Each day, every day there is a massive global industry selling us dreams, be it cosmetic companies, car companies they all attempt to sell us a dream. The Walt Disney studios have been selling dreams for years. The film industry is so good at lifting us from reality and popping us down in a world we can only dream of, that is at least for the one and a half hours or so that we sit through the film. What has all this got to do with timeshare? Let us explain.
Timeshare – Selling the dream
TCA dedicate a lot of time dismantling the timeshare product and presenting it for what it is, in this article we won’t look at the product, well maybe a little, we will focus on how it’s sold. Timeshare bears no real comparison to literally any other product. If you buy a TV, washing machine or car, they are real, you know what they are and what they do, you can touch and even admire them, not so timeshare. In previous articles we have also pointed out that you are actually proactive in buying almost all commodities, yes the store or car sales staff have a role in the decision making process but you still ventured out with the purpose of buying. With timeshare, no one goes out with the intention of buying one, they have to be sold.
It follows that if after buying a timeshare you can’t expect delivery of anything other than a pile of paperwork, hardly very tactile for the £20,000 or so you just spent. So how did you end up buying it? The answer is the dream.
The dream
The way life normally works is if you are employed you maybe get about five weeks of time off, so we spend 90% of our time working and 10% only as free time, excluding weekends and public holidays. If retired, obviously you get the full 52 weeks off! For the workers, taking a holiday trip with at least some of the five weeks is really important.
Holidays are often like Walt Disney films, they take us to places that we dream of, a two week share of paradise. Whether it’s Bournemouth, Benidorm or Bali for a couple of weeks you are living the dream. This is exactly what the sale of timeshare preys on. Imagine if you could own a long term slice of Paradise for not a lot, you might well be interested. But believe us, you may well find that the dream purchase could well turn into a nightmare not long after you tie yourself in. More on that later.
Financial logic
Timeshare sales staff are extremely adept at playing with figures and also emotions to make it seem that paying a large sum to buy in is actually cost saving. During the “warm up” over a coffee or breakfast you will be asked if the holiday you are on is something you would like every year over the next ten years or so. You will also be asked where you are staying and how much you paid, enter “financial logic”.
Bearing in mind you haven’t toured the resort yet, from what you have already seen the chances are that the timeshare resort is better than where you are staying. Straight away one barrier is taken down. You also said that you would like the kind of holiday you are currently enjoying in the future, if affordable. Next you reveal that your holiday cost let’s say £2,000, straight away the sales person jumps on this says something like:
“So over the next ten years you will be spending over £40,000 but with inflation that could be nearer £60,000. I am certain we can make that much cheaper for you but we won’t talk about that now as you haven’t seen what we have to offer”.
So off you go on the “tour”. What the rep is about to sell you is a self catering holiday only. Your current holiday included the flight cost in the £2,000 but this has been glossed over. Another point glossed over is the cost of annual maintenance. Add to this, that in virtually all timeshare purchases nowadays, finance is required, unsecured lending carrying interest rates often as high as 19% APR:
By this stage none of this has even been mentioned. By any stretch of imagination this is financial logic but flawed financial logic.
Button up the dream
Once again the sales team at the resorts are adept at putting square pegs in round holes, by this we mean that whatever you want from a holiday product, timeshare will do it. We mentioned washing machines earlier, if the sales rep in the shop tells you it has an eco cycle it’s easy to check there and then. A timeshare sales person may tell you all sorts of supposed benefits but you will never find out that what was promised is true, or not, till it’s too late.
Timeshare developers are known to only deal with complaints by reference to the detail contained in the purchase contract, or put bluntly what the representative says should not be taken as fact, the only facts are those in the written contract. In the USA this is often referred to as the license to lie!
It follows that during the “button up” whatever “will it do” type question asked will be answered in the affirmative and as we stated above, finding out the reality will only occur when put to the test, by which time it’s far too late to do anything about it.
TCA comment
In the real world, dreams are exactly that dreams, the imagination that you can buy real dreams is pure fantasy. A dream holiday is special and cannot be replicated no matter what the sale representatives say. Timeshares are not only expensive to get into, they are expensive to maintain and can be expensive to get out of.
Many years of paying maintenance, paying off any finance and at the same time finding out that despite what the sales rep said, all that glitters is far from gold. This is the dream that lies ahead, you have no way of knowing that the dream you were sold would turn out to be a nightmare, a nightmare on Timeshare Street.
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