Jeffrey Hitchmough, 65, of Downham Road, Wirral was given 180 hours of community service in respect of fraudulent sales of Timeshare properties in resorts around the Canary Islands. The Liverpool Star reported that Hitchmough had previously ran a successful travel agency which also incorporated sales of timeshare units. However, in 2012 he fell upon hard times and looked for a solution to get himself out of the mess he was in. The only way forward that he saw was to break the law, he started to con people, so that he himself had enough earnings to care for his own family. A little in the style of Robin Hood, except that Hitchmough was not robbing from the rich, but others like himself.
Hitchmough befriended most of his clients, and sold them timeshare properties that did not even exist. The fact that he got away with it for so long was down to the ‘solid friendships’ that he made with these customers, and he was able to string them along longer than one would normally expect.
The Liverpool Star also spoke with one of Hitchmough’s victims, whom claim to feel completely conned by the fraudster, she says that Hitchmough knew that she had a disabled daughter and sick granddaughter, which made her feel even worse that she had invested her trust and money in this man.
However, Sarah Holt, the defense lawyer for Hitchmough has declared that it was not to make a lot of money, it was simply a means to an end for his family to be able to survive. Hitchmough has already started to pay back some of the people that he ripped off, and is very remorseful that he stooped to such low levels. He intends to pay off all of his victims eventually.
The judge, Recorder Anthony Long, has taken note of the defences plea, and suspended the imprisonment of 16 months by 18 months, with the condition that he realises the community service that he has been given.
This is a sad story, that at least has some resolve for the clients that cumulatively lost £32,000 through the fraudulent dealings of Jeffrey Hitchmough. We at the TCA have reported on this to bring it to your attention that there are a lot of con-men out there, not so many are as remorseful as Hitchmough.
We would like to reiterate, no matter how friendly someone seems, their promises are maybe not always what they seem. If you are going to part with your hard earned cash, please do the research on the company previous to signing on the dotted line. If you have any doubts whether or not the company you are going to deal with is a legitimate one, please get in contact first, our contact number and email address are below. The TCA will endeavour to find out as much information as we can for you.
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