I know it doesn't help. But actually, have a friend that was a victim of this. Unfortunately for him, he paid money forwrd, which he obviously get back.

Hi Lance,
We did have a bad experience when we booked through a private rental (culprit will remain nameless) a few years back so have always been nervous of booking privately. Fortunate for us we paid via our credit card so thankfully we got our money back!!

Such a bad experience put us off for sometime especially after reading The Standard article. However, fortunately for us our faith in the human race was restore when we stayed at beautifully privately owned villa - perfect holiday spent with the extended family!

All I can say is be careful as there are some very dodgy holiday home websites out there. I always go with recommendations. Friend of ours said they use Facebook to double check validity of property i.e. reviews, followers etc., before sending any money.

Hope you get sorted!

Ann x