Q UAY H O L I DAYS | TA L K I N G B U S I N E S S
secure password was used, then they will be duty-bound to return the money to the genuine cardholder – invariably after the holiday has been taken and the ‘guest’ departed. Nobody is immune from fraud, although the person who booked a long weekend with Quay a couple of years ago must have cursed his luck when he managed to steal a card from an employee of a credit card company! The genuine owner
up the watermarks – so if you’re out there
they had agreed a six-month tenancy with
of the card realised within an hour that
Mr Sean Page, I wouldn’t book again..!
the owner’s brother. The flat had been
his card had been used, and contacted
advertised on-line at an attractive rent,
Quay. We organised a welcoming party
The
many
creating huge interest. Each party handed
from the local constabulary, who lay in
businesses, and the oldest profession is
over a month’s deposit in advance, in cash,
wait in our meeting room and burst out
no exception. Pop-up brothels don’t just
and one handed over almost £2,000 in up-
when the guy arrived – you should have
happen in the major cities. One retired
front rent and deposit at a rendezvous in a
seen his face!
couple who let their holiday home in Baiter
public car park. It was only when the new
Park were shocked to receive a call from
tenants ‘moved in’ that they discovered
The World is forever shrinking and we
us to ask if they were aware their house
holiday literature, welcome packs and
accommodate
visitors,
was being used by prostitutes! We helped
guidebooks stuffed into cupboards and
but it is much harder to verify foreign-
them resolve the situation, and they rapidly
drawers, and by then the ‘landlord’ was
registered cards, where banks often don’t
became clients, as it dawned on them that
long gone.
offer password protection. There is also
running it themselves was just too risky.
likely to be a longer delay in genuine card
In our business, you get to recognise the
The problem with fraud is that it is
holders receiving notification that their
signs – 3 or 4-night mid-week bookings, girls
constantly evolving. As agents, we still
card has been cloned. We fell victim to
from certain countries, particularly those
get caught from time-to-time, and we’ve
what turned out to be a Turkish card just
connected by budget airlines. They usually
had years of experience in spotting the
before Christmas. It took two weeks before
do the grand tour, spending a few nights
signs. For individuals advertising their
the genuine cardholder’s bank caught up
in each town, and clients are always pre-
property on-line, hoping to capitalise on
with the transaction, notified the merchant
advised through certain ‘specialist’ websites.
an under-used asset, the dangers should
many
foreign
internet
has
transformed
not be underestimated. Help is at hand,
service provider, who in turn posted the chargeback notice to us – and of course the
Three prospective tenants in Harbour Reach
however. We are always pleased to hear
‘businessman’ was long-gone by the time it
fell victim to a particularly deceitful con in
from prospective new clients, and we
arrived. It was an eye-opener – the passport
2017 when a holiday-let apartment, rented
are happy to share our experiences. The
ID was also a very good forgery. We have
for a week, was ‘sub-let’ by a con-artiste to
fewer opportunities fraudsters get, the
since invested in a UV scanner which shows
three different couples, who all believed
better for us all!
C O N TAC T
L O C AT I O N
01202 683333
Quay Holidays, Orchard Plaza,
www.quayholidays.co.uk
41 High Street, Poole, BH15 1EG
101
H O U S E- M AG .C O.U K