Have you just received notification of your timeshare maintenance fees?
Like many timeshare owners, you may have received unexpectedly your maintenance fees notification having previously been told your contract with the timeshare company has been relinquished. If this is the case, you may have fallen victim of a timeshare scam.
You may have seen or read recently Martin Lewis, the money saving expert and consumer “champion”, talking about the variety of online scams that many people have fallen victim of. He has launched a bid for these fraudulent adverts to be made illegal and the creators to be made accountable for their actions and ill-gotten gains. Only recently. We have seen Google, refuse to allow advertising by some businesses unless they can show that they are properly regulated in relation to financial claims arising from Timeshare related mis-selling. We believe that this is a very positive step to try and protect consumers and welcome this development.
However, timeshare relinquishment services are often offered by unregulated businesses as it is not currently a requirement for relinquishment services to be regulated. The unregulated businesses who seek to act for timeshare owners will often camouflage who they are and how they operate by adopting an online and telephone-based presence, making it difficult to verify who they are and to seek recourse when they do not deliver on their often inflated promises and assurances about the position with your timeshare exit.
Have you been given a bogus Certificate of Cessation?
We have seen an increase in people contacting us having previously paying a third-party company to release them from their timeshare contracts but have since received maintenance bills. Despite being told they are no longer members and in some cases being provided with a “Certificate of Cessation”, these timeshare owners have since discovered they are still in fact owners and have been shocked to receive yet another timeshare maintenance bill despite being told they are out and provided with a “Certificate of Cessation”. If you have previously been provided with a “Certificate of Cessation” you may have been misled and could still be tied into your Timeshare contract.
There is still much work to be done within the draft Online Safety Bill and there are calls for it to include the regulation of paid for online scam adverts being made.
It is vital that timeshare owners do their checks and due diligence on the company they are thinking about using and the claims that they are making before parting with any money. The less independent information you can find about these businesses, the more likely it is that they will not be credible. Regulated businesses are under a duty to ensure that their business registration details, and regulatory arrangements are clearly communicated on all of their publicity material including websites, letterhead and email footers. We recommend that you always use a regulated firm. You can trace their regulatory status by checking the registers on their regulatory body’s website. We are authorised and regulated by the SRA and you can see our regulatory details and the protections you receive when instructing us by searching for us on the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s website under “SRA Register” We would also recommend that you choose a firm able to provide a proven track record of relinquishing owners and recovering refunds.
If you think you have been a victim of one of these companies, please call us now on 01920 481499 Our advice regarding your options is free and there is no commitment. In addition to helping you with the continuing contractual issues with the timeshare company, we may be able to help you get the money back you have paid.
What Can You Do?
Unfortunately, the timeshare industry is one that has been rife with scams and continues to have such issues to this day, but there are circumstances under which you could make a successful timeshare compensation claim.
Some of the types of contracts that could have grounds for a claim include;
- In Perpetuity Timeshare Contracts
- Mis-sold Timeshare Agreements
- Floating Week Timeshares
- Timeshare Points Clubs
Taking legal action against the timeshare company can help to get you the financial compensation you deserve and, in some cases, terminate the contract for breaching the law. Timeshare law is extremely complex and is not something that can be taken on by anybody but requires the professional expertise of a specialist timeshare solicitor.
If you think that any of the above are relevant to your timeshare agreement then get in touch and the team at Sarah Waddington Solicitors will be happy to speak to you about your case. If you would like to get an idea of just how much compensation you could be owed then try our free timeshare compensation calculator.