Villa Owner wants Full Upfront Payment

[noepl]

Is it normal for a villa owner to get full upfront payment? We are dealing directly with them and they want the £4,000 for a week paid to them 11 months ahead of the booking.

We usually pay 20-50% deposit but they are insisting we pay now.

I wouldn’t. What are their cancellation terms?

Absolutely not. What if the place burns down between now and then?

The only time I have paid full price upfront is when I booked a villa in Spain through booking.com which had full cancellation available until 1 month before travel with a full refund.

otherwise no I’ve only paid a deposit, then balance 6 weeks before travel.

I would be really wary of paying the full amount upfront, did you find the villa through an agent or a direct advert from the owner?

I would also be checking license/ownership before parting with any money.

Sorry just noticed you are dealing directly with the owners, no I wouldn’t pay the full amount upfront.

Definitely not! Do you have any proof that this property belongs to the alleged owner? I do know of someone in France that had a party of people turn up at her family home thinking that rented it.

Where have you seen this advertised? Was it in an official tourist board publication? What payment methods are offered to you?

This is a massive red flag. There is so much fraud with holiday bookings.
I would only book through a website where I could pay by card. At least you have protection if anything goes wrong.

I'd cancel and book something else through a site like booking.com
Too many scams around to risk £4k

I pay upfront on airbnb sometimes these days. But I have the security of having gone through airbnb. And I can always chose not to by not booking that accommodation.

I wouldn’t. Put it this way, my Home To Go villla needed 25% deposit, balance 3 weeks before. I’ve just cancelled the full thing two weeks before and got a full refund as DH had a hospital admission and isn’t fit to fly.

im fully protected, you’re not protected in any way.

Where did you find out about this villa ?

No no no, or there will be tears before bedtime most likely.

A friend did this, paid full amount, then the owner stopped responding to emails and then emails got bounced back, phone number wouldn’t work, they lost all their money. I know a few people who privately rent villas and they only ask for deposit.

This is a common scam. Unless it’s through a reputable website like booking.com you could be chucking money in the bin. Are you in touch with the villa ‘owner’ via messaging app?