Although you might come across the odd happy Timeshare points owner, we believe if they were fully aware of exactly what they have purchased they might not be so happy.
People buy into a Timeshare as they are told that it will give them access to book exclusive luxury accommodation, however if you do your research these can usually be booked without being a member (a lot of the time at less than the annual maintenance fees) or resorts of the same standard in the same area can be booked for the same price or less and therefore the initial cost and commitment of the Timeshare is not needed. Also when looking online you will find members offering out their weeks or points for free or at highly discounted prices as they are unable to use them.
Here at the TCA another common complaint is availability, members find that when requesting dates in a resort it often gets rejected however when looking online they find that non-members can go online and book the week they have requested as they save apartments/rooms for private rentals knowing that members need to pay their annual maintenance fees regardless.
Due to changes in personal circumstance many members find themselves unable to use the Timeshare, whether this be due to ill health or personal commitments, or unable to afford the Timeshare however when trying to terminate the agreement then find themselves stuck in a “Perpetuity contract” which means the clients are stuck with this for 50 years or more and in the event that they die this could even be passed down to other family members.
When purchasing a timeshare many misleading sales tactics are used such as promising clients “guaranteed aThevailability even during school holidays”, that this is “an investment” and therefore selling this on and making a profit is an option at any time and that you can hand back the ownership whenever you want, of course all of which are not true.
When seeking legal advice most members find themselves in a contract which does not comply with any of the legal requirements that a contract should. Some Timeshare companies decided to change their contracts to “Credit Agreements” after the CPA (Consumer Protection Act) came into place on the 31st March 2011 as this does not apply to Credit Agreements however it does apply to the goods and services that are within that agreement such as the points and annual management fees. When contracts have been looked over by legal specialists many contracts have been valid in terms of the law however have been cancelled, without any cost or maintenance fees being up to date, under sufficient grounds.
Resorts will sometimes recommend that if you are not happy with your ownership then you should sell it, we all know however that as they do not have any value and Timeshare industry has such a bad reputation that people do not want anything to do with one. Usually the resort will recommend a company (somehow affiliated to them) or offer to put it on “their books” for resale however both do not amount to anything other than excuses and reasons why it has not sold. Many owners are offering their ownerships on eBay for 0.99p just to get rid of them and still nobody wants to take on the commitment!
Even with all of the above when clients are trying to hand back their worthless Timeshare to the resort to avoid paying annual maintenance fees the resorts refuse to take this back and threaten clients with legal action if they do not continue to pay. When clients have refused to continue to pay for something they cannot use or feel mis-sold on resorts are known to harass clients until they feel worried and trapped into paying.
Taking all of the above into consideration I think if most people knew what they were buying into when purchasing Timeshare points, it is fair to say that most people would not waste their money!
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