Sherie Tynan and Darral Poole, from north Dublin, fell victim to a scam after booking accommodation through a Facebook group for their wedding in Albufeira, Portugal, losing €2,800 to a fraudster.
Originally planning a beach wedding, Ms Tynan sought alternative accommodation on social media after negative reviews of a villa rented through Booking.com.
They were contacted by an individual named Jennifer Haris-Keane, who claimed to own a villa nearby and provided photos and promises of services for their wedding, including wedding cars and a heated pool.
The couple realised they were scammed when the profile and contact information of Jennifer Haris-Keane disappeared on the day of their flight, prompting them to report the incident to the police and their bank.
Sherie said: “I was sent loads of pics of this beautiful villa. They were going to get wedding cars and everything for us as they knew businesses in the local area and would have champagne on arrival. They were even going to heat the pool in the villa for us. Deep down I’m dying inside. I’m thinking, how did this happen? How can people do this to other people?”
It is one of several travel complaints that will feature in new RTÉ series The Complaints Bureau, which also includes Travel Extra editor Eoghan Corry.
The eight-part series starts on RTÉ One tonight at 7pm
