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Timeshare Consumers Association

Introduction

The   “Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010”   is the  UK law   implementing the Timeshare Directive (2008/122/EC) required to be established as law in all EU countries not later than    23 February 2011.    See   here     for actual implementation dates throughout the EU.

General

The Regulations:-

1. Extends coverage of law to:-

a. Long Term Holiday Products (aka “Holiday Clubs”)
b. All forms of holiday accommodation including boats etc.
c. Re-sale of timeshare or holiday club memberships by consumers
d. Exchange services
e. All purchases for a period of more than one year including tacit renewal of shorter periods

2. Applies only to contracts made in the UK. But almost identical laws will exist in other EU countries - see  here   But note that Spain has included a number of additional requirments - see here

3. Applies to contracts where a consumer pays for a service:-

a. Concluded in an EU state
b. OR relating to any accommodation in an EU state
c. OR entered into by a trader who conducts business in an EU state

4. Applies to any trader or person acting “in the course of business”.

5. Requires prospective purchasers to be given relevant information about what they are buying. The minimum list of disclosure is defined in detail in the Regulations.

6. Requires purchasers to be given a 14 calendar day cooling-off period (day 1 being the date of signing the contract or the date on which they receive a copy of the signed contract if later than the date of signing). The consumer does not have to give a reason for cancelling and should not incur any costs as a result of cancelling.   See How to cancel

7. Payment by the consumer, in any manner for any purpose, is absolutely banned during the cooling-off period.

8. Any linked loan agreement is automatically cancelled should a consumer properly cancel the purchase agreement

9. Any invitation to a sales presentation must disclose the true nature of the invitation and it’s commercial purpose.

10. Timeshare and long term holiday products must not be sold as an investment

11. The promotional material and the written contract must be in an EU language of the consumer’s choice

12. Applies to all contracts entered into on or after 23 February 2011

13. Repeals the  Timeshare Act 1992  

13. The Timeshare Regulations 2010 are not retrospective

The Regulation controls the sale of four separate products.

1. Timeshare

a. Definition:- “A consumer right, lasting for more than 1 year, to use accommodation for more than one period of occupation”

b. Disclosure. Consumers must be given a written contract containing, as a minimum, the following :-

i. Name, place of residence and legal status of the trader who is party to the contract
ii. Date and place of contract
iii. Short description of the product and the exact nature of the rights including period of use
iv. Price
v. Accurate description of services and costs resulting from the purchase of timeshare rights. (Management fees, special levies etc.) together with information of how these are calculated in the future.
vi. Summary of benefits (leisure facilities etc.) and costs (where relevant)
vii. Information on restrictions on availability of accommodation
viii. Possibility and costs of joining and using an exchange system.
ix. Whether or not the trader has signed a code of conduct and where it can be found
x. That the consumer has 14 calendar days in which to cancel the contract without giving any reason.
xi. That the consumer must not pay anything during the cancellation period
xii. The law under which the contract is governed.

c. Points x. and xi. above must be separately signed by the consumer to confirm that they have read them

d. Consumers must be given a full copy of the agreement immediately upon signing

e. If the trader fails to provide any of the required information the cancellation period extends to three months and 14 days

f. Purchasers must also be given a separate pro-forma cancellation notice stating:-

i. Their right to cancel within a 14 calendar day period (the exact date for this period to be entered on the cancellation notice)
ii. An absolute ban exists on the payment of any money by the consumer during the cancellation period.

g. If the trader fails to provide the pro-forma cancellation notice the cancellation period extends to one year and 14 days

2. Long Term Holiday Products (aka “Holiday Clubs”)

a. Definition:- “A consumer right, lasting for more than 1 year, to obtain discounts or other benefits in respect of accommodation , in isolation or together with travel or other services

b. Disclosure:- Consumers must be given a written contract containing, as a minimum, the following:-

i. Name, place of residence and legal status of the trader who is party to the contract
ii. Date and place of contract.
iii. Short description of the product and exact nature of the rights (including period of use)
iv. The total price and a staggered annual payment schedule setting out equal instalments of the price over the full period of the contract together with dates for payments. After year 1 these amounts may be adjusted to reflect inflation.
v. That the consumer may, by giving not less than 14 days notice, cancel any future annual payment thus cancelling the contract.
vi. Costs resulting from the purchase of membership rights. (Annual renewal fees etc.)
vii. Summary of benefits (discounted hotel stays, flights etc.) and costs. To include limits on availability and concrete examples.
viii. Whether or not the trader has signed a code of conduct and where it can be found
ix. That the consumer has 14 calendar days in which to cancel the contract without giving any reason.
x. That the consumer must not pay anything during the cancellation period
xi. The law under which the contract is governed.

