Mix up over booking nearly leads to timeshare member driving his own caravan to resort in protest after being “unable to reach a human being on the phone booking line since October”
MacDonald Resort
Ian Standbridge was until recently a happy timeshare user with MacDonald Resorts. Thanks to the pandemic, British timeshares like Lochanhully where Ian’s mother is an owner have become a valuable asset. “For Brits unable to fly, British holiday accommodation has suddenly become extremely valuable,” explains Daniel Keating of the Timeshare Consumer Association (TCA). “Timeshare owners abroad generally want to escape their contracts as the system is considered expensive and dated. But for Brits owning in the UK, right now what they have is incredibly good value due to increased demand.”
Ian’s parents bought a week in a 2 bedroom lodge at the idyllic Lochanhully resortin the Cairngorms around 30 years ago. “The family used it every year until my father passed away,” says Ian. “My mother is suffering with dementia now and can’t manage the 10 hour drive from Poole, so it’s my girlfriend and I who use it.“
Controversial points system
Ian always pays the annual £482 maintenance fee on time and has been trying to book his week for months, an action which became necessary when MacDonald Resorts controversially forced the fixed week owners to swap into a points ownership. “My parents owned the week we wanted, so booking never used to be a problem. Now that we are all on this points system it’s a free-for-all. Every year it is a battle to get our week in a time that we can use.”
Disappeared
Ian says he has been trying to book his 2021 April week since October last year. “I call the booking line several times a week, sometimes several times a day,” Ian reports. “I have even tried MacDonald head offices. They just point me back to the Lochanhully booking line which never answers. I have tried calling every Lochanhully number I can find, including the restaurant, without success. There is a booking page on the website, but when I try to book, it wrongly tells me I owe 2 years maintenance and won’t let me confirm without paying that amount.
“They never fail to take my money on time for the annual fee,” says Ian. “It’s worrying that they seem to have disappeared when I want my holiday. God knows what’s happening up there. Are they even still in business?”
Drastic action
Ian says he won’t accept being ignored. “I’ve paid for my week and I’ve tried very hard to follow their booking protocols. I’m a reasonable man but this is infuriating. If they continue not to answer I will drive all the way up there with my caravan and park onsite if need be. I may even take a crowbar and sledgehammer in case there is an empty lodge I can get into. I paid for this week and I’m not going to miss it through MacDonalds’ ineptitude.”
UK timeshare resorts reputation
“Sadly this isn’t the first negative report we have about UK timeshare companies,”comments the TCA‘s Daniel Keating. “MacDonald Resorts and Seasons Holidays have both come under fire for treatment of their members and we hope the MacDonald Lochanhully Resort will resolve this matter with Mr Standbridge.
“Since the pandemic started the TCA’s phone lines have been receiving a dramatic upturn in the amount of complaints from timeshare owners in general. People who own abroad are looking to escape their memberships as a result of being charged full maintenance for a service they can’t use. UK members tend to be unhappy at alleged inventive ways their resorts are trying to get them to give up their ownerships, presumably so the club can cash in on the increased holiday rental market whilst flying is forbidden during COVID.”
For advice on these, or any other timeshare related issues, please get in touch with Daniel on the contact details below.
Update: Timeshare Consumer Association was able to reach MacDonald Resorts booking service shortly after this article was published. An “extremely helpful lady called Andrea” got in touch with Mr Standbridge and confirmed that he was in fact already booked in for his week in April. “I am very grateful to the Timeshare Consumer Association for sorting this out,” says Ian. “I have been trying to talk to someone there for months, and been unable to do so. I imagine my mother must have booked the week and perhaps forgotten. If I had only been able to speak to a human being, this could have been sorted out straight away.”
TCA is pleased that no crowbars, sledgehammers or caravans were used to solve Mr Standbridge’s concerns.
Article first published on NewsDesk.
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