The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith was staying in the quiet luxury holiday estate, Loch Ranoch Highland club earlier on in the year. It is quite a haven for well-known and affluent personas to get away from the everyday hustle and bustle of their lives. However, in this case the Tory leader has been used as a marketing campaign to attract more visitors to the already popular lodges.
Loch Ranoch Highland Club have compromised their clients’ rights to privacy and it has upset Duncan Smith, who has previously enjoyed his quiet getaways at the lodges in the Highlands. The news was brought to his attention by an owner of the lodges who receives the regular newsletter and email campaigns from the resort. The most recent newsletter announced the fact that Iain Duncan Smith had been a recent visitor to the resort and even had enquired to purchase some weeks at the exclusive resort.
However, he has said that his name has been used without his permission, and has also compromised his privacy. This is a breach on the resorts part, and also could be detrimental to the security of the former Tory leader. It just shows the lengths that some companies will go, to acquire new visitors. The owner who informed the Tory leader has said:
“People come here to get away from it all. The last thing we want is our names being publicised. These details go to thousands of timeshare owners across the UK. In Mr Duncan Smith’s case it is made worse in that it was blatant false advertising.”
Duncan Smith, although upset that he has been used in unsolicited advertising, has been rather forgiving. His spokesperson has said that he has requested an apology from the resort and he has also requested that he is not used in any further campaigns.
The resort itself have made a statement declaring that the resort manager was not on site at the time that Duncan Smith was staying with them, and they found it hard to understand how this had happened as no one else knows who he is. This seems to be an odd statement from the resort, as even if the manager had not been on site, one would find it hard to believe that no one else would recognise this famous face. They also did not confirm nor deny that the allegations were true. However, it has come from an eye witness to the press release and newsletter.
Let’s hope that Loch Ranoch Resort have learnt from this lesson, and are happy that they have escaped with only a slap on the wrist, as the consequences of this false advertising could have been a lot worse.
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