sunny16

I have been in touch with Dina at Fantasy Travel for my trip to Greece. I've never used a travel agent to book anything before, but I thought I'd try it this time just to see how it goes. She is asking me to fax a copy of my credit card and passport to their offices to confirm that I am the owner of the credit card. I understand why she is doing it, but I've never had to do this before. Is this normal and do other people here feel comfortable with this? Just wondering.

Intrepid1

I would think that if you could supply the security code number for your credit card that might be enough (for some) to "prove" you are the owner.

BUT, what is the alternative in this particular case?

If you end up feeling UNcomfortable doing what they ask are you going to book this tour with someone else, and if so, who?

lincasanova

i find it normal they ask for a piece of identification.

try your driver's license first if you are concerned, but i don't see how anyone having your passport copy can be any worse than a credit card number.
in fact.. can anyone tell me the possible implications of this ??

ekscrunchy

I also found this odd when I worked with them last fall but I sent it, along with the forms that they insist you fill out. They are totally legit and were fine to work with once you completed all the paperwork.

Intrepid1

Topping this for you.

Given the comment from Ekscrunchy I would go ahead and do it.

sunny16

Thanks for the prompt replies! The alternative would be doing the bookings myself, which is what I normally do. Online bookings for hotels in Athens look pretty straightforward to me.

I'm concerned about faxing the passport because of identity theft, which I know is funny because that's why they're asking me for it in the first place.

Anyway, I just wanted to know if asking for a copy of the passport was normal procedure. Thanks for the help!

ira

Hi S,

>I'm concerned about faxing the passport because of identity theft, ...

You will have to give your passport to the hotel clerks.

Also, why aren't you concerned about having your identity stolen via your credit card?

I think that you are being overly concerned.

ekscrunchy

I should add that, as I remember, I had to fax them not only the passport but BOTH sides of my credit card (Visa only). I debated this for a long time, as you can imagine. I had booked my hotels in Athens (Electra Palace) and Santorini (Pegasus..not good) but Fantasy was doing all of my Greece-Turkey flights. They also wanted some kind of form filled out and faxed back to them. AND I had to pay to have the air tickets delivered to my home in the US by air courier. So as you can imagine, I was a little annoyed and worried but it worked out just fine. As it turns out I was very glad we used them for the flights because they were able to remedy some problems that came up in Athens regarding the flights and the connections. Ria was the woman who handled things for us. I would use them again.

polly229

Had to fax both sides of my credit card to Dolphin Hellas last year but not any form of ID. Was a little concerned because of the possibility of wrong number faxes (which may sound stupid but we have received many, including two sets of medical records and, over a period of 3 weeks, several dozen credit card numbers for eBay purchases from a comic book store). However, nothing went wrong. One way or another, unscrupulous people can get all kinds of your information if you're the unlucky one that's targeted - no matter how careful you may be.

We used Dolphin Hellas last year for hotels in places where they represented hotels we wanted to use - and were cheaper - and for Aegean flights since they could get the same fare. This year I requested their lists but didn't find the hotels I was interested in and wasn't willing to pay the express mail fee since we weren't going to Athens first this time. I calculated that using them was only going to save me about 50 Euros (as opposed to almost 200 Euros last year), much of which would be consumed in shipping the vouchers. So I did it all on my own for the trip we just got back from and everything was fine. If you really feel uncomfortable, you might be happier with do-it-yourself.

lol930

Just a comment on the passport:

It's a good idea for them to see exactly how your name shows so they can issue the air tickets without any errors...

andrewb

Sorry to jump into this thread, but I was wondering what you all think of going thru a travel agent to book rooms and ferries in Greece? I also corresponded with Dina and felt her estimate for our rooms, ferries, and transfers seemed a little high. I thought I could save some money going thru and agent. Is that dumb of me to think that?

