Following six determined years of work by Adriana Stoyanova (AKA the Erin Brockovich of timeshare) Barclays ready to pay a further £181 million to people “mis-sold” Barclays loans enabled by disgraced Maltese timeshare company Azure
£48 million already repaid
Stoyanova’s first victory was widely reported on in 2021, when the financial giant agreed to cancel 1500 loans issued between 2014 and 2016. Barclays agreed to not only cancel the loans, but also pay interest on the payments already made, and wipe any notes on the credit files of customers involved, which related to the timeshare loans.
Azure had used non licensed agents to process the loans. In fact it was the commission only timeshare salespeople themselves who handled the applications. Recipients reported being given approval for their loans almost straight away, and claimed that the timeshare salespeople had told them how to answer the loan application in ways that would make the approval easier.
Victims described being told that timeshares were good investments and could be sold at a higher price later. In reality, as with all timeshares, not only do they have no resale value at all, but professional help is generally required to relinquish the membership.
Expecting to make money on what they were told was a type of real estate investment, Azure customers took high interest Barclays Partner Finance loans which allegedly in some cases wiped out their savings and left them working into retirement.
Another £181 million earmarked
Adriana Stoyanova, who is a specialist lawyer collaborating with leading firm of lawyers, M1 Legal, fought for the historic £48 million compensation for victims who were sold timeshare loans within a fixed two year period. However the legal ace strongly believed that the original settlement did not go far enough.
“There were many other people who bought timeshares with Azure under what they consider to be unfair pressure” she confirms. “These loans often had a huge impact on people’s lives, and I knew I had to help them too.”
Adriana continued and in May 2022, both the Financial Times and The Telegraph both reported that Barclays had ‘taken a provision’ of a further £181 million to compensate improperly sold customers of timeshare loans in Malta. This brings the total to £229 million pounds.
Barclays comments
According to The Telegraph, Barclays were making amends to all customers who had expressed dissatisfaction, following a detailed review of complaints related to the Azure timeshare book. Barclays said that various factors had come to light indicating that Azure did not “consistently adhere to the standards we expect of out credit brokers when providing credit to Barclays Partner Finance customers.”
Further to the original 1400 victims already receiving compensation, a further 6000 people will be refunded ‘all fees and payments’ plus 8% interest on money already paid.
As with the original 1400 cases, any black marks on these customers’ credit files relating to Azure purchases will be removed.
TCA comment
Daniel Keating, Information Officer for the Timeshare Consumer Association (TCA) said, “This is a huge win by a determined lawyer on behalf of people who normally wouldn’t stand a chance against such a powerful bank. It really is a David and Goliath situation.
“Even though £181 million is a huge amount of money, it is still a drop in the ocean,” notes Keating. “This is just one bank, with just one resort, and within a narrow timeframe.
“This unhealthy alliance of major credit providers and sometimes notoriously disreputable timeshare companies has been going on for decades.
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