Internet scammers can ruin your long-awaited vacation
Be careful and cautious when booking hotels or cars online.
This summer is starting to look a lot different from last year, as many Canadians are already actively planning their holidays and booking hotels after the lifting of the coronavirus restrictions. If you're thinking about where to go and where to stay, then you should be very careful: there's a risk of encountering unexpected finance charges that could hit your budget.
It already happened to Stephanie Blank when she planned to take a break from caring for her aging parents. The woman booked a room at a Best Western hotel for three nights in Port Dover, Ontario, where she spent her vacation. And when she checked out of the hotel, she experienced a shock. The bill for the three nights was $403 CAD, as planned. However Stephanie was not expecting to pay 50% more for the additional fees; she got $187 CAD from the website HotelValues.com, where she made the booking. She ended up paying a total of $590 CAD for her stay.
"I was terribly upset, I couldn't even believe it had happened," she said: "I didn't realize much until I found out that it wasn't Best Western that was demanding the money, but middlemen who were acting on behalf of this hotel."
Blank went on to say that when she tried to contact HotelValues.com for an explanation, she ran into problems:
"I tried to talk to someone at this site, but every time I called, no one would answer except the answering machine."
Employees of the Canadian portal "CTV News" sent an e-mail to HotelValues.com to clarify the situation, but received no answer. They also called the HotelValues.com hotline number, but the call was simply dropped.
There are other negative reviews about HotelValues.com website online, and it is already clear, this website is nothing but a fraudulent organization.
It's important to know so you don't get in trouble:
1. When searching for a hotel, beware of the first pop-up link, only work with reputable websites, pay attention to the URL. And best of all, call the hotel where you plan to book your room directly to avoid unforeseen situations.
2. You may run into online scammers when booking any type of travel, whether it's airline tickets or car rentals, or even when you're just shopping online. A U.S. study says that one in four Americans has been scammed by third-party websites for all kinds of online transactions involving money payments.
3. In addition to additional charges, you may also encounter problems with making changes to your reservation or with cancelling your reservation, and there is no guarantee that you will actually be able to stay in the room of your choice. If you find a good deal online on an intermediary website, check whether the hotel or car rental company will actually be able to provide you with the services you choose.
4. Contacting the service provider directly (hotel, campsite, etc.) will provide you with better service as well as an opportunity to earn points for additional benefits.
