Angus Kennedy, who along with his family was conned out of the best part of 5,000 pounds by a Palma-run bogus holiday rental villa website, yesterday reported the whole nightmare to the police. Needless to say, the police were well aware of the story because of the extensive coverage it has received in the local, national and international media and also the furious reaction from the tourism ministry and the association of holiday rentals.
The ministry sent inspectors to the address of the website headquarters of dreamvillasspain.com in Calle Manacor, and the company could face a fine of up to 40,000 euros. The police have come under mounting pressure from various local tourism bodies to respond to the matter as well.
However, every cloud has a silver lining. A British travel firm has come to the rescue of the family, who fell victim to a scam which left them stranded in Majorca with no money. James Villa Holidays, a Maidstone-based travel company, where the Kennedys live, made contact with Angus Kennedy after seeing the story online and has offered the family a free villa here in Majorca for their summer holidays.
Mr. Kennedy told the Bulletin yesterday: "It’s amazing. We are so happy. I can’t thank them enough. Since getting in touch with you, I’ve been on BBC News, featured in the UK press and now this. We may not have any money left to celebrate but we’re all smiles."
On Tuesday night the family had decided to throw in the towel, cut their losses and go home. But they stuck to their guns, battled on and it all worked out just perfect in the end. Angus can’t thank the people of Majorca enough for all the support they have had.
"We’ve been offered all kinds of help, including other villas, and when I first went to the police station and showed them the article in Spanish, they all jumped to action and even gave me a police ride home. Now we just can’t wait to come back to Majorca later this summer."