brotherleelove2004

I think that depends on the agent and their relationship with the goods and services they're selling you. I suggest you do an apples-to-apples price comparison between a couple of agencies to see what they come up with. Depending on the time of year you can just arrive and find inexpensive rooms. There are plenty of places that don't advertise on the internet. Locals meet the ferries with all sorts of room offers. Ferry tickets are easy to come by unless it's August and you want something other than deck (economy) class.

critch

I just had the same experience to book 2 hotel rooms in Athens for 2 nights through Fantasy. Came to this forum to post this very same question only to find it already here! We have traveled quite a bit and have never had to supply all this information to reserve a hotel room. I also am uncomfortable with giving a photocopy of my passport, both sides of my credit card and filling out a form with my signiture on it. Next will they ask for my social security number for my safety!!!!! Somehow, I think I will take a chance and book with the hotel directly. I would rather take a chance with that than giving out all this information months before my actual trip (Sept. 06).

sunny16

Glad I'm not the only one, Critch. I'm still in touch with Fantasy Travel, but I'm probably not going to use them at this point.

brotherleelove2004

The problem is that more and more hotels in Greece are requiring all this advance I.D. verification and credit card information, and if you aren't willing to give it to them you can't get a reservation. I agree it's a major pain. I guess you'll just have to find a hotel that's not so strict.

Heimdall

I use my credit card for online purchases frequently, and no one has ever asked me for additional proof of identity other than the 3-digit code on the back of my card. Asking you to fax a copy of your passport is intrusive and unnecessary. Perhaps Fantasy Travel will reconsider their policy if enough potential customers object.

polly229

Though I did fax the credit card copies to Dolphin Hellas last year, I don't think I'll do anything like that again. Will add it to my list of travel rules that include everything must be bookable online and convenient. About 20 mo. ago we went to the Virgin Islands and the hotel I wanted to use on St. Croix e-mailed back that they were holding a room for me for two weeks until receipt of my certified check for one night. (Odd because they take VISA, just not for a deposit, they said.) When I told them I wasn't willing to go to the trouble, that a credit card worked at every other hotel I'd ever used, they said "everyone" in the VIs wants a certified check for the deposit. Well, no one else I contacted did and when I inquired of a couple of inn owners after we got there, they said they'd never heard of it. I'm traveling just fine with my "rules". Can't believe I faxed the credit card photocopies last year without giving it a thought - and can't believe my husband didn't express misgivings, either.

Heimdall

Are we really being overconcerned about divulging personal information just because someone asks for it? Fantasy Travel may be perfectly legitimate, but the real danger comes from third parties intercepting your data. After all, that's why we have firewall and anti-spyware software on our computers.

In the last six weeks laptops have been stolen from a health insurance company and from the Dept of Veterans Affairs, both of which contain personal information on me and thousands of other Americans. The health insurance company is so concerned that it is offering to pay for one year's monitoring service with Equifax for over 35,000 customers.

As far as I'm concerned, the fewer companies that possess personal information on me, the better.

brotherleelove2004

Maybe if travellers were to suggest to these companies who require such payment and I.D. procedures to sign up for PayPal, eventually it might catch on. This is would be a simple and good solution for everyone on both sides of the transaction. PayPal services are available in Greece as well as in many other countries around the world.

polly229

You're right, my concern is with something being intercepted by a 3rd party. (Hey, you're taking a chance whenever you give your credit card to a waiter.) As I mentioned in an earlier post, we've gotten a lot of wrong number faxes over the years - apart from the credit card numbers and medical records I cited above. (The worst thing is that we called the company with the incorrectly listed fax # several times and it took them 3 weeks to change it on their eBay listings. They didn't seem to much care if their customers' card numbers were going to the wrong number day after day.) Anyone can misdial and while the likelihood of getting another fax wouldn't seem great, we used to get one or two a month before people started using e-mail more and fax less.

PayPay sounds like a good idea. I'm sure it won't be much longer before PayPay starts bogging down with fraud, but for the time being it seems like a better idea than faxing credit cards.