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Holiday From Hell

A couple from the South West, say they are stuck in a village in Corfu, which Mirrors a war zone.

Mick Clarke and wife Jayney claim they are stuck in the village of Agios Gordios, Corfu, which they’ve said has no water, is strewn with rubbish and is making them ill. Mick is a former soldier and says the resort reminds him of his time serving in war-torn Bosnia. And Jayney has a rare blood disorder she calls a “ticking timebomb.”

“This holiday was supposed to help end a really bad time in our lives. I was really ill last … Read more

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Marriott Vacation Club Extend Property Portfolio

Interval International Vacation Services has announced it is adding Marriott Vacation Club Pulse in San Francisco to it’s growing exchange network. It is the newest addition to the groups portfolio and adds a new resort for those seeking urban breaks.

Marcos Agostini, Interval International Executive Vice President said: “It’s no surprise that Marriott Vacation Club has extended into one of the most highly sought-after destinations in the world. This growth strategy clearly aligns with Interval’s research that shows members are eager to experience timeshare vacations in major metropolitan areas.”

Ed Kinney, Global Vice President said: “Marriott Vacation Club Pulse … Read more

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Timeshare exit firm banned from business

A timeshare exit company has been permanently barred from operating and ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars back to customers it conned.

Owners Steven Martin did not show up in court when the ruling was made, however the judgement ruled against him and his company who were found to be charging clients exuberant fees for so called timeshare exit services.

The company first came to the attention of officials several years ago and in 2017 The Better Business Bureau issued a warning against the company as they had received hundreds of complaints from customers across the United States … Read more

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New type of courier fraud targeting older victims

Vulnerable and elderly people are being targeted by scammers and coerced into spending thousands of pounds on designer watches and other costly purchases in a new type of courier fraud.

Harrods and Watches of Switzerland say their staff have repeatedly prevented people from spending large sums of money they were being coerced into giving to fraudsters waiting for them outside. The stores say that the problem has become so serious that the shops have ordered their store detectives to not only be on the look out for thieves, but also watch out for shoppers who appear to be making purchases … Read more

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Another Warning Over Booking Pilgrimage

Action Fraud is warning people to be cautious when booking their pilgrimages.

Action Fraud, the reporting service, is warning anyone looking to book an upcoming pilgrimage to the Middle East, to exercise extreme caution as fraudsters are specifically targeting Hajj trips.

Up to 25,000 British Muslims will be booking trips to Mecca over the coming months to perform Hajj in the autumn.

The total reported loss to victims was £185,967 betw,,een July and December 2018. The public are urged to check that their travel company is a member of a recognised association such as ABTA

Last year, in the period … Read more

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Virgin Media issues warning to customers over scam phone calls

An elderly man is warning people to be vigilant after he was targeted by scammers.

A man is warning customers to be vigilant after receiving several scam phone calls claiming to be from his telephone provider. John Brown, from Darlington, had been receiving missed calls and automated messages from ‘British Telecom’ stating his internet and broadband with Virgin Media would be cancelled.

The messages, which he received almost daily in the space of four weeks, told him he could solution this by calling a certain number and pressing ‘one’ to speak to someone claiming to be tech support. Already suspicious, … Read more

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Woman Scammed out of £300,000 in romance fraud

A woman from Northern Ireland was focused by a fraudster through Facebook, who conned her into a three year relationship.

 The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, was lured into the relationship which started three years ago, but just three months in he started to ask for money from her.

It started with the romance fraudster asking her for money so he could send his children to England for a better education, but developed into him asking for money to invest in Ghana and Dubai. In total, she sent the man more than £300,000 which was deposited into different accounts … Read more

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Don’t let a scam ruin your holiday

Fraudsters stole more than £7 million from holidaymakers in 2018.

Action Fraud’s figures show more than 5,000 tourists were conned into paying for fake flights, non-existent villas and other scams. Figures released by Action Fraud show the average amount lost due to holiday fraud in 2018 was £1,380.

Travel trade organisation Abta’s chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “The cost to victims is not just financial. This crime causes very real emotional distress. Fraudsters are using increasingly Elegant methods to target destinations and times of year when demand is high and availability limited, as they know people will be looking … Read more

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Woman used by criminals in bank fraud case

A mother-of-two who acted as a mule for an organised crime gang has been exempted jail after she admitted multiple frauds.

The 35 year old woman from Belfast, was described in court as a vulnerable woman with a heart condition picked on by fraudsters. Joanne Rice pleaded guilty to 14 counts of fraud by false representation over a six day period in 2016.

The M&S bank accounts that were owned by a separate customer had £85,500 transferred from it into what was described as a mule account, one of which belonged to Joanne Rice. In fact, over a six … Read more

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Passenger Thrown Off Flight For Nut Allergy

A British holidaymaker claims he was thrown off a flight when he told cabin crew he suffered from a nut allergy.

Josh Silver from Essex was returning from a trip to Turkey with his girlfriend. He told the BBC how he was guided off his flight back to Gatwick by Turkish police, after cabin crew staff told him it was against its policy to fly someone like him.

Mr Silver, who said he flew regularly for work, has a nut allergy which is not airborne. It only affects him if he consumes nuts. He said before leaving Gatwick he had … Read more

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