Sick child

Post scam emails to warn other rental owners, or if you are not sure if an enquiry is genuine, put it up here and see what others think.
Gettingthere
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Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:33 am
Location: Devon
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Sick child

Post by Gettingthere »

I recall seeing something here about an enquiry where mention was made of needing to be near to a hospital as one of the party was very sick. But I can't find it. Does it ring any bells with anyone else?

I've just had just such an enquiry asking if there is a major hospital near by due to a very sick child. It could of course be true, but it just seems odd to ask me about it rather than make their own enquiries or indeed search for properties within reach of a particular favoured hospital.
Bunny
Posts: 3387
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:48 pm
Location: South of England

Post by Bunny »

Could be genuine but I have to agree that if I had a very sick child I would be doing the research myself and would certainly not rely on a cottage owner's advice for something so fundamentally important, especially as there are varying grades of hospital i.e. with or without A&E depts, smaller ones with only certain departments, or only open certain hours etc. Surely you would need to be sure of all this detail if it was so crucial to you.

I would tentatively reply but don't be surprised.....
It does smack of the old similar scams whereby they wanted to bring their oxygen tanks with them.
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Normandie
Posts: 1670
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:18 pm
Location: France - southern Manche (50)

Post by Normandie »

I do remember someone commenting that they had a booking where the family had to be close to a hospital because they had a family member who might need help - and I think the owner was surprised that it was only brought up at a fairly late stage - possibly on arrival.

However, families do get quite good at dealing with major illness over time, try not to let the illness govern everthing they do... and there's a sort of internal logic to decisions which don't always make sense to someone on the outside.

You can't offer your opinion as to what makes a major hospital suitable - I'd just send them links to your local hospitals and leave it to them to decide whether a particular hospital, its area of expertise and distance - plus travelling time in rush hours etc - makes your property a feasible choice.

If any response then hits your scam radar you can politely decline, having taken another booking.

What's the oxygen cylinder scam, Bunny? :shock:
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Nemo
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Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:15 am
Location: Norfolk

Post by Nemo »

This was the thread where a genuine guest asked the question on arrival. viewtopic.php?p=304894
Gettingthere
Posts: 236
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:33 am
Location: Devon
Contact:

Post by Gettingthere »

Ah yes - that's it Nemo thank you. And they were genuine. My enquiry is quite different and hopefully genuine too. Let's see what happens...?
Bunny
Posts: 3387
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:48 pm
Location: South of England

Post by Bunny »

Normandie wrote: What's the oxygen cylinder scam, Bunny? :shock:
Can't remember the exact scam, but from memory I think they wanted to send you a dodgy link of a picture of the cylinders so that you could order them on their behalf.

I think there was also an overpayment one where they wanted to send you a cheque to the cover the costs of them but would then no longer need them and request a refund (cheque bouncing later of course).
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