Warning on rogue holiday operators

The Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs has warned the public against rogue holiday operators who may be defrauding people after getting their credit card details over the phone.

Carmel Foley, director, said there had been an increase in queries from consumers who had received unsolicited phone calls from American holiday companies offering "free" or "special offer" holidays. She said such companies knew the name and address of consumers, as well as information on where they holidayed in the past.

"This familiarity may suggest that the company is above board, and that they are offering a genuine prize or bargain. There are genuine offers out there, but I would advise consumers to stop and think and not to be pressurised into accepting an offer or revealing financial details before checking the company's legitimacy," said Ms Foley.

She said there were complaints about an American company which had been calling consumers to inform them they had won a cruise. "It was not clear from many of these phone calls that the company was going to take money from consumers' credit cards, but amounts were often taken from their accounts immediately after the phone call."