Timeshare Consumers Association

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MISREPRESENTATION

Click HERE for details of the Timeshare and Holiday Club Compensation Groups

Misrepresentation by people selling timeshare is rife. The following is a list of typical claims made at sales presentations which are, at best, misleading, at worst entirely false.

CLAIMS

What you were led to believe

REALITY

The truth

This is NOT timeshare

ANY arrangement where you share the use of accommodation in an apartment, villa, boat or through a club for use for a short period of time (ie. a week ) on a regular annual (or bi-annual) basis IS Timeshare.

But some timeshare purchases are not regulated by the Timeshare law typically if their use is for less than 3 years.

Ownership will enable you to exchange anywhere in the world at any time of the year

Almost always not true, especially if you are buying into a floating weeks system or a points club. And buying into a low season period will not ensure that you can exchange into a high season period.

RCI bonus weeks (often called "extra weeks") are available to use on an unlimited basis - to both owners and their friends

Bonus weeks are almost impossible to get, and are certainly not available on an unlimited basis. Generally you would be lucky to get one a year.

The resort is "Gold Crown" - the highest quality rating in the RCI exchange system. Being "Gold Crown" is essential if you want a good choice of good quality accommodation.

Check with RCI - www.rci.com - as many salespeople claim Gold Crown when this is not true.

A sleep 4 accommodation unit could easily be exchanged for a sleep six when you need it

No! Certainly not guaranteed.

All the accommodation is "Five Star"

Almost certainly not true - many timeshare resorts only just scrape "Three Star" standard.

You are joining an exclusive club

Many resorts now allow package holidaymakers and renters - hardly exclusive !;

And it is possible for you to rent timeshare accommodation through the internet without making any capital payment up-front.

If you don't use or exchange, you can make a profit by renting out the week.

Perhaps, if it is a peak season week, certainly not if it is a winter week - see Note 1 below

A "White" or "Blue" week can easily be exchanged for a "Red" week.

Most unlikely and certainly not guaranteed.

The purchase is a good investment or "won't lose value" creating the impression that you will, at the very least, get all your money back when you come to sell

ALL timeshares collapses in price the instant they are bought. Many existing owners are finding it impossible to make a sale at any price making their ownership worthless. See here

You have paid for a lifetime membership of the exchange company

NO. At most you will have paid for 2 years - then you have to pay every year thereafter, as well as having to pay each time you make an exchange.

The annual management fee is limited by control of the owners or is limited to the level of inflation.

Almost always not true, many resorts have increased annual fees by three times the rate of inflation in recent years.

The offer is only available if you sign on today

They say this to everyone, every day, to avoid you finding out that you can get exactly the same "benefits" for 1/5th their price.

The annual fee is only payable if you use the accommodation.

Annual fees are payable EVERY year (or every second year if the ownership is bi-annual) irrespective of whether the accommodation is used or not.

"You can cancel at any time in the future - just drop us a line"

Certainly not. Once past the cooling off period and they will not accept a cancellation

We guarantee to resell it for you after two years.

Look out for the word "endeavour". And any promise is as good as the company giving it the company will almost certainly not be around in two years time

They claim to be part of a much larger, well respected, organisation or have been trading for a great many years.

Very unlikely to be true as most marketing companies are fly-by-nights - check with Companies House if they are a UK company.

The annual management fee is £xxx

Later you find out that this figure is exclusive of VAT which has to be added and there may also be a "utilities" charge when you use the accommodation

The change over day is Thursday which fits with flights from your local airport

Only when you attempt to book the following do you find the change over day is a Saturday involving you in substantial additional costs.

"You do have a cooling off period" or words to that effect

Purchases of timeshare for less than 3 years does not require the purchaser to be given a cooling off period but some salesmen verbally claim that you have a cooling off period to get you to sign in the belief that you can easily cancel tomorrow. When you eventually read the paperwork you find that there is no cooling off period.

You are getting a "Special" price

Yes, "special" as in "high". Anything over £2,000 a week is expensive

You will get most of your money back when you sell

Utter rubbish - you would be lucky to get anything back, even if you sold the day after you bought. Even weeks in peak season only sell on the secondary market for a tiny fraction of the original purchase price.

They claim that you are not entitled to a cooling off period.

The purchase of timeshare for 3 years or more, is covered by the Timeshare law which requires that a purchaser is given not less than 10 day cooling off period (14 days in the UK)

We are approved by the Office of Fair Trading etc., etc.

No timeshare trader has any form of approval by a recognised authority.

"We are ABTA" or "ATOL" bonded.

Check with ABTA or ATOL - very few timeshare traders are members

There is no need to read the (voluminous) paperwork

You may be denied the opportunity to read the full conditions attached to the Purchase Agreement, such as the "Rules of Occupation". There may be clauses in the Rules which are contrary to what you have been told.

Additional points for timeshare in boats:-

Winter weeks in canal boats and cruisers are almost impossible to exchange out of or to obtain rentals. Nobody likes the idea of ice breaking. And canal closures in winter severely limit cruising.

Salesmen may claim rental incomes which are actually based on boats of a much superior specification that that into which you are buying.

You may be told that the boat is moored at a place convenient for your own holiday habits but the Purchase Contract may allow the boat operator to move the boats many miles away making them unsuitable for your holidays.

