January is always a busy time in the travel industry but this year ABTA are particularly worried that the public could end up being ‘duped’ by fraudulent sites after you hand over your money, leaving people holiday-less and with pockets thousands of pounds lighter.
A report has just been released by ABTA (the Association of British Travel Agents) that warns the public about fraudulent travel websites after a substantial increase in calls to their consumer helpline. ABTA is the UK’s travel trade organisation and a trusted brand in its own right that ensures travel agents are meeting high service standards.
Holly Crabtree one of our Specialist Cruise Consultants offers her advice to anyone looking to make a booking.
“Although it’s a scary and uncomfortable feeling to deal with knowing that there are people out there trying to take advantage of you, there are things that you can do.
- Double check prices that are considerably cheaper than competitors
- Look out for low resolution or distorted logos for trade associations
- Make sure you receive a receipt when transferring any money.”
There will always be multiple options to pay when booking on secure websites and by booking through a credit card you will be insured by your lender, if you want to book a holiday on a website that only offers a bank transfer ABTA urges you to research the company thoroughly before giving them any money.
It’s for this reason www.CRUISE.co.uk are so passionate about being 100% transparent about everything we do! The reviews, forum threads, comments on articles and the question and answer section of our site are all completely unedited; anyone who visits can read customers honest thoughts about cruising- positive or negative!
We also have over a hundred Specialist Cruise Consultants who are all encouraged to give their honest opinions about the various cruise lines, whether they’re on the phone to you or you’re following them on their individual Facebook pages, and each and every one of their blogs has a ‘Rate my Service’ section where you can read about past customers experiences from them.
They update their own blogs regularly, so not only can you see what other people have said about them, you can research and read about your chosen consultants’ expertise before you ever call them!
Adam Leech another consultant at www.CRUISE.co.uk said:
“We get free rein over what we say and can give customers honest advice, all of my customers can read my blog posts right back until when I started here at www.CRUISE.co.uk and they can find out about what deals I think are bargains, what my opinions are on the latest cruise news or even what I got up to over the Christmas period! I want my customer to see when I visit a new ship or find out what I think about the latest news so that I can be helpful all of the time, not just when they need help with a booking.”
Have you had a bad experience booking with a fraudulent website?
Did you even realise it was ‘dodgy’ at the time? What did you have to do and has it affected your trust when buying things online?
Let us know in the comments below.
