I find a very nice house on booking, located in Chamonix and privately managed by this real estate agency, contact her on whatsapp as specified on booking and ask for information.
The first email of payment came through booking.com (of which I attach an image) and amounted to 413 euros.
Of this payment I was then also sent the invoice, the real estate agency in question is: “ERA immobilier France,” a French real estate giant.
The second, in reference to the security deposit, also came from booking (I attach an image of this as well).
I was then asked via whatsapp to cancel the transfer of the security deposit and make it to another bank account, and this procedure was repeated 3 times (always to different bank accounts). At this point I get a confirmation of the reservation.
The next morning, precisely on 26/09, I get a message claiming that they had technical problems and that they should return the total amount to me, but telling me that their bank does not make transfers for an amount of 913 euros (413 + 500), but for a minimum of 2000. I am told that the transfer of 2000 had already been signed by the bank and that when I sent the payment of the difference they would send me the money. Following this I am sent a transaction statement for 2000 (which I will attach).
I make the payment on the iban that was provided to me and send the screenshot. A few hours later I am sent the accounting of the transfer.
After sending the bookkeeping, I am asked to cancel this 1087 transfer as well and make it to another bank account; I do so. I am assured that by Monday I would receive the transfer that had been made.
On Monday morning (30/09) I am told that the bank had cancelled the 2000 transfer that I should have received and I am asked for another 1000 euros.
I was waiting to receive the accounting of the 3000 transfer, which of course never arrived when this morning, Wednesday (2/10) I received another message asking for money: “we had a big problem that interrupted your transfer yesterday, so you have to send back 1000 euros on an iban that I will give you and I swear you will receive your 4000 euros, I swear on my life.”
Fortunately, the 1,000 euro transfer I made failed with the following reason: “Absence of the account/identification of the debtor,” so that amount was credited back to our bank account.
However, to my continued demand for compensation, the host, a certain Caroline explicitly refuses to compensate me (note well that they were the first ones to tell me that they would have to compensate me) saying that the only way to get my money back would be to provide with the transfer of 1000 euros or I won’t see my money anymore.
I kept insisting and trying to understand what company policy was behind this nonsense and was told that she was wasting her time, that she had already explained everything to me and that if I was not willing to pay that amount she would have nothing more to say to me.
Well, ERA real estate, I may have been stupid to fall for this scam, but know that there is someone out there posing as you (I hope so because if she is one of your employees there is shame on you) and scamming people out of people through booking.
