref on our site by email to john@orlandovillas.com I'm more than happy to try and do what I can to speed things along.

[steph_goodrum]

Helen
In the meantime you could put out a tentative enquiry to check what is available, and be reading through what youu might find. Like many we often have late availability as peoples plans can change and they have to cancel. This is the best site we have found for supporting owners and guests when things do go wrong (in all walks of life things can and do go wrong from time to time), but it is how it is dealt with that makes the difference. We've had 2 sets who have had to cancel later this year due to unexpected circumstances and I'm quite sure the owner who took your original booking was not expecting to sell when they did so and I think they might be able to help contact the Management company and speak to the new owner in person to check what exactly is happening. I do hope you resolve it quickly but , regardless of when they return the money the sooner you have something else lined up the quicker you can relax for your holiday. Ask the people whose homes you are interested in to phone you in person and you will hopefully feel more confident about going ahead.

[Andrena]

You really need to let John help, he has already asked you for information about the people you booked with. The rest of us don't have the information to help. It is the integrity of this site at stake. Please get in touch with him, time is running out for you.

Andrena