TCA advice:-
If you are preparing your own list of misrepresentations (perhaps for a claim under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 ) then:-

Do not copy the above list word for word as most timeshare companies and banks are aware of it. Your misrepresentation list MUST relate to what YOU were actually told.

Ensure that you provide both the “promise” and the “reality”. In cases where you have not been able to test out a promise it would be reasonable to say “we believe” or “we understand” under the reality column.

To rebut any of your claims the timeshare company would have to produce the sales person actually involved – in cases where the misrepresentation took place many months or even years ago the chances of the sales person still being in the employ of the company is very small !

Many of the misrepresentations listed above are also breaches of the Consumer Protection Regulations see here and should be reported to your l;ocal Trading Standards office as a criminal act.
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Updated: May 2010

CLAIMS What you were led to believe	REALITY The truth
This is NOT timeshare	ANY arrangement where you share the use of accommodation in an apartment, villa, boat or through a club for use for a short period of time (ie. a week ) on a regular annual (or bi-annual) basis IS Timeshare. But some timeshare purchases are not regulated by the Timeshare law typically if their use is for less than 3 years.
Ownership will enable you to exchange anywhere in the world at any time of the year	Almost always not true, especially if you are buying into a floating weeks system or a points club. And buying into a low season period will not ensure that you can exchange into a high season period.
RCI bonus weeks (often called "extra weeks") are available to use on an unlimited basis - to both owners and their friends	Bonus weeks are almost impossible to get, and are certainly not available on an unlimited basis. Generally you would be lucky to get one a year.
The resort is "Gold Crown" - the highest quality rating in the RCI exchange system. Being "Gold Crown" is essential if you want a good choice of good quality accommodation.	Check with RCI - www.rci.com - as many salespeople claim Gold Crown when this is not true.
A sleep 4 accommodation unit could easily be exchanged for a sleep six when you need it	No! Certainly not guaranteed.
All the accommodation is "Five Star"	Almost certainly not true - many timeshare resorts only just scrape "Three Star" standard.
You are joining an exclusive club	Many resorts now allow package holidaymakers and renters - hardly exclusive !; And it is possible for you to rent timeshare accommodation through the internet without making any capital payment up-front.
If you don't use or exchange, you can make a profit by renting out the week.	Perhaps, if it is a peak season week, certainly not if it is a winter week - see Note 1 below
A "White" or "Blue" week can easily be exchanged for a "Red" week.	Most unlikely and certainly not guaranteed.
The purchase is a good investment or "won't lose value" creating the impression that you will, at the very least, get all your money back when you come to sell	ALL timeshares collapses in price the instant they are bought. Many existing owners are finding it impossible to make a sale at any price making their ownership worthless. See here
You have paid for a lifetime membership of the exchange company	NO. At most you will have paid for 2 years - then you have to pay every year thereafter, as well as having to pay each time you make an exchange.
The annual management fee is limited by control of the owners or is limited to the level of inflation.	Almost always not true, many resorts have increased annual fees by three times the rate of inflation in recent years.
The offer is only available if you sign on today	They say this to everyone, every day, to avoid you finding out that you can get exactly the same "benefits" for 1/5th their price.
The annual fee is only payable if you use the accommodation.	Annual fees are payable EVERY year (or every second year if the ownership is bi-annual) irrespective of whether the accommodation is used or not.
"You can cancel at any time in the future - just drop us a line"	Certainly not. Once past the cooling off period and they will not accept a cancellation
We guarantee to resell it for you after two years.	Look out for the word "endeavour". And any promise is as good as the company giving it the company will almost certainly not be around in two years time
They claim to be part of a much larger, well respected, organisation or have been trading for a great many years.	Very unlikely to be true as most marketing companies are fly-by-nights - check with Companies House if they are a UK company.
The annual management fee is £xxx	Later you find out that this figure is exclusive of VAT which has to be added and there may also be a "utilities" charge when you use the accommodation
The change over day is Thursday which fits with flights from your local airport	Only when you attempt to book the following do you find the change over day is a Saturday involving you in substantial additional costs.
"You do have a cooling off period" or words to that effect	Purchases of timeshare for less than 3 years does not require the purchaser to be given a cooling off period but some salesmen verbally claim that you have a cooling off period to get you to sign in the belief that you can easily cancel tomorrow. When you eventually read the paperwork you find that there is no cooling off period.
You are getting a "Special" price	Yes, "special" as in "high". Anything over £2,000 a week is expensive
You will get most of your money back when you sell	Utter rubbish - you would be lucky to get anything back, even if you sold the day after you bought. Even weeks in peak season only sell on the secondary market for a tiny fraction of the original purchase price.
They claim that you are not entitled to a cooling off period.	The purchase of timeshare for 3 years or more, is covered by the Timeshare law which requires that a purchaser is given not less than 10 day cooling off period (14 days in the UK)
We are approved by the Office of Fair Trading etc., etc.	No timeshare trader has any form of approval by a recognised authority.
"We are ABTA" or "ATOL" bonded.	Check with ABTA or ATOL - very few timeshare traders are members
There is no need to read the (voluminous) paperwork	You may be denied the opportunity to read the full conditions attached to the Purchase Agreement, such as the "Rules of Occupation". There may be clauses in the Rules which are contrary to what you have been told.