How do I find an honest and capable timeshare claims company
With more and more timeshare owners looking to escape expensive, dated and restrictive memberships, compensation claims are proving to be a lucrative exit method for those owners who qualify.
Who can claim?
For pretty much all timeshare owners, it is possible to relinquish what you own provided you engage expert help. However, thanks to some protective laws that were ignored for over a decade by most Spanish timeshare operations, many owners are able to sue their resorts for sizable amounts of compensation. The important secondary effect of the compensation claim is that the protagonist is released from their membership. The main conditions are that you bought in Spain. So far it’s mostly (with some exceptions) Spanish timeshare owners who have been able to claim compensation, and you bought on or after the 5th of January 1999 as the laws came into effect on that date, and they were not retroactive.
With those prerequisites, then if you can answer ‘yes’ to any one of the following, then you can generally claim compensation:
- Did you pay any money on the day, or within the cooling off period?
- Did you buy floating time, or points?
- Was your membership duration over 50 years?
There are other ways in which you may qualify, and it will help to discuss your specific situation with an expert.
At this point it is important to internalise the fact that not all “experts” can be trusted.
Fraudsters
As is widely reported, the vast majority of firms offering claims or relinquishment services are criminals who will steal your money and do nothing to help you.
The scam firms are staffed by persuasive men and women, who are only good at one thing: convincing you that they are genuine, and coaxing you to part with your money.
Even consumers savvy enough to research prospective firms before retaining them find it difficult to navigate the disinformation Google throws at them. The scammers produce their own search results both directly and indirectly. Discerning the actual truth becomes an ethereal prospect.
Organisations like ourselves (Timeshare Consumer Association — TCA) keep a white list of trustworthy firms currently operating. Also the website timesharetrust.co.uk gives excellent guidance on how to effectively research a company you are unfamiliar with.
Indicators of trustworthiness
There are several basic signs that you should be aware of before handing money over to some smooth talker on the telephone. 9 times out of 10 scammers will not have these bases covered:
- Do they have a website, and if so how long has it existed for? A domain search will tell you how long the site has existed for. Also look for professionalism. Are there spelling mistakes? Is the formatting professional?
- Do they post their company number? A search of Companies House will show if the number is real, and if so how long have they been in business? The longer they have been in business, the better. Also, does their website claim the company has been in business for longer than their company has been registered for? If you
- Do they have a physical office address, and are they happy for you to visit in person? During COVID this may equate to a Zoom call instead. Either way have you seen the person’s face, and place of work? If they have established, staffed, equipped offices this is a sign they have nothing to hide and no intention of disappearing. If you are just talking to a voice on the phone they may be operating out of their living room
- Can they provide evidence of past victories, and their team’s credentials? Any company who has a history of success in their chosen field will post details and media links on their site. They will often also post core team members and list verifiable credentials. Do they have client testimonials? Are those testimonials written or audio/video?
Contact us
“Anyone with doubts should contact either our team, or another similarly independent organisation,” says Daniel Keating, Information Officer for the TCA. “Our database of client experience has been built up over the last 24 years and there is not much about these firms we don’t know.
“The most important rule is: ‘don’t pay any money until you are certain of who you are about to do business with.’ Once payment is made, it’ is not usually possible to get back.”
“Finding and retaining a capable and trustworthy claims firm is worth the effort,” adds Keating. “The average claim awards at the moment seem to be over £20,000. And that is on top of being free from the burden of the timeshare membership.”
Related links
- The timeshare exit minefield. Can you safely escape an unwanted membership?
- Black list, grey list, white list. Timeshare Consumer Association keeps tabs on the fraudsters
- Spanish timeshare compensation claims. Fact vs fiction
- Is there a future for the timeshare industry?
- Timeshare ownership vs regular hotel stays. Cost comparison
- Why claiming timeshare compensation is the right thing to do
- Considering a timeshare compensation claim? Now may be the time
- Has COVID sealed the fate of the timeshare industry?
- TCA contact page
- Timeshare Trust website review
- Barclays facing potential loss of £billions over fresh timeshare mis-selling claims
- Who are the Timeshare Consumer Association
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Regions
Timeshare Consumer Association. Contact us on: T: +44 2036704588 or +44 2035193808 (ask for Daniel), E: enquiries@timeshareadvice.org (Address to Daniel).
WhatsApp (message only) +447586871055
TCA provides a central resource of consumer information on timeshare matters for the media and other organisations — We work towards encouraging responsible, honest, timeshare operators. We also publicly expose negative consumer practices and organisations which operate in a manner detrimental to timeshare buyers and owners.
An important part of our mission is to lobby UK and European Governments and regulatory bodies for improved consumer protection in the timeshare environment and collect information on frauds and mis-selling, for action by enforcement authorities.
We are staffed by former and current timeshare owners, as well as former timeshare industry staff. We know our way around the timeshare business
Timeshare Consumer Association Newsdesk here
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Timeshare Consumer Association on Facebook here
Timeshare Consumer Association on Medium here
Timeshare Consumer Association on LinkedIn here
Timeshare Consumer Association on Quora here
Timeshare Consumer Association website here
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First published on MyNewsDesk September 2021
