01908 881058 info@timeshareconsumerassociation.org.uk Donate

How to cancel outside a cooling off period

Posted on September 28, 2015

How to cancel outside a cooling off period

In Law, you do not have an automatic right to cancel an agreement after the end of a cooling off period (if a cooling off period existed).  Due to this, the seller is technically entitled to take you to court to force you to complete the contract.

The main defences to a Court action are:

  • The contract is invalid in law. You will need to show the Agreement to a solicitor to establish whether the contract is valid or not.
  • You were given information which was false and which, if you had known the truth, you would not have signed the agreement – ‘misrepresentation‘.

But there are often cases when you do not find out until after the end of a cooling off period that you were provided false information,  to get you to sign the agreement.

It is common for a seller to threaten legal action if you cancel outside a cooling off period. But the TCA have no knowledge of any action being taken by non-UK based companies and of very few actions having been taken by UK based companies against purchasers who cancelled outside a cooling off period. It is a good idea to make comprehensive notes of everything that you were told at the presentation in case you need to justify your claim of misrepresentation.

The TCA’s advice is to;

– Totally ignore any correspondence from the seller and certainly do not talk to them on the telephone

–  Only seek legal advice should you receive correspondence on a lawyer’s / solicitor’s or debt collector’s letterhead.

If you do decide to cancel, and believe that you were misled in order to get you to sign, and then say that the reason for cancellation is due to ‘misrepresentation’.

If you have paid a deposit and it was within the first 14days of signing the agreement, this is illegal and you can get your money back.

– When writing to the company you need to state that you request a refund on the deposit paid within 14days. Remember to state that you are aware that up front fees are illegal and as such, if they fail to return your money you will be reporting them to Trading Standards.

– If you do not receive your deposit back and you paid on Credit Card then go to your CC company and make a claim under “Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act”.

– If you paid on Debit card then contact the back to make a “chargeback claim”.

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

Related posts:

  1. Understanding your rights within the”Cooling off period”
    What is a “cooling off period” This is an amount of time given to a consumer, so as to reflect and consider the timeshare contract they have entered into with...
  2. Cooling off Period in USA Timeshare Contracts Explained?
    British Timeshare consumers have to come to the understanding that when they visit another country and enter into a contract on (what I would class as) foreign soil, they submit...
  3. “Cooling off periods”
    What is a “cooling off period” This is an amount of time given to a consumer, so as to reflect and consider the timeshare contract they have entered into with...
  4. Fixed period or flexible points -Advice-
    You may have been unaware that an active group on Facebook has sought the advice of an eminent Scottish Queen’s Counsel on the likelihood of a successful challenge to MacDonald’s...
  5. Cooling Off Periods Explained
    Contracts both written and verbal are, by definition, legally binding on the parties which freely entered into them, therefore it’s difficult to achieve cancellation legally and does require minds that...