The cruel friend who stole our dream holiday
Gemma Hilton, 34, and her family were off on a once-in-a-lifetime trip – but someone had other ideas…
As she cradled my baby daughter in her arms, my best friend Rebecca Waterfall chatted away about her latest trip abroad. It was the enviable perk of working as a travel agent – she was forever getting discounted holidays.
‘I could get you one, too,’ she said with a grin. I shook my head. It was September 2012 and my husband Michael and I were just getting used to being parents since the arrival of little Lola six months earlier. Going abroad was the last thing on our minds.
Rebecca and I had become friends after we had moved in next door to her in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, in October 2011. She loved popping round for cuddles with Lola, often bringing us gifts from her travels.
So I was gutted when she told us a few months later that she was moving to London for a new job. ‘But I’ll keep in touch on the phone,’ she said.
A great deal
Rebecca was as good as her word and she would ring up for a chat once a week. And when my Grandma Doreen died, aged 84, in November 2015, Rebecca was one of the first people I called. ‘I’m going to miss her so much,’ I sobbed.
I explained how my dad, Philip, 64, wanted to take the family to Walt Disney World, Florida, to cheer us up. Rebecca leapt in. ‘Let me help you get a discounted deal,’ she said. ‘It’s the least I can do.’ By then, she’d moved to Manchester and was working for Virgin Travel.
I hesitated, not wanting to put her out. But with Mum, Dad, Lola, then three, Michael and me all going, it was going to cost a lot. ‘Well, if you really don’t mind,’ I said. Days later, she rang again and said she’d got a deal for the five of us for £5,250 for a fortnight in Florida. It included hotel rooms, Disney World passes, meals and a photo package, so we could have pictures taken with as many Disney characters as we liked.
It sounded incredible and was far cheaper than anything we could afford. She explained she’d paid for it on her credit card and asked if we could pay her back in full. ‘No problem,’ Dad said, transferring money from his pension straight into Rebecca’s account. That night, excited, I told Lola all about the trip. ‘I’m going to meet Jasmine from Aladdin,’ she said, dancing round the room. I bought Mickey Mouse ears for us to wear on the trip and I even got matching personalised T-shirts for all of us to wear on the flights out there. In late January 2016, our confirmation holiday email arrived with the Virgin logo and holiday details all typed out. ‘I can’t wait,’ I said, giving Michael a hug. But then, two days later, Dad rang and said he’d tried to log our reference number online and nothing had come up. I thought he’d made a mistake but when I tried too, nothing happened. So I rang Rebecca but there was no answer. There was only five months left till our
‘It was far cheaper than anything we could afford’
holiday now and I was beginning to feel a bit uneasy. Finally, I rang the Virgin head office but when the woman tapped in the details it drew a blank. ‘There are no flights booked under that name,’ she said. We were confused. What was going on?
I left Rebecca another voicemail, threatening to go to the police if she didn’t get back to me, and this time she texted straight away. ‘I got in a tangle with money,’ she said, explaining she’d been in Australia but she’d now sort everything out.
Within 48 hours, she forwarded me new flight details and when we checked online, they came up as genuine. ‘It
must have been a mix-up,’ I said to Michael, relieved.
Finally, on 16 June 2016, we all put on our matching Disney T-shirts and headed off to the airport. But as we handed over our passports at the check-in, the lady frowned. Then she disappeared, returning seconds later with two police officers.
‘Philip Conway and Gemma Hilton?’ one of them said, ushering Dad and me out of the queue. ‘I’m arresting you both on suspicion of fraud.’ Everyone was watching and my stomach lurched as the officer explained our flights had been booked on a stolen credit card.
‘But we didn’t book them,’ I gasped, shocked. ‘It was my friend Rebecca who arranged it all.’ Then Dad showed the officer his bank account on his phone and proof of the transfer into Rebecca’s account. The officers noted it all down, saying they’d need to investigate further. ‘But you’re free to go,’ one said.
But as they disappeared off, I stood there close to tears, horrified by what had happened. How could Rebecca have done this to us?
Lola didn’t even realise anything was wrong and was still excitedly hopping about, wanting to get on to the plane. ‘There’s only one thing for it,’ Dad said, reaching for his wallet, and he paid £800 to rebook our flights.
The police had warned us not to contact Rebecca, so I tried not to think anything more about her as we boarded the plane. Luckily, the Virgin operator had confirmed that all the arrangements in Florida were still in place. ‘Perhaps we can just enjoy our holiday now,’ I said.
But arriving in Florida we discovered our coach transfers had been cancelled. And then when we got to the hotel, the manager said that our rooms and Disney passes had been cancelled, too. ‘Had Rebecca done this while we were flying over here?’ I wondered.
We had no choice but to rebook, leaving Dad a total of £11,500 out of pocket. Desperate not to let Lola see how upset we were, we pasted on smiles and tried to enjoy the holiday. But we couldn’t afford to spend on anything else and instead of meals out, we had to buy basics from the supermarket.
Two days before we were due to fly home, Rebecca texted me. ‘I hope you’re enjoying your holiday,’ it read. I couldn’t believe the cheek and, furious, I didn’t reply.
Unbelievable
On our return, the police met us at Manchester airport and said that Rebecca had been arrested. In January 2017, Michael, Mum, Dad and I were there when Rebecca admitted to nine counts to dishonestly make false representation to make gain or cause loss at Manchester Crown Court. She broke down in tears as it was heard that, along with our £5,250, she’d stolen £22,168 from her employers, a travel and events management company.
It turned out that she hadn’t even been working for Virgin when she’d offered us our holiday, and had used an old email. But it hurt even more when we discovered she’d used the money we’d paid her on a trip to Australia. Facebook pictures of her waterfall kayaking, swimming with dolphins and enjoying a helicopter ride – all paid for with Dad’s pension – were discussed in court.
Rebecca was given a 13-month suspended sentence with 240 hours unpaid work.
Thankfully, the money was repaid to Dad by Rebecca’s parents. Yet that hasn’t made things better. I thought Rebecca was a good friend who cared for me and my family. How can I forgive her greed and deception?
‘How could Rebecca have done this to us?’