Timeshares – What you need to know!

Timeshares became “fashionable” in the 1980’s in Europe, however, problems with them usually revolve either the sales process, or the ability to terminate the agreement some years later.

It is not unusual for companies to be accused of aggressive and coercive sales practices, whilst there are many complaints that the sales teams have lied about the ability of consumers to buy timeshare as a form of investment.

Many resorts sell timeshare via a “points based system” as opposed to fixed weeks, in fixed rooms, at fixed locations, or sell timeshares for an undefined term - perpetuity. The argument was that a “points based” product would provide consumers with more flexibility, however, this also removed the commitment of the resort to guarantee availability.

The sale of all “points based” products, and products sold for more than 50 years was made illegal in Spain after January 1999 under Spanish Law 42/98. If you have bought a points based product in Spain since this date please call us.

Only timeshare resorts sell timeshares at a profit

Resort Properties, which later became Silverpoint, along with Azure are known to have sold parcels of timeshares to consumers on the understanding that they would be able to resell them later at a profit, however, evidence of this being achieved is difficult to find.

Today, many people often struggle to even give timeshares away, and websites such as Ebay are littered with timeshares for sale often for as little as £1. Arguably timeshare resorts tried to sell timeshares on the understanding that their resorts were “exclusive” to members, however, many now advertise accommodation on websites such as Booking.com or Trip Advisor.

Timeshare disposal – the arrival of the holiday club “scams”

From the 1990’s onwards timeshare ownership has been in decline, and more recently both Eze Group and Monster Travel have been investigated by the Police, after selling “holiday club memberships” as a condition of offering a timeshare disposal product. The directors of Eze Group were found guilty in Birmingham Crown Court of using aggressive sales practices and coercion, whilst investigations in Monster Travel remain ongoing.

If you want to dispose of your timeshare then please visit our timeshare termination page, don’t trust a “cold caller” or an unregulated business.

Compensation; the Spanish legal system v the UK legal system

With the general public now associating timeshares very often with scams, and “high pressure” sales tactics, more recently consumers have been turning the tables on the timeshare resorts by pursuing claims via either the Spanish or English legal system.

The problem with pursuing a claim in the Spanish courts is that very often consumers could win their case, but find that they are unable to secure payment from their timeshare resort, as the resort may well transfer it’s assets from one company to another, and from one country to another.

To further add to the issues of consumers being advised to pursue claims via the Spanish legal system, is the suggestion that often the legal fees need to be paid in advance. This has resulted in some “boiler room” scam operators requesting significant upfront fees for cases where they have no intention of pursuing a claim.

For many consumers there is more benefit in claiming via the UK legal system, even though the product may have been sold in Malta, or Spain and it’s islands, in particular where a timeshare has been funded in part or in full, using either a credit card, or a loan from companies such as Barclays Partner Finance (or other).In these cases, UK law provides the consumer with the option of pursuing a claim via the UK legal system, as the lender can be held to be jointly and severally liable.

If you have purchased a timeshare and would like to pursue a claim under a “no win no fee” agreement, then please contact us or visit and read our other timeshare related pages for more information.