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Timeshare Consumers Association

 BETTER RIGHTS FOR PROSPECTIVE HOLIDAY CLUB MEMBERS

Prospective members of a leading supplier of holiday clubs have clearer and better consumer rights following action by the OFT.

Designer Way Vacation Club SA (DWVC) a Spanish company forming part of the Timelinx Group, and all its European based authorised marketing agents, have agreed undertakings with the OFT that require use of clearer contracts including the introduction of a seven day cooling-off period during which prospective members may cancel the contract. DWVC has 25,000 members and eight authorised marketing agents operating from 15 'sales decks' mainly in the Spanish Costas, the Canary Islands and the UK.

The OFT sought undertakings from DWVC after it found that the company's contracts contained a number of unclear or potentially unfair terms, such as a clause disclaiming liability for verbal sales representations and a clause cancelling the consumers' life time membership rights altogether upon failure to pay an additional annual £75 fee ( which could result in the loss of upfront membership payments of several thousand pounds.

The contractual relations between the consumer and DWVC are now made clear and the companies have agreed to recognise the consumer's right to a seven day cooling-off period under the legislation on contracts concluded away from business premises.

DWVC has undertaken to:

• use best endeavours to ensure that all its authorised marketers use only DWVC standard forms of contract which now give the consumer a right to cancel any contract for DWVC membership club services within seven days
• circulate revised forms of contract documentation including cancellation notices to all authorised marketers within one month of signing the undertakings
• require all authorised marketers to abide by a revised code of conduct which includes obligations not to make any misleading or inaccurate representations about the benefits of DWVC membership services; to use only up to date standard contractual documents issued by DWVC; and to explain to consumers that they have a right to cancel the contract
• accept written cancellation within seven days of the consumer receiving notice of their right to cancel, whether it is given to them or to the marketer, whether or not the standard notice of cancellation is used.
• Each independent marketing company has undertaken to:
• use only DWVC standard forms of contract which give the consumer a right to cancel any contract for membership services within 7 days
• abide by the revised code of conduct for sales of Timelinx products and services provided by DWVC
•  not to make any misleading or inaccurate representations about the benefits of DWVC membership.

If any of the companies breaches the undertakings the OFT could seek an injunction to enforce compliance with the relevant legislation

The independent marketing agents are:

• Incentive Leisure Group - Fuengirola, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Madeira, Milton Keynes
• European Coast and Sun Holidays - Tenerife
• Worldwide Travel - Mallorca
• World Travel Program (Grupo WTP) - Costa Blanca
• Bonus Select Vacations - Benidorm
• Holiday VIPs - Halifax, Slough
• D & A Lesiure Group - Halifax, Slough  (NOTE:- On 30 May 2005 D & A Leisure Group withdrew their undertaking to the OFT.  On the 1 June 2005 they changed their name to D & A International Leisure LLP) )
• Die Schweiz - Germany
• Whitebay International - Mijas Costa, Malaga

The full text of the undertakings is here (.DOC format)

Breach of the Undertakings

If you are not provided with a 7 day cooling off period, or you are unable to recover ALL the  money paid following your cancellation within the 7 days, then you should report the matter to the OFT at:-

        European Enforcement Team
        Office of Fair Trading
        Salisbury Square
        LONDON
        EC4Y 8JX

October  2006