The police have been called in after dozens of people booked a non-existent caravan holiday on Facebook. Families across the country, so far located in Cornwall, Bristol and Devon have been left out of pocket after booking a holiday on Facebook that didn’t exist, paying up to £600, money that has not been returned.
There are many caravans for let on Facebook and often booking one can mean a cheaper break, but there is always a trust issue as you don’t have the same guarantees, or guidelines that caravan parks have to adhere to.
The park in question, Perran Sands in Cornwall is a reputable and well known park, run by the reputable and well known Haven Holidays. Had these holidays been booked through Haven this simply wouldn’t have happened, but because the caravan is a private caravan the holiday company are restricted as to what they can do.
After some investigation, similar stories have now arisen at different holiday parks and the police are investigating the premise that the same person may be behind all the lost bookings, and received all the lost cash, amounting to thousands. If this is the case then it may be possible that this person doesn’t even own a caravan at Perran Sands making Haven Holidays even more unlikely to be able to help.
While we wouldn’t advise against private caravan rentals, it is best to be sensible, get recommendations from friends who have used sellers previously, try and find some guarantee that your caravan actually exists, and don’t send anyone cash electronically without having some kind of proof of who they are. Any respectable private caravan owner will be happy to offer you all the information you need, and anything that sets your alarm bells ringing should be avoided!
By: Kath Cross
2 Responses to “Police Probe Facebook Caravan Holiday Scam”
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I too have been scammed for a caravan holiday but this one was in cala gran blackpool. I paid full price to a private account through an ad on Facebook to an E**a gr****er for E**AS C***VANS. As far as I know quite a few other people have been scammed by same person. What do I do now?
Hi Anthony, sorry to hear about that, (we’ve had to asterix the name). We are not an advisory service, I can only suggest that you’re initial contact should be with the police, or contacting other people who’ve also been scammed to see what they have done may save some time. Good luck.