Hiring a rented apartment via different online platforms is fast becoming the most common way to find holiday accommodation these days. However, criminals seeking to take advantage of people are always looking for new ways to rip off users. The Spanish consumer rights watchdog, the Consumers’ and Users’ Organisation (Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios or OCU) has prepared 10 tips to avoid disappointment during your holidays.
Spain’s National Police and the Guardia Civil Civil Guard are recording more and more crimes related to holiday apartment rental scams. Common fraudulent activities include requesting an advance payment, phishing for personal information, or introducing malware through a link to access the user's computer and steal information.
The OCU recommends that you read these tips before shelling out for a holiday home on the internet:
- Compare prices and conditions on different websites. Lower prices are often linked to less flexibility and worse conditions.
- Always read the conditions and recommendations of the holiday accommodation rental platforms.
- Always communicate through the platform with lessors of vacation apartments and never transfer money from outside the page or application. The OCU reminds us that if the consumer decides to bypass the intermediary and contract directly with the owner, the user will lose their guarantee and the platform will not be held responsible in case of any problem.
- Be wary of rentals below the market value and advertisements that offer spectacular homes at too low a price.
- Check the authenticity of the listing through other sources: comments from other users, checking the location on Google Maps or similar applications, calls and questions to the owner for specific services in the area like restaurants and things to do. If the information they give is too vague, be suspicious.
- Make the payment by a secure means proposed by the platform and that leaves a trace of the payment, such as paying by card, Paypal or a bank transfer. In the latter case, check that the account holder is the same as the owner of the property being rented.
- If you decide to rent directly from an individual before signing the contract or making a reservation, contact the advertiser beforehand (if possible by telephone) to confirm their identity and clear up any doubts that may arise.
- Do not pay the full amount up front, but rather try to make the deposit the smallest amount possible and pay the rest on arrival when it has been verified that everything is as indicated in the advertisement and there’s nothing dodgy about the situation.
- Keep a copy of the reservation and/or deposit. If a deposit is requested, clearly specify the payment reference of the bank transfer, the conditions of its application and that as it is a deposit it is to be returned. Ideally, you should have an inventory of every possession in the property and their condition before signing the contract.
- If you believe you have been the victim of fraud, report it to the website so they can withdraw the ad and go to the Police or the Guardia Civil Cybercrimes Group.
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