Villa rental fraud insurance

Civvy21

A member of my family has recently paid out a fifteen hundred pound deposit for a villa rental in Majorca. He has to pay a similar amount as a final balance by the end of the year. He paid the deposit by bank transfer.

The villa was found on one of the owner direct type websites. They offer a very basic fraud protection policy but this would not cover anywhere near the final amount. It all seems legit and I accept that many genuine villa owners need to be paid by bank transfer. However I am now concerned about him possibly being scammed.

Am i right in assuming that normal travel insurance would not cover him in the event of the villa rental being a scam? If so, does anyone know of a company that offers an insurance policy that would cover his rental payment?

Apologies if this should have gone into the insurance section.

Thanks

jonesMUFCforever

Even if he finds insurance which I doubt - the payment has already been sent to a bank account so no protection at all.


Hope it all works out to him - perhaps next time purchase using a credit card through a reputable site.

hollydays

Which site is it?

Civvy21

Thank you both for your replies.

Yes, it is a shame he did not book a villa using a credit card.

I think he booked through Owner's Direct. I understand they do offer a fairly basic insurance policy against fraud although it i think it does have to be purchased within seven days of the initial booking. He is way past that deadline. I am still hoping we can find some sort of insurance for him. No success so far.

hollydays

Article about fraud and owners direct by the guardian- I can't seem to post the link