c. Points ix. and x. above must be separately signed by the consumer to confirm that they have read the points

d. Consumers must be given a full copy of the agreement immediately upon signing

e. If the trader fails to provide any of the required information the cancellation period extends to three months and 14 days

f. Purchasers must also be given a separate pro-forma cancellation notice stating:-

i. Their right to cancel within a 14 calendar day period (the exact date for this period to be entered on the cancellation notice)
ii. An absolute ban on the payment of any money by the consumer during the cancellation period.

g. If the trader fails to provide the pro-forma cancellation notice the cancellation period extends to one year and 14 days

3. Resale

a. Defined as:- “Where a trader assists a consumer to buy or to sell a timeshare or long term holiday product”

b. Disclosure:- Consumers must be given a written contract containing, as a minimum, the following:-

i. Identity, place of residence and legal status of the trader party to the contract.
ii. Date and place of contract
iii. Short description of the services (ie. marketing)
iv. Duration of the contract.
v. Price to be paid by the consumer and any further obligatory costs
vi. Whether or not the trader has signed a code of conduct and where it can be found
vii. That the consumer has 14 calendar days in which to cancel the contract without giving any reason but may incur costs which must be clearly set out in the contract.
viii. An absolute ban on the payment for any purpose by the consumer until the service has been completed.

4. Exchange:

a. Defined as: “A consumer joins a system which provides access to accommodation or other services in exchange for the timeshare rights owned by the consumer”

b. Disclosure:- Consumers must be given a written contract containing, as minimum, the following:-

i. Identity, place of residence and legal status of the trader party to the contract.
ii. Date and place of contract
iii. Short description of the product/service including how the exchange system works together with details of exchange possibilities
iv. Exact nature of the rights including the method of valuing consumers “trading power” together with concrete examples of specific possibilities for exchange.
v. The limitations of availability of specific accommodation and seasonal periods.
vi. Start and finish dates of use.
vii. Price and any obligatory costs (recurring fees, exchange fees, special levies etc.)
viii. Summary of key services provided to the consumer.
ix. Whether or not the trader has signed a code of conduct and where it can be found
x. That cancellation of a timeshare contract automatically cancels an exchange contract.

c. If the trader fails to provide all of the required information the cancellation notice period extends to three months and 14 days

d. Purchasers must also be given a separate pro-forma cancellation notice stating:-

i. Their right to cancel within a 14 calendar day period (the exact date for this period to be entered on the cancellation notice)
ii. An absolute ban on the payment of any money by the consumer during the cancellation period.

e. If the trader fails to provide the pro-forma cancellation notice the cancellation period extends to one year and 14 days

f. Proper cancellation of a timeshare contract automatically cancels the exchange contract into at the same time.

Enforcement in the UK will be by the regional Trading Standards Enforcement Officers.

The full text of the Timeshare Regulations 2010 is  Here  

Implementation in the EU

The new Timeshare Directive was required to be fully implemented in state law in all countries in the EU by 23 February 2011. However a number of countries have failed to comply - see below

National laws cannot deviate from the core legal requirements laid down in the Timeshare Directive but can, and almost certainly will, differ in the manner of enforcement.

Implementation dates of the Timeshare Directive as at 1 May 2012    And action by the European Commission to get countries to introduce the new law  here

COUNTRY	IMPLEMENTATION
Austria	23 February 2011
Belgium	June 2011
Bulgaria	5 March 2011
Cyprus	18 March 2011
Czech Republic	23 February 2011
Denmark	23 February 2011
Estonia	23 February 2011
France	1 July 2010
Finland	20 June 2011
Germany	23 February 2011
Greece	22 February 2011
Hungary	Probably mid 2012
Italy	May 2011
Íreland	23 February 2011
Latvia	23 February 2011
Lithuania	4 December 2011
Luxembourg	8 April 2011
Malta	25 March 2011
Netherlands	23 February 2011
Norway [EEA]	Unknown
Poland	27 April 2012
Portugal	10 March 2011
Romania	26 February 2011
Slovakia	1 July 2011
Slovenia	19 December 2011
Spain	17 March 2012
Switzerland	Not in EU
Sweden	1 August 2011
Turkey	Not in EU
UK	23 February 2011