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Timeshare Solicitors v’s Timeshare Claims Companies

 

“ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD” 

William Shakespeare

                                                                                                                        

As a regulated firm of solicitors trying to right the many injustices perpetrated on consumers, over the years, by unscrupulous timeshare companies, we are very concerned that these same victims are also being constantly bombarded by unregulated claims companies, seeking to encourage them to hand over thousands of pounds in order to seek compensation in the Spanish Courts.

These companies are all controlled by a small number of individuals, although they appear in various guises, such as the Timeshare Ombudsman (which doesn’t exist), all of which seem very professional and “above board”. THEY ARE NOT!!!

For example, we have seen reports of Barclays Partner Finance having to repay millions to timeshare purchasers, which the unregulated claims companies have attempted to persuade people to make claims. However, the cases referred to by them only related to purchases from a company in Malta called Azure, who had brokered loans without having the necessary Financial Conduct Authority permission to do so. People who did not purchase from Azure cannot rely on these cases.

Mercantile Court Malaga

In addition, last year, the Mercantile Court in Malaga held that new cases could not be filed in Spain, on behalf of non-Spanish residents. That ruling does not affect any previous Spanish Judgments against CLC, or any ongoing civil proceedings in Spain, against CLC.

However, over €30,000,000.00 in Spanish Judgments are currently outstanding, against CLC, some going back several years. At this point in time, no clear picture emerging as to how much – if anything – the CLC creditors will eventually recover.

That is why, having looked into the possibility of issuing legal proceedings, we advised our clients against going down that route, as the likelihood is that they would be simply throwing good money after bad.

Our advice

In the circumstances, our advice to our clients was to pursue the banks who funded the purchase of certain timeshare products, pursuant to the Consumer Credit Act, 1974. Considering the following, we are sure that was – and remains – the correct route, for victims of timeshare mis-selling to go down, with the best prospects of recovering compensation, at the end of the day.

As a firm of solicitors, we have a duty to provide the best professional advice to potential clients. Even if that means having to tell them that they do not have a claim for compensation, for whatever reason. The unregulated companies, on the other hand, can say pretty much what they like, and do.

In their June 2022 update, the Administrators of CLC (UK) Plc have indicted the following, in relation to the potential outcome for the unsecured creditors of CLC: –

 

“We have received claims totalling £67,501,556.40 from unsecured creditors, as at the date of this report. It is uncertain as to whether there will be sufficient funds available to make a distribution to the unsecured creditors.”

 

Because of the amount of the claims, we would go further, and suggest that there is unlikely to be sufficient funds available.

The aftermath of instructing an unregulated claims company

Many vulnerable consumers have already been persuaded to part with thousands of pounds. They then approach solicitors, later, to clean up the mess, and see if the money they paid to the unregulated companies can be recovered. However, unless they paid by Credit Card, this would not be possible, so if anyone is tempted to pay one of them, do not, under any circumstances, pay by cheque, bank transfer or debit card.

In conclusion, these unregulated companies do not have people’s best interests at heart. They just want people’s money. The best advice we can give, with regards to these companies, is when they phone you, simply hang up!!

What should you do if you think you’ve paid money to a non-regulated company?

If you have a potential claim, or you instructed a non-regulated business to make a claim on your behalf, please contact us today. If you are not sure as to whether the business is regulated, then you can check on the FCA Register or the SRA as to whether they are, or simply call us and we can find out for you. If you find that the business is not regulated, then please contact us and we can advise you as to how best to proceed. We have been having great success in recouping the money which some of our clients paid out to the non-regulated companies.

If you think you have a claim, get in touch with us now; it’s FREE, call us on 01924 601096 or email us at info@sarahwaddingtons.com and could result in a refund of payments made for your Timeshare purchase. We’re a UK registered Law firm, regulated by the SRA, with extensive experience in Timeshare claims, and with almost £1.4 Million pounds in refunds already paid out, we’re confident we can help.

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Widbury Barns, Widbury Hill, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 7QE