(31 Dec) Sunday Times reports that Sunweeks International boss, David Gray, is being probed by the Official Receiver.
(30 Dec) Hazel Green Village Concerned Owners Group publishes its first newsletter.
(30 Dec) Timeshare Consumers Association publish their European Timeshare Forecast for 2001.
(17 Dec) Mail on Sunday publish a warning to owners about sending money to Platinum Properties, Spain on their promise to sell a timeshare at greatly enhanced prices.
(16 Dec) International Herald Tribune publishes a worldwide review of timeshare based on a profile of TCA
(15 Dec) Stephen Byers, Trade & Industry secretary, announces tougher measures to stop persistant rogue traders – including sellers of timeshares.
(15 Dec) RCI announce “RCI Points” – an effective merger of GPN (Global Points Network – based in the US) and CRI (Club Resorts International – based in Europe) – to produce a worldwide standardised points system. And a re-launch of “RCI Weeks” – a re-statement of their commitment to conventional timeshare exchange.
(18 Nov) German Timeshare Consumer body awards “European Timeshare Consumer Awards” to ten timeshare operators who have acted in a wholly consumer protective manner during 1999. Most of the award winners also won the award in 1998.
(5 Nov) Cruiseshare Inc, based in Florida, announces plans for five cruise ships to be sold on a timeshare basis. Owners will be able to buy one week, for use every year, for a cruise to a different location each year. Costs will be higher than land based timeshare but will include food and entertainment.
(2 Nov) Cendant Corp (owners of RCI) announce the purchase of Fairfield Communities Inc.. Fairfield is the largest timeshare operator in the USA with over 300,000 owners in 33 resorts. The total purchase price is $635M
(11 Oct) Sunterra Corp (USA) announce their “rescue” team headed by Gregory F Rayburn a specialist in “underperforming and troubled companies”.
(2 Oct) The trial of John Palmer and Christine Ketley opens in the Old Bailey, with nephew Andrew Palmer, named as defendants. The charges allege that the three were involved in swindling 16,000 people out of millions of pounds in a timeshare “holiday con”.
(19 Sep) Independent on Sunday paints a very positive picture of timeshare with emphasis on the benefits of buying in the secondary market.
(5 Sep) Which? magazine critisises Barratt International Resorts Ltd. for excessive increases in annual management fees. Which? say that they want the government to crack down on this and other timeshare problems.
(29 Aug) Warnings have been received from Spain of a concerted telephone marketing campaign planned for this autumn and winter to sell Holiday Clubs to UK timeshare owners.
(25 Aug) Some consumers caught by the sudden disappearance of R&S Marketing Ltd have received their money back from their credit card issuer.
(24 Aug) “Beware Rogue Traders” (ITV) exposes International Vacation Club – based at Lanzarote Beach Club – in the words of an ex-salesman “…. the largest scams I’ve ever encountered”
(21 Aug) DTI petitions to wind up two timeshare companies – Step Management Ltd and Timeplan Ltd, operating from Manchester and Perth.
(13 Aug) Sunday Express carries three articles on timeshare including the Hever story (see 11 Aug). The other stories warn about the dangers of buying into holiday clubs on the Costa del Sol.
(11 Aug) Hever companies are wound up by the court (see 23 Mar and 26 May) following the sale of timeshare interests to various companies, some associated with the vacation Club Action Group.
(4 Aug) Owners at Barratt resorts launch their own web site
(30 Jul) TCA publish their report and proposals submitted to the DTI in response to their review of legislation for timeshare in the UK.
(23 July) Sunday papers continue their exposure of timeshare problems. The Scottish Sunday Mail (see 17 June) confirms that some purchasers of GVC points have been offered refunds. News of the World links Kenneth Noye (jailed for ‘life’ for the M25 road rage killing) with a timeshare development in Cyprus and the Scottish Sunday Post exposes mafia like activity in timeshare selling on Tenerife.
(14 July) BBC Watchdog link an expose of marketing malpractices in GVC/Sunterra Europe and La Dorada Club under the general heading of “Holiday Clubs”.
(2 July) News of the World announces a poster campaign on the Costa del Sol to warn consumers about Roy Buck and the Marco Polo Vacation Club (see 25 June)
(29 June) The five men convicted of a £30M timeshare fraud (see 25 May) were each jailed for periods ranging between 14 and 18 months
(29 June) Tony Pearce – who started the gvc-members website – is elected to the Board of Grand Vacation Club Ltd as an owner Director.
(25 June) News of the World claims that Roy Buck, convicted fraudster boss of Marco Polo Vacation Club, sells non-existent holiday packages on the Costa del Sol to unsuspecting tourists.
(21 June) Underscar, a high quality resort in the Lake District, claims to have sold more than half its planned inventory in under two years from start.
(17 June) For the fourth Sunday in succession the Sunday Mail (in Scotland) continues the story of problems experienced by Grand Vacation Club (GVC) members who have purchased through Caledonian Resort Sales Ltd. A number of Scots GVC members have formed an action group in the hope of taking legal action.
(15 June) Three former Cendant Corp (owners of RCI) executives pleaded guilty to participating in a massive accounting fraud and said their superiors encouraged them to routinely inflate profits.
