We suppose the title of this article applies to all life purchases, let alone timeshare, but when expenditure to make a purchase is rapidly heading toward the £20,000 mark, then research is certainly key.
Researching what, on the surface, seems to be a relatively easy product to understand can often lead would be purchasers up that well known creek leaving them without the proverbial paddle. With timeshare, put simplistically, you pay a sum of money, you have an ownership contract for a set term and in exchange you can take holidays, simple, but is it?
Understanding timeshare in greater depth
Let’s start with the tour, better still let’s call it the sales presentation. After agreeing to a 90 minute tour of the resort, which incidentally may take over 5 or more and involve a lot of high pressure selling, you may end up believing that timeshare will provide all things to all men, but will it?
Timeshare sales staff are notorious for verbally adapting the product to suit whatever holiday requirement you may have, in many cases outright lies are told in the quest for a sale. Below we list what timeshare doesn’t do:
- It doesn’t guarantee destination.
- It doesn’t guarantee resorts.
- It doesn’t guarantee availability.
- It doesn’t guarantee dates.
- It doesn’t guarantee exchanges.
- It won’t ever be an investment in the financial sense.
With the exception of old style fixed week contracts, timeshare has no implicit guarantees at all and certainly should never be associated with investment, in the financial sense of the word. Past experience would suggest that sales staff will reverse all the above negatives into the positives, given half a chance;
“Get where you want, when you want, swop it for any location in the world and when you don’t want it any more, we will buy it back or you can sell it and make a profit” What is said, is most cases, will not represent the real terms as stated in the purchase contract. Finding out after the event is too late, once again research as to the real value and terms of what you are buying are key.
Researching the developer
Just as important as the above is also research into the developer. It’s fair to say that some developers, such as Disney Vacation Club, get glowing reviews; not only for their sales ethics but also for the transparent way they explain and sell their product. Unfortunately, whilst DVC stands out for the right reasons, many other developers stand out for the wrong reasons.
Once again, research before purchase is of paramount importance, once purchased, crying over spilt milk is of no value when you then realise your error. With the advent of the internet, research has become so easy. Simply typing into Google “timeshare complaints” or “developer name complaints” will give you literally thousands of results to pick the bones out of.
TCA comment
The “I wish I’d never got involved with timeshare” syndrome is alive and well, that is if we can believe the amount of times we hear this on our helpline from, shall we say, disgruntled owners. For the most part these owners are the victims of over promising and under delivering on all the wonderful things their timeshare supposedly can do, as relayed by the sales team.
As the expression goes, hindsight is a wonderful thing, however that’s of little help when considerable sums have been spent only to find the product purchased doesn’t do what is says on the tin.
If you are considering the purchase of a timeshare, or are contemplating going on a “tour”, then do yourself a really great favour, research as much information as you can before signing on the dotted line. The sales team will use every trick in the book to get you to buy on the day. If you haven’t carried out prior research, then delay your decision until you have. After the plethora of lies already told, the final one of “If you don’t buy today you won’t ever be able to buy” or “If you don’t buy today the special price won’t be around tomorrow” are just a couple of more untruths to add to the pile you have already experienced, all designed to make you buy on the spot.
If you fully understand what you are buying, warts and all, then maybe timeshare ownership is for you, but if you fall into the trap of believing everything you are told and you buy on the strength of that, then it’s a self inflicted wound and remorse after the event will help you not one iota.
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