In our last article we looked at whether or not timeshare upgrades were of any value. In a throwaway line we stated that with every upgrade there also requirement to pay additional maintenance fees. What we failed to point out is the real effect of such a statement.
Luckily a reader who keeps impeccable records supplied us with his story concerning maintenance fees and the effect of upgrades.
The numbers
As far as this story goes we need to look at the background. Our reader first entered into timeshare back in 2001 with a purchase of GVC points. To date he has made five additional upgrades. From a modest investment of £2,800 this has escalated to a total spent of £58,000 including the upgrades.
The figures we present below show that back in 2001 the annual maintenance fee was just £307.50; however taking all the upgrades into account in 2021 the fee is now £5,708! For the mathematicians amongst you that represents a rise of 1,859%. Below we reproduce the history; the red Xs represent the years that upgrades took place:
As may be seen, the annual fee takes a leap every time an upgrade takes place. The upshot is that this owner is far from happy with the now massive annual fee and wants out. We think this fairly represents a pattern all too familiar to owners who upgrade.
Despite the vast number of points now owned, our owner still faces the same problems of availability and resort choice. It really doesn’t matter if you own 10,000 points or 1,000,000 points the problems associated with points based timeshare still exist, first come, first served.
Maintenance fees 2022
As we pen this article we are well aware of the fact that we are entering maintenance season. It’s only a matter of weeks before most developers send out their demands for 2022. We know from literally hundreds of calls we received during the height of the pandemic that there is an under swell of discontent amongst owners. Complaints levelled not only surround the loss of use during the pandemic, as if adding insult to injury, no maintenance fee refunds either. Now travel restrictions have, for the most part, been lifted there is a kind of Dutch auction for availability. All the points in the world can often not get you where you want when you want.
Annual fees are a contractual liability attached to every timeshare ownership agreement and come hell or high water must be paid. In our example above, if there is a modest rise of say 5%, the 2022 fee will be close on £6,000. It must also be remembered that this fee is for a self catering holiday that includes no travel costs. According to Travel Supermarket in their £2,000 bracket they state:
“A budget of this size really gives you the freedom to spread your wings, including long-haul luxury holidays to tropical destinations such as Mauritius, Hawaii, Bermuda and the Malaysian archipelago of Langkawi. A Travel Supermarket search discovered a 14-day, four-star Mauritius break for £1,380 per person, departing on August 25 from London Heathrow.”
Our comment
As we believe we have demonstrated, maintenance fees can rapidly get out of hand especially if you fall victim to multiple upgrades. Given the plethora of online companies selling holiday accommodation together with the proliferation of the low cost airline industry, one has to wonder how long the timeshare model will last.
Unfortunately, timeshare has always been easy to get into but in many cases can be notoriously difficult to get out of. If you feel trapped in your timeshare there are ways out so don’t despair. As is usual at this time of year we once again pose the question “are you happy with both your ownership and the maintenance fees you pay?” If the answer is no and you need help don’t hesitate in contacting us, we may not have all the answers but we can certainly point you in the right direction.
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