We're open today till 5:30 PM 020 8568 4499 020 8568 4499

Get in touch

Dot com or dot con? Don’t be a victim of holiday fraud

The report by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau stating that consumers had lost £2.2 million last year to online holiday fraudsters must send a chill through the hearts of the holidaying public.

Sunvil takes 15% of its bookings to Greece, Cyprus and the Azores on-line and next year more online bookable destinations will be added. Many of our customers boast that they know our programme better than we do, so high is our repeat and recommendation rate! Is our site just as likely to be hacked as those of Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia?

Absolutely not; it is much less likely that any monies go directly to a fraudster’s bank account. Why? Because there are big differences in the way we work and the way the online platforms function; they simply pass on booking requests to hotels and villa owners. At Sunvil, we control the whole process, from the flight to the transfer and/or car hire and the accommodation. We basically act as a principal, so bookings come through to us and then we in turn communicate with our overseas suppliers. We are therefore far more closely and personally involved because we are so hands-on in our work

It has taken us over 40 years to create a trusted brand and we have no intention of throwing our reputation away.

Metallia Beach, Thassos

Furthermore, you can choose how to deal with us at Sunvil. You can write, you can e-mail, you can telephone us, book through one of our travel agency partners, as well as book on-line; the price is the same whichever method you use.

We conform with the 1992 Package Travel Regulations, which means that, should anything go wrong, we have to put it right at no extra cost to our customers at whatever stage of the holiday process, from the initial enquiry to the return flight home. The recent strike by Norwegian Airline’s domestic service pilots cost us just under £10,000 in re-booking our clients and re-arrranging their holidays. Those who had booked independently had to sort it all out by themselves and to bear the extra costs personally. By contrast, the majority of the online platforms act as agents, not principals; consumers do not realise how and with whom they are dealing.

It’s also very much simpler to deal with us at Sunvil as we handle all the components of the holiday for you through a single source – Sunvil.

So does all this extra service come at a higher price? Sometimes, yes, but certainly not always – and certainly not a huge amount extra; the big benefit is that you always know that your money is secure with us and that Sunvil will look after you well should there be problems of any kind, from pilot or ferry strikes to volcanic ash clouds; we offer a lot of extra back-up and service alongside our carefully-crafted holidays for what is, in fact, a very modest price tag.

Noel Josephides

Chairman, Sunvil

Kioni, Ithaca

By Noel Josephides

15^th April 2015

Talk to our Njivice expert

Noel Josephides

Noel is Sunvil’s Chairman. Born in Cyprus in 1948, he joined John der Parthog at Sunvil in 1973. Before that and following university, he spent 3 years as a trainee buyer at C&A Modes and then worked for a large Cypriot builder and property developer for whom he set up a London Office buying electrical components for the Middle East and importing lemons from orchards in Cyprus. He still researches new destinations for Sunvil and is heavily involved in matters relating to the travel industry. He is a previous chairman of ABTA, a long standing director and previous chairman of The Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) and The Travel Foundation - the travel industry’s sustainability charity.

Call one of our experts to discuss your next holiday with Sunvil on

020 8568 4499

We're open today till 5:30 PM

Get in touch

Enquiry
Contact us

Please use this form to request further information about a Sunvil holiday or destination.

We promise that a member of our specialist reservation teams will reply personally to your holiday enquiry before 5.30pm if received before 12.00pm (Monday to Friday). Enquiries received after 12.00pm will be replied to within 24-hours (excluding Sundays).

If your enquiry is of an urgent nature, please telephone our dedicated reservation teams on the numbers listed below.

Our lines are open from 9.00am to 5.30pm Monday-Friday and from 9.30am to 4.30pm Saturday.

Greece: 020 8758 4758
Cyprus: 020 8758 4759
Portugal, the Azores, Spain, Italy, Sicily and Scandinavia: 020 8758 4722
Latin America: 020 8758 4774
Marketing: 020 8758 4731

Required Information

^* Mandatory Information

Title ^*

First name ^*

Surname ^*

Telephone number ^*

Alternative telephone number

Email address ^*

Confirm email address

Preferred method of communication ^*

Other comments:

Email newsletters

Register here to receive regular email newsletters from the Sunvil Family, and be the first to hear about our latest news, holiday inspiration, special offers, events and competitions.

You can opt-out at any time by using the unsubscribe button on our emails, by contacting us on 020 8568 4499 or by emailing data@sunvil.co.uk, and control the volume and content of the emails that you receive in our preference centre.

For full details on how we collect and process your personal data can be viewed in our privacy policy.

If your enquiry is of an urgent nature, please telephone our dedicated reservation teams on the numbers listed below.

Our lines are open from 9.00am to 5.30pm Monday-Friday and from 9.30am to 4.30pm Saturday.

Greece: 020 8758 4758
Cyprus: 020 8758 4759
Portugal, the Azores, Spain, Italy, Sicily and Scandinavia: 020 8758 4722
Latin America: 020 8758 4774
Marketing: 020 8758 4731

Required Information

^* Mandatory Information

Title ^*

First name ^*

Surname ^*

Telephone number ^*

Alternative telephone number

Email address ^*

Confirm email address

Preferred method of communication ^*

Do you have a holiday confirmed with Sunvil?

Is your question answered below?

Alternatively, please enter your query in the box below:

Email newsletters

Register here to receive regular email newsletters from the Sunvil Family, and be the first to hear about our latest news, holiday inspiration, special offers, events and competitions.

For full details on how we collect and process your personal data can be viewed in our privacy policy.

My Suitcase

We understand that so much choice can be overwhelming which is why we have developed 'My Suitcase'. This facility allows you to save and compare your favourite holidays, and even allows you to return to your selection at a later stage.

Why not use 'My Suitcase' to compile a wish list of your future Sunvil holidays?

New to Sunvil?

Chat with usLiveChat

Dot com or dot con? Don’t be a victim of holiday fraud

Share

By Noel Josephides

Other posts from Noel Josephides

View all posts from

Other related posts

View all posts from

Talk to our Njivice expert

Noel Josephides

Make an Enquiry

Please use this form to request further information about a Sunvil holiday or destination.

Required Information

Title *

First name *

Surname *

Telephone number *

Alternative telephone number

Email address *

Confirm email address

Preferred method of communication *

If you would like to be called during a specific period, please specify

Details

Preferred departure date *

Duration *

Preferred UK departure airport *

Party size *

Back

Budget range

Other comments:

Email newsletters

Required Information

Title *

First name *

Surname *

Telephone number *

Alternative telephone number

Email address *

Confirm email address

Preferred method of communication *

If you would like to be called during a specific period, please specify

Booking reference number *

Is your question answered below?

Alternatively, please enter your query in the box below:

Email newsletters

Thank you for your enquiry

Your details have been saved

My Suitcase

Sign in

New to Sunvil?

Create Account

Already have an account?

Password reset

Close

Close

Title ^*

First name ^*

Surname ^*

Telephone number ^*

Email address ^*

Preferred method of communication ^*

Preferred departure date ^*

Duration ^*

Preferred UK departure airport ^*

Party size ^*

Title ^*

First name ^*

Surname ^*

Telephone number ^*

Email address ^*

Preferred method of communication ^*

Booking reference number ^*