Unfortunately, timeshare owners are often targeted by unscrupulous companies aiming to take advantage of their trusting nature. These owners may need assistance after years of financial hardship due to unwanted timeshares. Our expertise in handling such situations can help you with your claim against timeshare exit scams.
Timeshare owners are some of the worst off consumers. Not only are they, for the most part, mis-sold their timeshares, but they then have to face years of trying to get out of their contracts. Perhaps their circumstances have changed due to ill-health or financial problems. Whatever the reason, many timeshare owners find themselves in the unenviable position of being burdened with something they do not want and no longer use but are contractually obligated to pay for. They may also have high-interest loans attached to their timeshare purchase and the increasing maintenance fees make timeshare ownership an expense few of us can afford.
It’s a sad fact that there are more unhappy and dissatisfied timeshare owners than content happy customers and many people find themselves desperate to get rid of them. However, those burdensome maintenance fees are incredibly important to the resorts.
In fact, they are one of the biggest revenue streams which they can not afford to lose so, they make it incredibly difficult for owners to exit their contracts. The reluctance to let owners easily exit their timeshare contracts has opened up a market for fraudulent companies to exist whose sole purpose is to extract money from trusting timeshare owners.
This is exactly what happened to our clients, who were approached by a timeshare exit firm whilst on holiday in Tenerife. The seller of this scheme approached our clients and asked them to attend a short meeting about their timeshare and how they could legally and permanently dispose of it. They believed during this meeting they would be meeting with a legal representative and specialist in timeshares and they could discuss their options with this trained professional. What followed was totally unexpected and not what they were promised.
The meeting began with a sales representative for the firm explaining the services they provided. They told our clients they could dispose of their timeshare permanently and they could be free to stop paying their maintenance fees if they signed up for a concierge and lifestyle service. It became apparent to our clients that the person they were meeting with was in fact a salesperson and not a legal representative at all.
Instead of providing any useful legal advice the salesperson held our clients in this meeting for over 5 hours. They were forced to endure an extremely high-pressure sales presentation about the benefits of purchasing a Lifestyle and Concierge membership.
Our clients explained how this 5-hour presentation was extremely exhausting and they had asked to leave several times during it. They were put under considerable pressure during this meeting and forced into signing up there and then on the day. They were not given any time alone to discuss it or even told they were entitled to a seven-day cooling-off period, meaning they could cancel during this time and get their money back.
Fortunately, on returning home our clients decided to contact us here at Mercantile Claims and we have been able to successfully argue that they were completely mis-sold this so-called leisure package and in fact it was nothing more than a money-making scheme that provided no real value to anyone. They have now been awarded their money back in full plus any interest that was owed to them. If this scenario sounds familiar to you, get in touch with us today for some free advice. Our team has great success in dealing with these types of claims and are experts in timeshare.
People who enter into timeshare agreements often find it difficult to keep up with the mounting maintenance fees and simply cannot afford it any longer. They may also find that the timeshare no longer suits their needs and simply want to end the contract. There are too many individuals who are willing to take advantage of timeshare owners and offer fake products, along with timeshare exit schemes. Before agreeing to any timeshare termination or exit procedure with an individual or company, seek independent advice and fully research any company you are thinking of working with.
It is also important to remember that purchasing a timeshare should NEVER be viewed as a financial investment. Timeshare is an investment in lifestyle, future holidays, and family time together. There is almost no resale value to a Timeshare.
The mis-selling of holiday products is, unfortunately, common practice within the holiday industry and these types of crimes often go unreported by the most vulnerable in our society and criminal convictions are few and far between.
If you have purchased a Lifestyle / Concierge Service, a timeshare, or a ‘holiday points’ based product from a resort or company and feel unhappy with the service, or feel you have been mis-sold this product, please get in touch with us to discuss how we may be able to help you with a possible Money Back Claim.
