After purchasing his Flexi Holiday Club timeshare points some 10 years ago Nqe Dlamini had no idea that annulling his membership might not be as easy he thought. Dlamini thought this would be as simple as writing a one-off cancellation notice via e-mail.
Initially Nge Dlamini acquired R48,678 worth of points. Sometime later increasing this to R65,778 and respectfully paying all his annual contribution fees, as much as R13,000 per year to keep his membership up to date.
After enjoying several holidays with Flexi Holiday Club he decided to annul his membership in January 2015. Dlamini never doubted for one moment that the email which was sent would not be actioned, and subsequently hoping that he may be reimbursed for some of the initial purchase price. The reply came informing Dlamini to ‘settle the account (the annual subscription fee) first before cancellation’ doing exactly that he then sent further correspondence again by e-mail requesting to cancel the contract.
Nevertheless, Dlamini said the company did not action his request and when he questioned this in January 2016 he was told he had to pay 2016 subscription fees via bank transfer first. Once the 2016 subscription fees were paid, he was then told to resubmit his cancellation request a second time.
At this point Dlamini sought legal advice after himself making repeat calls and e-mails which were both ignored by the company. Dlamini’s lawyer requested the company offer the possibility of a “discretionary cancellation”. Dlamini’s legal team were informed that the board of trustees would need to deliberate and agree, however this would result in the loss of savings and points to his club account.
Dlamini’s legal team questioned Peter Synman, director of Club Leisure Group which manages Flexi Holiday Club, about their cancellation policy and why Dlamini’s original request back in 2015 had not been actioned. Synman said that Dlamini had been instructed to follow company protocol which was to send a written cancellation request as soon as the 2016 subscription fee had been settled in full. Synman commented that this had not yet been done.
Synman said if Dlamini had proof of the original written cancellation letter he claimed to have e-mailed, the company would cancel the membership.
However, unfortunately for Dlamini, he had had some technical issues with his computer and as a result he had lost all his data which included all the e-mails he had sent. Fortunately, he had managed to recover numerous e-mail responses with the subject “cancellation” that he had received from the company in January and March 2015. Dlamini is still hoping IT experts can retrieve his data including his e-mails.
This should be a warning for all consumers who prefer to e-mail, always print out copies and/or back up important documents as you never know when you may need them.
Dlamini’s legal team yet again approached Snyman and asked whether the company would cancel the membership owing to the fact the Dlamini had at least paid up the 2015 and had at least provided the company with replies to his e-mails. Snyman declined.
- “As far as we are concerned, there is no resignation letter, therefore there is no cancellation, which we would be happy to make retrospective to 2015 if the evidence was available,” Snyman said. “I assure you that if this client had resigned, we would have actioned the matter.”
Snyman also commented that it was not possible to be “reimbursed” for points purchased. However, Dlamini could, should he wish, contact a resale company to assist in the resale of his points.
Dlamini via his lawyer lodged a complaint with the Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman, Neville Melville.
“Notice of cancellation must be in writing. To avoid later problems, consumers should, in addition to e-mail, send a registered letter to the timeshare supplier’s address,” Melville said.
The case continues.
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