(6 June) RCI announce the resignation, with effect from 31 July, of Nelson Hitchcock as Managing Director of RCI Europe and also the retirement of Colin Collins, the director responsible for the CRI points system, on medical grounds.
Also announced is the appointment of Brett Archibald as Director for RCI Eurasia – an amalgamation of RCI Europe and RCI Asia-Pacific. Brett Archibald was previously with RCI Southern Africa.
(31 May) Sunterra Corp files for creditor protection (Chapter 11) and announces that it has obtained temporary financing to provide time to get approval of a plan for reorganization. Sunterra Europeis not included in the Chapter 11 filing.
(29 May) TimeshareRefund, based in America, claims that it found a way for a large number of timeshare owners in the US to get a full refund on their timeshare purchase, even if it was up to three years ago.
(26 May) Vacation Club Action Group, representing members of Hever Holiday Owners Club, succeed in obtaining court approval for the purchase of inventory from Holiday Worldwide Properties. This is the first, important, stage in establishing a new club for Hever Holiday Owners Club members.
(26 May) Airtours plc quit the timeshare business following heavy first half year loses. This follows a close down of their off-site marketing operations last month.
(25 May) Five men convicted of defrauding 17,000 timeshare owners of out “at least £30M” after an Old Bailey trial lasting eight months. The men, Martin Addington-Smith; Malcolm Watsford-Wallace; Alexander Thompson; Michael Harbison and Simon Stevens were freed on bail awaiting pre-sentencing reports.
(21 May) Sunday Post publishes the story of a Scottish lady who was persuaded to “invest” in timeshare properties by Resort Properties of Tenerife. So far with a nil return on her investment of £12,000.
(20 May) UK-investreports on the development of the UK timeshare industry and on plans for further legislation to tighten up on anti consumer practices.
(19 May) The town of Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol plans to stamp out excessive timeshare touting and to control advertising in an effort to reduce complaints from tourists.
(17 May) Sunterra Corp close down most of their sales operation in the US as a possible prelude to filing for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy)
(15 May) Sunterra Corp (US) problems worsen as they fail to make an agreed interest repayment and report continuing poor trading results – persistent rumours that Sunterra Europe is to be sold are not confirmed.
(8 May) Wisconsin prison authorities agreed to employ inmates as telephone salesmen for a timeshare resort – until they found out that the man marketing the resort was a fraudster!
(2 May) John Palmer, accused of a £30 million fraud involving 17,000 timeshare owners, was discharged by the Old Bailey judge after a trial lasting eight months. John Palmer now faces a retrial.
(1 May) German timeshare consumer protection association announce that they will be awarding the European Timeshare Consumer Award again this year to those timeshare operators who meet the association’s very high standards.
(27 Apr) TCA submit a broad range of proposals to the European Commission for further and better legislation throughout Europe to curtail anti-consumer practices in the timeshare industry.
(25 Apr) Dr Kim Howells, Consumer Minister, publish proposals for a major shake up in the laws covering timeshare in the UK. The proposals, which cover both the pre-contractural period (buying) and the post-contractural (ownership) are designed to protect consumers in an industry which can be a “sensible way to to secure a regular family holiday”. The TCA will be inviting all its members to contribute to their answer to these proposals – due with the DTI by 31st July.
(4 Apr) Consumers’ Association (publishers of Which?) promise to put “dodgy timeshare deals” high on their first list of actions they will be taking under the Injunctions Directive when it becomes law later this year.
(2 Apr) RCI South Africa publish their “Space Availability” chart for the next six months.
(1 Apr) Lanzarote Beach Club have proposed abandoning the holding of Annual General Meetings – see LBCMA.
(23 Mar) DTI petition for the winding up of another Hever company, Hever Management Ltd, in addition to the seven already listed for winding up petitions. (see 3 Dec 1999)
(14 Mar) European Consumer Centre in Spain publish a useful guide to buying timeshare in Spain. In English, Spanish and French. Contact Us for a copy.
(2 Mar) Swedish newspaper Expressen reports that Airtours is stopping sales of timeshare in Spain.
(17 Feb) The Department of Trade & Industry publish proposals for organisations to be able to apply for injunctions stopping rogue traders – including timeshare sharks – from cheating consumers. The new regulations will become effective on 1st January 2001. Applications will be able to be made in any EU country.
(10 Feb) Office of Fair Trading (OFT) report on consumer complaints for the first half of 1999 show complaints about package holidays declining, year on year, but timeshare complaints have risen 20% over the same period.
(6 Feb) Another worldwide exchange company, Timex, is launched bringing to six the number of exchange companies serving UK owners. The other three smaller ones being UKRE, Dial-an-Exchange and Timelinx
(21 Jan) Stockholders in Sunterra Corp have started a legal action against the company (and some of its officers) claiming that they issued false and misleading profit statements. The value of Sunterra corp shares fell to an all-time low.
(19 Jan) Sunterra Corp warns of profit drop; possible stock exchange investigation into insider dealing, and Richard Harrington (ex. LSI boss) is appointed CEO.
(10 Jan) Sunterra Corp (owners of Sunterra Europe/GVC) share prices drop by 25% following a number of large share sales in New York Stock Exchange.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk