The number one inbound call topic to TCA at the moment surrounds scam companies calling ex Diamond owners and trying to put the fear of God into them. Due to the amount of calls we receive it appears that Diamond Resorts Europe may have suffered a fairly large data breach, in other words, personal data pertaining to former owners has found its way to not just one scam company but dozens.
At this juncture we would add that if this data relates to ex owners and has been stolen, the fact that Diamond have these records would indicate that the ex owner carried out the relinquishment in accordance with the full agreement of Diamond
In short, the scammers try to instil fear in a number of ways which we will delve into below. From a psychological point of view, two prime human motivators are fear and greed. Frighten someone enough and they will take action, convince them of riches due, then greed sets in. If you can combine both, you’re onto a winner, or so the scammers say.
The scam and what’s wrong with it
Without going into detail, we will say that everything about this scam is false. Time to put some flesh on the bones:
The data justifier
Naturally a number of cold call recipients ask the pertinent question “where did you get my data” the glib answer is the timeshare owners register. Firstly, no such register exists or ever will, so lie number one, see our article here. TCA also exposed another fake register, since publication the website has disappeared. The article may be read here.
Hilton takeover of Diamond
This where it starts, according to the scammers, you have not really disposed of your ownership it is merely suspended. Because of this, Hilton will reenergise your contract and you will be liable for all the back maintenance! Absolute rubbish.
Land Registry
All Diamond contracts including those issued by GVC and Sunterra were issued on a points basis, therefore there is no involvement with Spanish Land Registry. Even on older fixed week contracts issued in Spain, the developer would have sorted any Land Registry details on your behalf at the time of exit.
The Trust Company
You may be told that there are errors with the exit and you need to correct these with the trust company. Again, rubbish, Trust Companies in the world of timeshare are there to protect the assets to stop developers selling them from underneath timeshare owners’ feet.
As a timeshare owner you never need to, nor will ever need to be involved with the trust company. The relationship is between the developer and the trust company, not you and the trust company. Diamond Resorts Europe use Isle of Man based First National Trust Company Limited (FNTC). An extract from Diamond is shown below:
Owners of points rights are able to use those points rights in exchange for accommodation at holiday properties. “The legal interests in holiday properties developed or acquired by the Diamond Group are placed in trust by the group and held by an independent trustee, First National Trust Company Limited on trust for the members, thereby protecting the interests of the owners of the points rights.”
Confirmation from Diamond
If the exit was carried out correctly, Diamond would either send an email or letter confirming that the contract was terminated and there would be no further liability for any fees, including maintenance. According to the scammers, this letter will be overridden by Hilton. Again we say absolute rubbish. That document is 100% factual and worth its weight in gold and has not or will not been overridden by Hilton.
The false exit and claim
For a not insubstantial sum of money, the scammers will both exit you correctly and claim back all your money, thus you are really just lending them the fee as it will all come back! Well the first part cannot possibly be achieved because you already have proof that you are out, courtesy of Diamond. The second part will not happen because the scammers have no intention, or the ability of presenting a claim on your behalf, fear and greed rolled into one. Certain claims against Diamond Europe are a possibility but expert legal knowledge and experience will be required.
TCA comment
A disappointing fact surrounding this scam is that Diamond Resorts Europe office in Lancaster must know that some of their data has gone walkabout. It would only take a few hours of admin time and minimal expense to write and/or email all ex owners with a warning, have they? No.
Remember all of this starts with a cold call. As we established above, legally these scammers have no rights under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) to have your data, let alone contact you.
We will caveat this article by stating that this applies only to those who legally handled the exit through Diamond Resorts Europe. If Maintenance fees were simply stopped as a means of exit, this could cause future problems. If this is the case get in touch with us for further advice.
If you exited your Diamond ownership with Diamond and have the supplied confirmation from Diamond, then you’re bullet proof. Don’t let some fraudster frighten you into believing otherwise. Rest easy, sleep at night and if you should be cold called, simply tell the caller to go play on the bypass!
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