When a Consumer engages with a company one would expect that the company acting on behalf of the Consumer would act in their best interest. In the event that a secret profit is being exploited by the company there is a breach.
If and when a Consumer decides to instruct somebody to sell a particular thing that Consumer owns the instruction and is subject to implied terms in that the Consumers expect the company he or she engages with to act on his behalf. Contained within that expectation is a principle that secret profits do not flow from the engagement that the Consumer has placed with the company.
The existence of secret profits could frustrate the purpose of the engagement.
It is being reported that a re-seller of timeshare was not only taking a consideration upfront but also a consideration at the back end.
The upfront consideration is clearly unlawful however, what is wrong is that a secret consideration is being gained by the reseller which could ultimately frustrate any sale. The frustration of the sale is a very disturbing consequence as it would not be within the mind of the Consumer who wishes to sell.
If the secret consideration was disclosed, the Consumer would have the opportunity to assess the impact of the secret charge and give just consideration to the engagement before it occurred.
In our view this is in complete breach of the Unfair Terms and indeed practices and any individual who is privy to such information may be inadvertently supporting an unlawful practice.
In any event if anyone has any information regarding such activities, they should, and without delay, report them to the Police or the Trading Standards.
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