PASSPORTS HELD AT RANSOM! Be Warned

20 May 2026 at 12:57:15
Complaint to Head Office: NO RESPONSE, therefore decision to publish complaint.
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Upon arrival, our passports were taken by your staff. At no stage were we informed:
- that the passports would be retained until departure,
- that requesting them back earlier would incur any fee,
- that we could... be required to leave the site,
- or that access to our legal identity documents could be refused pending payment.
As non-EU visitors, our passports are essential legal identity and travel documents which we may be required to produce at any time. While I appreciate accommodation providers may temporarily retain passports for registration purposes, it is entirely unreasonable to deny guests access to them for the duration of a stay, particularly once their return has been specifically requested.
When we later requested the return of our passports, security staff initially refused to hand them over.
Despite repeatedly requesting the return of our passports, we were initially told to return at 7:00am the following morning to collect them. This was entirely impractical and unreasonable, as complying with this instruction would have placed us at serious risk of missing our flight.
My wife refused to leave without our passports and stated that the police should be called if necessary. Only following this confrontation did staff reluctantly agree to return the passports, subject to payment of the €50 charge.
We were further informed that we may have to leave the site immediately if we wished to recover our own documents.
As non-EU travellers, being denied timely access to our passports immediately before international travel caused significant stress and concern. It is unacceptable that we were placed in a position where access to our legal travel documents appeared contingent upon either delaying our departure plans or paying an undisclosed cash charge.
Security staff physically had our passports in hand but refused to release them until payment was made.
This payment was demanded in cash.
An invoice was not voluntarily provided and had to be specifically requested by us afterwards. The invoice then described the payment as:
“Penale pagamento fuori orario”
This description does not accurately reflect what occurred.
During the incident, security staff also refused to show us the alleged terms and conditions being relied upon, instead stating that we “should know what they are.”
The explanation provided by staff was also inconsistent and contradictory. We were informed at one stage that the passports were being withheld due to tourist tax requirements. However, Union Lido already held our credit card details on file for security and payment purposes.
If the concern genuinely related to tourist tax or outstanding charges, there was already an existing payment method available without any need to retain our legal identity documents.
This makes the continued withholding of our passports, the refusal to return them upon request, and the subsequent demand for a €50 cash payment even more unreasonable and disproportionate.
I have since reviewed Union Lido terms, conditions and guest guidance. I have been unable to identify any policy stating:
- passports must be withheld until departure,
- guests cannot request them back during their stay,
- requesting their return incurs a €50 fee,
- or that guests must leave the site in order to recover their passports.
In fact, guidance associated with Union Lido indicates that passports may be requested back during the stay, potentially subject to provision of a security guarantee such as a credit card. No reference is made to any €50 cash penalty.
I am also concerned that the conduct of staff may be inconsistent with European consumer protection principles requiring transparency of charges and prohibiting coercive or aggressive commercial practices.
At no stage were we informed that requesting the return of our passports would incur a €50 fee, nor that access to our legal identity documents could be withheld pending payment.
The demand for immediate cash payment before our passports would be returned, combined with the refusal to provide the alleged terms and conditions when requested, created an unacceptable and intimidating situation for us as travelling guests.
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