Rogue websites shut down following decisive action by London solicitors

Fraudulent online schemes to scam holidaymakers booking villas have plagued the Internet in recent years, with consumers losing £11.5 million in 2015 in similar booking scams.

Villa rentals company Villa Plus, a long-standing client of London law member Sherrards Solicitors, alerted police after discovering its properties were being advertised on fraudulent websites (www.luxuryrentalsvilla.com and www.cycladesrentals.com) without the owners’ knowledge or consent. The matter has been reported on in full in London's Evening Standard. 

Barney Laurence, one of the firm's senior associates and a specialist in commercial litigation, wrote a detailed letter to the host of the fake websites before taking action. Despite compelling evidence of foul play, the host responded saying it would not comply unless served with a Court Order. Villas were being advertised with unlimited availability, low prices, with the only payment option offered being a wire transfer.

Sherrards then proceeded to work closely with Villa Plus, who in turn contacted the authorities and forwarded to them Sherrards’ pre-action correspondence. The websites have now been removed.

Nick Cooper, founder and co-owner of Villa Plus, said: “Over the past year there have been several fake villa rental websites. Consumers have lost a significant amount of money and it has taken months to close them down. One of our first calls was to Barney Laurence at Sherrards. With his speedy response, even taking calls late at night, we managed to get these websites shut down in record time. This happened within 10 days of discovery and stopped further consumers losing money.”