A mum burst into tears after realising she had taken her family to a fake holiday home after falling for an online scam.
On Christmas Day Leanda Parrott excitedly told her family that they would be heading to the seaside for a New Year's holiday, prompting the four little ones to race off and pack their bags. Several days later, ahead of the turn of 2024, the six of them hopped in the car and drove two and a half hours to the Sussex destination.
It was only when Leanda knocked on the door that she realised something was wrong. "The home owner came out and said 'I'm sorry to tell you but we've had ten families turn up just today and yesterday and this is our family home'," Leanda explained on ITV's Holidays: Get Away for Less.
"I was just in shock. I remember looking at the car, at my kids' faces, and I just started crying on the man's doorstep because I thought, 'I've got to tell them that we've got to drive home now'."
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Leanda's kids were distraught following the realisation that they'd have to head back home straight away. Her six-year-old could not understand what being scammed meant and kept asking if they'd be able to go in the hot tub as promised.
Over a two day period the home owners had 30 families turn up at their property, all of them seemingly having fallen for the same holiday scam online.
In Leanda's case, she had spotted an advert for the three bedroom home with a hot tub - close to a river and just a short walk from a beach - on Facebook. It was listed as costing £200 for three days. When the mum contacted the seller she received a reply from a woman in five minutes. Her concerns that it was a scam were allayed when the host said she'd accept payment over Paypal Goods, which offers extra consumer protection.
Despite the sadness the fake holiday booking caused, Leanda was able to claim her money back and reported the scam to Action Fraud. She has urged others not to book holidays on social media.
If you’re one of the reported 29% of Brits planning to go on more holidays in 2024, take some time to do your research and follow expert advice. If a deal looks too good to be true - especially if it is on social media - then it probably is.
It is always worth looking for the holiday property or deal on a different search engine, or Google reverse image searching any pictures included in the listing. If you can't find a trace of it on another platform, or if it is listed under a different name or company, then there's a good chance you've found a scam.
If something has gone wrong on your holiday, read ABTA’s tips and advice. If you think you’ve been affected by a holiday scam, contact Action Fraud, and check out Take 5 To Stop Fraud’s guidance on staying safe online.
Holidays: Get Away For Less? Tonight is now available on ITVX.
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