A British family of seven claim they were left stranded in Spain after being conned out of £750 for holiday villa they booked on Facebook which did not exist.
Sheeba Gharda, 29, of Chelmsford, Essex, said she was searching for a last-minute holiday with her family when she came across an advert online.
The family decided to book a week long break at a holiday villa in Malaga and received confirmation from the owner, claiming to be called Christina Lori.
At the airport: Sheeba Gharda, pictured with her family, fell victim to an alleged holiday scam
Ms Gharda’s mother-in-law Saieda, father-in-law Aftab and sons Aydin and Mouris on holiday
Ms Gharda’s father-in-law allegedly made a payment of £750 three days before they were due to fly – but they could not find the property upon arriving at the address.
The family said they frantically tried to contact the owner but soon realised she had deactivated her Facebook account and then ignored their calls or emails.
Ms Gharda had to pay an additional £600 for another villa so she and her children Mouris, five, and Aydin, two, and four other relatives had somewhere to stay.
She said: ‘When we turned up at the address and realisation sunk in we were all devastated, our family holiday was ruined.
‘Originally we couldn’t locate the address we had been given, and when we eventually did a different villa stood in its place.
Ms Gharda with her sons Mouris, five, and Aydin (left), two, and Ms Gharda’s sister-in-law Yasmin with Ms Gharda’s niece Laylaa and her sons Mouris and Aydin (right)
Ms Gharda, pictured with her two-year-old son Aydin, frantically tried to contact the owner
‘I was in regular contact with the person I booked the villa through, Christina. We discussed the general details and everything seemed professional and above board.
‘She even sent me a picture of the street next to the villa the day before we flew out, and there was a selection of images of the villa online.
‘The person explained that normally a £500 deposit is required but as it was short notice, she requested the full payment to secure the booking.
‘But when we realised it was a scam we were all devastated. We were stranded with three children in a foreign county – it was a nightmare.’
Ms Gharda saw an advert for the villa, ‘El Caprichio’, on a Facebook group and made a last minute booking on August 8 for a seven-night break starting on August 12.
A screen grab of the advert on Facebook for the villa in Marbella, Spain, from a ‘Christina Lori’
The property was priced at up £950 per week and said to be about 40 minutes from the airport
She was accompanied by her father-in-law, Aftab, mother-in-law, Saieda, sister-in-law, Yasmin, niece, Laylaa, nine, and her two children.
Ms Gharda with her sons Mouris and Aydin
She added: ‘Just under an hour before our flight Christina called to inform us that the cooker in the kitchen at the villa was faulty and presented a fire hazard which meant we wouldn’t be able to check in until the following day.
‘As we were about to fly she reluctantly agreed to book us a replacement accommodation and she provided me with a one-night booking for two rooms at a hostel in the centre of Malaga.
‘However after arriving at the hostel we were told that there was a problem with the credit card she had used and they hadn’t been able to secure the booking.
‘It was around 4.30am and so we began to panic, the children were extremely uncomfortable and tired and we were very distressed.
‘With nowhere else to go we decided that we would at least visit the villa that we had booked, we knew that there might not be any power but at least we could put the children to bed.
‘We then spent several hours wondering around the area, following the satnav’s directions, seeking information from local people living in the area only to find that no one could tell us exactly where the villa was.
Emails with the request for payment (left) and the booking confirmation that followed (right)
A rental agreement which contacts terms and conditions along with check in and out times
‘We eventually found a villa that matched the address we were given. However, the pictures sent to us via Facebook did not match the architecture of this building.’
Ms Gharda with Mouris, five and Aydin, two
Hugely frustrated, and realising that they had been victims of a scam, the family found a restaurant on the marina at Puerto Cabopino for refuge.
Luckily, one of the waitresses was English and after noticing that the family were in distress offered a solution to their problem.
Ms Gharda said: ‘She knew a woman who lived in the area and managed over 20 apartments for various owners.
‘We were offered a two-bedroom apartment in Torrenova with a shared pool that was next to the beach.
‘We agreed to visit the apartment and even thought it need a little refurb, we couldn’t believe our luck and decided to take it for one night, which cost us €160 (£147).
‘At this point we doubted whether our original villa even existed but agreed to give it until the following morning until we called Christina again.
‘We waited until after midday, but we still had no response from Christina and so decided to book the apartment where we had stayed the night before for the remainder of the holiday.
Ms Gharda’s mother-in-law Saieda, father-in-law Aftab and sons Aydin and Mouris on holiday
‘It cost us an additional 660 euros, but after everything we had been through we were just grateful for a place to stay.
Ms Gharda’s mother-in-law Saieda with her niece Laylaa and her sons Mouris and Aydin
‘On the Tuesday, I went with my father-in-law to the Villa El Caprichio to find out who was living there.
‘We found that it was a Spanish family from Madrid who owned the villa as their holiday home, they were shocked and appalled to hear that the location was being used as part of a scam.’
Ms Gharda accompanied the family to Marbella Police Station where they reported what had happened.
Since returning home, Ms Gharda has also submitted full details to ActionFraud in the hope that they will be able to stop other families from falling victim to the scam.
She added: ‘After posting about it online I discovered a number of families in Essex and Surrey that had also been victims to Christina’s scam.
‘But it’s been really frustrating as nothing seems to have been done so far, and of course we haven’t been given a refund.
‘So far we haven’t received any help from the police, I understand that this is a common occurrence and that the police are very busy, but we can’t let people like Christina get away with this.
‘After hearing our story people have been really supportive, and a kind lady called Paula Brown who deals with scammers has been a huge help, we are so grateful for her support.
‘I know that Christina Lori may not be her real name, but hopefully by sharing our story others will be more vigilant when booking holidays online, hopefully no one else will fall victim to her scams.’
An ActionFraud spokesman has been contacted for comment by MailOnline, while the Facebook account under the name of Christina Lori has also been contacted.
** Suffered a holiday scam? Please email: mark.duell@mailonline.co.uk **