Holidays are all about relaxing and making the most of your time away from the daily grind. There are, however, those who see the relaxed holidaymaker as an easy target ready to exploit. To help make sure your holiday is a happy one, keep your eyes peeled for the below, courtesy of Panoramic Villas…
Online passport applications
Making a passport application should be relatively straight forward and easy to do through the government approved site. This, however, may not be the case if you fall foul of the recent emergence of 3rd party websites that state they will process your claim on your behalf and get the application done much faster. Watch out! These supposedly quicker and reputable sites fill in the form on your behalf and return it to you. For this service you are charged £72.50 (which you have to pay through the official government site). What they don’t make you fully aware of is that you then have to send off the forms yourself and pay the £72.50 again through the government site for them to process the application/renewal. So really you end up paying twice not to mention that you have just given all your personal details to an unregulated company and to top it all off it isn’t any quicker. Find out more about this here.
Fake property owners
Finding that ideal holiday villa that you have always wanted should be enjoyable and stress free. This, however, is not always the case with criminals posing as property owners who have fake adverts on Direct from Owner websites or they have hacked into legitimate property owner accounts and are intercepting their email enquiries so that you book with and pay them and not the legitimate owner. Never impart credit card details and always verify the property owner and their villa before paying over any funds by talking with the owner and contacting the site they are registered with. To avoid this danger and to find out how Panoramic Villas can guarantee your holiday home click here.
Airport pick-ups
Preparation and organisation are the key factors here to avoid being ripped off when it comes to getting from the airport to your holiday villa. Find out exactly where your villa is, and then use some local knowledge by either contacting the home owner or your booking agent like Panoramic Villas who will have local contacts they can recommend such as Transfers del Sol if you are flying into Malaga. If you turn up unprepared and are unsure of your destination and don’t have a transfer organised, then you are leaving yourself wide open to being exploited by unscrupulous taxi drivers who will drive the long way round or just simply over charge you. If you do take a taxi, make sure you get an agreed price first and make sure they stick to it.
Fake property staff
You have arrived, bright blue skies, stunning holiday villa and inviting pool with sun loungers. You can just kick back and relax and forget about all the security precautions you take in your own home nothing will happen whilst you are on holiday. Unfortunately, not and this approach is what criminals are relying on. These crafty crooks will target insecure holiday homes and try and sneak in even if you are in residence. If caught and challenged they will say they are cleaners and maintenance staff and can come back later. These criminals are targeting small items they can grab and go such as laptops, jewellery and phones. Make sure your villa is locked at all times even if you are just round the back relaxing by the pool. If you have gates use them, anything to deter the opportunist. Use the safe and do not let anyone in the villa unless accompanied or authorised by the owner or representative.
Pick-pockets
Among the criminal fraternity being a pick-pocket is considered a trade. As such these people are very good at what they do and their favourite target is an unsuspecting holidaymaker who is off their guard especially those who may have had one Sangria too many. Avoid taking lots of cash out with you and the money you do take should be split up across different pockets. Use inside jacket pockets or if you only have your shorts on use your front pockets. For ladies who are heading for a night out then an across the body bag is better than one that can be pulled off the shoulder. Do not flash the cash at the bar or ATM’s and attract attention – keep it low key!
© Panoramic Villas - the UK’S number one holiday rental business
