The only way to describe most Timeshare sales meetings would be “an all-day hard sales presentation” where you are told everything you want to hear until they wear you down enough and you agree to sign the contracts. Of course everything that was promised verbally will never appear in the contracts nor will it materialise once you get home and try to use it.
For a lot of people, the amount that the sales staff are asking for is not affordable and this is when they offer you a finance agreement and there and then the same sales staff will go through and fill in all the relevant paperwork and application forms to arrange the loan on the day.
Resort Properties who changed their name to Silverpoint even sold these weeks as an “investment” and promised that they weeks would be rented out or sold for a higher price so they would always make “profit” which never materialized.
For a lot of innocent people that was sucked into buying under false information the finance was funded by Barclays Partner Finance, which was formally called Clydesdale. There are currently many cases going on against Barclays Partner Finance for this.
As companies such as Resort Properties claim that the weeks they “invest” in will be rented out they assured people that the income from the rental of the weeks will “easily cover any loan repayments” however we are yet to know of anybody who has been successful when renting their weeks out to cover these costs!
With interest rates and APR at 17.6% over a 15-year period as an example when a Timeshare has been purchased for £10,600 when added any fees and interest the total amount they pay back can be over £29,000 – a huge amount which they will not be able to recoup as promised.
As for selling the weeks for a “profit” as we all know you can find “luxury Timeshares” for sale on eBay for £1 as owners are desperate to get rid of them due to either circumstances changing, realising they have bought something that is nothing like as explained or due to the increasing maintenance fees which they can no longer afford.
There is also a lot of concern surrounding false information being provided by the sales staff in order to get a loan approved, there is known examples of couples in their late 70’s on just small pensions receiving loans of £40,000, something that would never be approved by any reputable and legitimate loan company. When looking over their paperwork once home Timeshare buyers have noticed that their income on the application form was not true and therefore the sales staff have changed this when filling out the forms but only noticed after the loan had been approved.
It is also common for the applications purpose to be submitted as “home improvements” as opposed to “buying a Timeshare” and therefore it could be argued that the people who have signed the loan agreements have been coerced into committing fraud without their knowledge.
For many affected by the above, they are currently waiting for their cases against Barclays Partner Finance to be heard at the courts in Tenerife.
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