WARNING - puertopollensa4all.com

[mike_dublin]

contact mastercard/visa

For the people who got scammed it might be worthwhile to send e-mails to Mastercard and Visa about the fraudulent sites as they use their logos on their payment pages.
SANTA PONSA 4 ALL - YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY - Payment/Discounts
PUERTO POLLENSA 4 ALL - YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY - Payment/Discounts

e-mail addresses:
consumer_advocate@mastercard.com
enquiries.europe@visa.com

Sent an e-mail to both, but got no feedback so far.

 

[eleanor]

I think you will find that these logos used on the sites are just copied and pasted and therefore not authorised by the credit card company.

 

[eleanor]

Hi Gaelic. The website for Santa Ponsa area is santaponsascene.com
We know the people very well who run this site. My husband spoke with them this morning and they will put a warning up on the site with instructions of what to do. This site is linked to many of my husbands sites so he will also ensure word gets around.

 

[mike_dublin]

Just trying to cover different avenues.

The not authorised use of the card logos might get the card companies to take action. And if the fraudsters have to remove them then less people would see them as trustworthy.

 

[eleanor]

Thats a good point Mike. The fact that the logos are on the site gives them credibility.
They probably wouldn't be able to track these people down but you would think they would have the power to have the site closed. Seems they are using quite a few web names though.

 

[Gommar Goffer]

I would have thought that the credit card companies could track these people down using the bank details that the credit card payment are proccessed to

 

[eleanor]

They probably don't actually have the credit card facilities which they state. I know from our own business that it is very hard to gain the facility of offering credit card payments. That is why I think they have just cut and pasted the logos. They probably make an excuse as to why payment can not be made via a card if requested or suggest that their is a problem with the payees card and encourage another method of payment. We came across a scam similar to this but not holidays a while back but luckily we didn't go further with the company. I think they are usually quite clevour in as much as they think of most things!

 

[gaelic girl]

Hi ELeanor thanks for that and please thank your husband too. I heard from the Sunday Mail(Scottish) i've to write to them with more details and they will look into it!'m not sure how many people paid by credit card but we sent an international bank transfer to Spain so have no hope of getting any money back x

 

[eleanor]

Thats so tough! Does travel insurance cover this sort of thing? Glad the Scottish Mail are getting involved. Sometimes this can lead to the bigger nationals getting the story. I hope all of this has not put you off a beautiful place. Fingers crossed you get some re-dress.

 

[gaelic girl]

Not at all Eleanor, would go back again no problem. People were so helpful trying to sort us out and throughout the holiday w e met some lovely people! Travel insurance doesn't cover scams so definatly relying on the publicity factor x

 

[eleanor]

Good luck Gaelic. Really hope you get somewhere with this. There are some disgusting people out there who are quite calculated. It is very easy to be scammed and as we have heard you are not alone. Be good to hear what the Scottish Daily Mail have to say. The other person it may be worth contacting, if not just to warn others , is Martin Lewis moneysavingexpert.com he may have an idea worth exploring. He's site also has a forum.

 

[gaelic girl]

Thanks Eleanor will try that too. The Sunday Mail has a consumor page called "The Judge" so its going through him, they may not publish it but they have said they will look into it x

 

[eleanor]

Thats good then. I also know that the Daily Mail on a Wednesday have a consumer money lady who seems to be quite good at dealing with problems. I think her name is Margaret Stone. You may find her online. Realistically it would seem you are unlikely to get your money back but if others can be warned and the lowlife caught then that would be a good outcome I suppose. I just feel so sorry for you and the others who have been robbed.

 

[pollensa]

Ironically, a lot of the press are carrying a story today based on a Press Release by Get Safe Online.

According to the BBC: "Some scam websites use images and other material copied from reputable sites in order to attract holidaymakers, although they are often quickly shut down."


"To help UK web users book their last-minute getaways more securely, Get Safe Online’s new Travel Essentials Checklist is available from today at Get Safe Online. Developed in collaboration with ABTA, its top advice includes:

Too good to be true? – five-star holidays at two-star prices probably are. If something doesn’t seem right, take additional steps to verify the offer and if still in doubt, stay away.

Don’t fall for fake competition scams – similarly, a common trick by fraudsters is an email claiming you have won part of a luxury holiday, but need to pay a small fee to secure it.

Check for approval – find out if your holiday provider is a member of ABTA or comparable travel organisation. If not, particularly in the case of private rental, do an online search to see if other travellers have had a bad experiences

Check authenticity of private villa rentals - speak to the owner/agent directly via telephone; if the number isn’t provided email and request it. (Telephone numbers are displayed for ALL our Private Rentals at rentals.puertopollensa.com) Although some owners will be unwilling to disclose these on their websites, there should be no problems getting these at the booking contract stage when the owner knows you are serious and the owner is genuine.

Do your research – get the full address and find it on Google maps, and ask for a full contract which should set out all the terms and conditions of the rental, deposits, payment terms etc. "

I have contacted our local Trading Standards yet again today & they are still looking into pp4all.com as it has to be dealt with by 'Europe' (Black Hole?).

 

[gaelic girl]

Thanks for that Pollensa very helpful. Yes i was told the same by trading standards that because this man is operating outwith the UK they are pretty helpless unfortunatly

 

[pollensa]

Unfortunately these websites are still running & I have been reading more & more reports of people being scammed who had booked for the summer holidays.

I have contacted Trading Standards several times & have got nowhere. Meanwhile we have tried contacting Strato the German comany who is hosting these sites and who should remove these sites.

We have emailed abuse@strato.de and just received this reply:

Dear Sir or Madam,

With reference to your e-mail, we inform you that we have taken care oft he
matter. Please understand that, in concern of data privacy, we can not
provide further information.

which is evidently not true. Therefore if any of you reading this have been involved either as a property owner or holidaymaker, please email abuse@strato.de with the details & maybe this will work.

 

[eleanor]

Data protection is always a large wall that can be hidden behind!
Lets hope if enough people contact the hosting company something will be done.

 

[pollensa]

Well it looks as if those sites are finally offline - let's hope they stay that way. Will now have to keep a look out for the next lot.

 

[clinkham]

City of London Police's Economic Crime Department

The Daily Telegraph Travel Section today has a main story about villa/accomodation fraud. Mallorca not mentioned, but other places were, including the Home Counties.
Here's the link
Police warning over 'fake' holiday villas - Telegraph

If anyone here has been affected, Det Supt Bob Wishart, from the City of London Police's Economic Crime Department may well be interested to hear from you.

I must say that we have booked accomodation direct with owners in the Port over a number of years. We have had no problems at all - in fact building up a relationship with the small number of owners we have used has almost become part of the holiday (I nearly said almost becoming a family friend, but that would be over egging the pudding!)

The upsurge in this type of fraud has got to be worrying for the private property owners, both the possibility of their properties being hi-jacked and the loss of confidence of their customers. The police recomendation for customers to only use ABTA/ATOL registered companies will not be helpful to the private owners.

Perhaps run a scheme where the money for a property rental is placed in an escrow (is that the correct term?) account till the rental is completed? It may affect the cashfow for a few weeks, but could be a confidence builder for the customer and ensure that the private rental sector remains in good shape.

I would point out that the two less than happy experiences we have had in the Port were provided by ATOL/ABTA members.

 

[pips]

Llistening to the radio today and at last warnings are being put out about bogus villa rental companies on the net. It's to late for anyone who lost their money this year, but serves as a timely reminder for those of us looking for next year especially now easy jet flights are out.