Things got just a little para-dicey on this family’s vacation.
In March, Neil Bray, 42, decided that he desired to take his family of six to Spain for his or her first vacation in 11 years — booking a four-bedroom villa for his wife and youngsters.
But after they rolled as much as the property they’d booked for a two-week holiday in July, they found no such luxury lodging.
“The villa looked amazing. It had a swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi and it was large,” Bray, from East Sussex, England, told South West News Service.
The bank manager found the vanishing villa through what he assumed was a legitimate Spanish holiday rental broker, which charged nearly $2,000 for the whole stay. Bray put down a deposit of around $200 and was told to pay the remaining on arrival.
Nothing seemed fishy to the dad of 4, claiming he’d spoken to the purported property owner just every week before his reservation.
“He was suggesting places to eat and drink and telling me how nice the weather was on the market,” Bray said in regards to the property’s host.
So, on July 24, the group flew from Gatwick Airport in London to Alicante, spending over $2,000 on flights, where they were told that they might be picked up after they arrived.
Much to their shock, there was no escort to be found.
“We arrived on the airport expecting to be met, then after we tried to contact on all the various methods – Facebook, WhatsApp, email, call and text — all the things was dead,” Bray told SWNS.
“We discovered in a short time that the villa was on the market and that this person lifted the photos from a on the market page.”
He described the moment as an “absolute panic,” as he tried to determine whether or not they should fly back home to the UK or find one other accommodation in Spain.
Bray said that the family spent six hours “stranded” on the airport while they tried to sort things out.
They eventually found one other property to function their vacation lodging, spending $1,600 more on the brand new booking than they’d budgeted.
That added expense ate into their vacation budget. “For us, it wasn’t that he scammed us for a lot of money — the deposit was €180,” Bray explained. “It was the stress and worry of arriving having nothing and spending an extra €1,500 to only have the ability to remain somewhere.”
The ordeal has affected his mental health as well.
“I feel so silly, it has affected my well-being and mental health — I feel so ridiculous,” Bray admitted.
He added, “We have now just been specializing in benefiting from the trip for the youngsters.”
