Keep stressing that we will travel 600 miles by car to South of France only to discover that there is no villa. Check out this website for me - does it look 'legit' to you?

[handlemecarefully]

www.luxurybreaks.co.uk/luxury_villas_France_Cannes+-+Cote+D%27Azur_6_35_1.htm

We have already paid the deposit and are about to pay the balance in full. Am probably being completely ridiculous and OTT but I can not seem to shake niggling doubt that we well travel 600 miles by car with 2 small children only to find that we have been done.

Am I being ridiculous? What are you impressions of the website, does it look okay to you?

There is certainly a lot of detail on it...which is reassuring is it not?. But it seems to be run by a one man band (he is the only guy who answers the phone)

That in itself is not cause for suspiscion is it? Is it?

Also there is no hard copy brochure of properties (is that an issue?)

Spoke to my mother who said that it's not her friend's place (I was sure because they both have infinity pools....) But she did say that a company with as professional a website as that is unlikely to be a scam. My mother owns and used to rent villas in Italy so she is pretty up on these things.

Thanks for checking that out for me SofiaA

Yes, but the company was dissolved in June so whether it has a smart web site or not is not really a good thing just to rely on.

As I said most UK companies would be happy (and now a legal requirement for Ltd companies) to put their Registered Office address, and company name, and if VAT registerd add that too. Any reputable company would do the same, normally on the "about us' or 'contacts page'.

Agree with Xenia that the company as such as Luxury Breaks is not registered at Companies House. No details are on their website.

They are a Limited Liability Company. I do not know about company law, so can't comment on that.

However having a rubbish validation logo on your site which links to a company that only checks websites meet the requirement of having a maling address is slightly odd!

If you follow the link and small print it says to get further information about the owner, you need to go to county court!

HMC I hope all goes well and that you get your lovely villa holiday. But next year why not try this organisation. We've used them 4 or 5 times and they are very good indeed.

tuppy - that's very useful. I will definitely bookmark that site.

Thanks

Presumably it has been booked on and off since the begining of summer - if there had been problems and fraud etc i'm sure the cornwall tourist board would have heard about it by now.

I have booked villas abroad off the net and it's always been ok - sometimes from sites which look a lot les professional than the one you have picked.

it looks lovely.

Relax and look forward to it.

(and on the travelling - DS is abominable on long journeys - if you can afford it, what about one of you driving down with all the clobber, driving quickly in peace without endless breaks, a sticky snack fest and moanathon going on in the back seat, while the other takes the dc in the plane? But i guess you have your travel booked up by now?

I am going to relax about it Blu and will trust that all is going to be well...

but I have learnt a lesson. Next year I will be doing some decent research and either using sites that have been personally recommended (e.g. tuppy's), have more 'form' , are ABTA accredited and hopefully registered at Companies House

I am not sure,( but dfinitely sounded lke that name...), my sister went for a villa of theirs last year...drove from Luxemburg with 3 babes,( triplets !!!) + 12 yearold,( but minus her unlovely DH....now divorcing )...to find their villa already occupied The company tried toput them in a B&B !!!! instead....she is still trying to sort out ££££,( she styed in hotel at her expense in the end..) I have e-mailed her for confirmation....HMC don't part with any more ££s...They wer real cowboys in my sisters opinion...back later !!

handlemecarefully, I hope you have a lovely time. I would like think the information I have added will only help make choices for anyone looking to book on the internet and be cautious, that's all. You don't have to book with the big operators like TCook, but you do have to ensure your money's in safe hands. We work hard for it after all.

FWIW I had an email back from Companies House who say they can't find any trace of this company, however they only registers private and public limited companies, limited liability partnerships, and certain other corporate types. There is no central registry for unincorporated businesses, such as sole traders or partnerships.

I work in travel, we have our own ATOL and are members of the TTA, all our details are clearly marked on our website with our Company Register details (with Companies house) and VAT number. We sell holidays and accommodation only. However I would rather not tell everyone where I work!! sorry.

The company is on the companies house web site but is dissolved so I'm surprised they say they have no trace of it.

Luxury Br*ks LTD is a dissolved company in Bristol, but no trace of LuxuryBr*ks LLC, as on their details and link to that Validated Site rubbish.

Don't want google to keep finding it, so using **

Oh I see Xenia, they have LuxuryBr**ks Ltd in T&C's, well if handlemecarefully has had an email maybe you could let us know what they call themselves HMC.

The terms and conditions of the company are Luxury Breaks Ltd. LLC is not a term in English law. The privacy policy describes Luxury Breaks LLC which is clearly wrong so it must be the company that was dissolved in June. That was the conclusion I came to. If it's an English company it has to be Ltd or plc. It might be trading other than through a company however so would not need to be registered anywhere like I do.

True. Companies house said aslo that there is no central registry for unincorporated businesses, such as sole traders or partnerships and they wouldn't have to be registered at Companies House. Like a a sole proprietor (maybe someone who is freelance).

A sole proprietor can be held personally liable for any business-related obligation. This means that if your business doesn't pay a supplier, defaults on a debt, or loses a lawsuit, the creditor can legally come after your house or other possessions.

That's of you know where they are of course!

I know but that web site of this company says it is is luxury breaks ltd and that company was dissolved in June. That's the point. Of course it might have changed how is operates and now is run as a sole trader (which doesn't have to be registered) but it certainly isn't an encouraging thing to see, is it?

"LUXURY BREAKS LTD

THE BRISTOL OFFICE
2 SOUTHFIELD ROAD
WESTBURY-ON-TRYM
BRISTOL BS9 3BH
Company No. 05418729

Status: Dissolved 13/06/2006
Date of Incorporation: 08/04/2005

Agree. And you can buy dissolved company names and use them again and make it active and register them again under new ownership. But I don't know what this is about, makes no sense. IYKWIM?

Yep the very same....according to my sister...not very encouraging...sorry.
What will you do HMC...?

oh mozhe, sorry to hear that.

What other advice can anyone offer HMC ?

Xenia?

We drove to the South of Francew every year from when DD was 4 months old and then the following year with DS, only a year apart in age. Best holidays we ever had.

The journey is fine, we did an overnight stop on the way down, we put the car on motorail on the way back, whilst we went on the TGV, fun but driving was better as we had to wait 2 hours in Paris for the car to arrive!

Surely she's called the company by now to check? Needs to be done on an urgent basis and ask for the owner's number and then call them too.

What happened next?