We have been made aware that timeshare owners are making complaints that they are receiving unsolicited phone calls from Equity Secure, a company that operates using a website but does not appear to have office in the UK.

This firm purports to secure ‘equity release from your timeshare commitments' and owners are informed that the law is to change in January next year, which will result in a doubling of their maintenance fees.

There is no truth whatsoever in this statement and owners should be on their guard about this claim, scare tactics to persuade people to pay a fee to sign up for their service.

So what changes will there be to timeshare laws next year? In February 2011, a new Directive comes in to force that provides timeshare buyers with additional levels of protection, namely a 14 day cooling off period and a ban on deposits. This law does not extend to maintenance fees and claims that these are to double are totally unfounded.

 RDO is, further, extremely concerned that Equity Secure, which has links to Travel Connect Ltd and Connections 6, is offering to recover up to £12,000 on behalf of timeshare owners. RDO does not endorse this type of ‘cashback’ scheme and is doubtful that owners would receive their money. Read more

If you have a cashback certificate, don't fall victim to scam that has recently come to our attention.

We've been told that members of the public who purchased a holiday club membership that included a cashback offer are now receiving calls from a separate company to inform them that their cashback certificate has not been correctly registered. As a result, they are invited overseas - usually Spain or the Canaries - to find ways around the problem and this is where, at their most vulnerable, people tend to be pressured into making decisions they later regret. Read more

It has been brought to the attention of RDO [Resort Development Organisation] that a Singapore based company called United Wealth Management may be informing timeshare owners during presentations that the company is registered with RDO.

United Wealth Management is not associated with RDO in any way and is not authorised to act on its behalf. Members of the public should be on their guard if contacted by this company and are advised to take legal advice before parting with any money.
 
Timeshare owners who are asked to pay a sum of money to a company that promises to recuperate monies lost elsewhere - for example a deposit paid to a sales company that has closed down or a registration fee paid to a resale company - should be extremely wary as this frequently results in a further loss.
 
If you are told that the company is registered with RDO, check our website as it contains an up-to-date list of members, all of which sign up to a code of conduct. Go to www.rdo.org for further information. Read more

 Timeshare owners who have been defrauded by Resale Firms*, Holiday Clubs, Cash Back Schemes, Class Actions, Fly Buys*, etc. should contact RDO’s Enforcement team on enforcement@rdo.org as soon as possible.

The Enforcement team requires a detailed written summary of the case (including dates, name of the company, an outline of what the offer included and details of payments made), and a copy of all the documents related to the case ie the contract - which should include details of the services included - and all other available documents such as faxes, e-mails, and proof of payments made (credit card slips or bank statements). Read more

The police in Spain have arrested a person behind fraudulent timeshare resale company Benedetti & Asociados. This company, which operated from offices on the Costa Del Sol, targeted Spanish timeshare owners and RDO has received a number of complaints about its activities this year. The arrest follows a report that RDO’s enforcement team sent to the police in Marbella.

RDO has established that Benedetti and Asociados SA was in fact a company that was dissolved in 1989 and this company was using its name. Timeshare owners were told that a corporate buyer was lined up and that they had to pay an upfront fee of €499. The sales failed to take place and the timeshare owners lost their money.

Members of the public who believe they may have been defrauded by this company should contact RDO's enforcement team on enforcement@rdo.org Read more

You've seen an advertisement or had a call out of the blue - something in itself to be wary of as your details have probably been obtained through a stolen database - and are now considering whether to join a class action against your resort developer or even exchange company.

So what's the reality behind these schemes; is this just another scam, a way of obtaining money from timeshare owners under false pretences?

From evidence collected by RDO's enforcement team, headed up by a former Spanish police inspector, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the majority of these schemes are bogus, their primary goal being to have people sign up to expensive Holiday Clubs, something that is never made clear in their initial contact with timeshare owners. This is a classic ' bait and switch ' tactic, something that is illegal under laws adopted in the UK in 2008. Read more

Between 2007 and 2009 the Spanish police and other enforcement agencies such as Trading Standards in the UK stepped up their efforts to tackle companies that were defrauding timeshare owners and the general public at large. This has resulted in the closure of almost 60 companies, some of which were wound up by the authorities and others ceased trading of their own accord, frequently due to pressure as a result of investigations that were being carried out. The list below details companies that have closed since 2007 and will be updated regularly. Read more

Contrary to the statement made by Claims Directive, a company located in Arguineguín Gran Canaria that claims to represent timeshare owners’ interests, the timeshare industry both in Spain, the rest of Europe and USA as well as other international territories is extremely robust.

Some of the world’s biggest hotel brands operate within the timeshare industry, such as Hilton, Marriott, Wyndham, Disney and Four Seasons. Timeshare owners recently reported high levels of satisfaction with their timeshare – 87% overall were “satisfied or extremely satisfied” according to a report by The Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute at the Nottingham University Business School.

The survey also reveals that there are 1.5 million owners in Europe, 48% of whom own in Spain, where there are 345 resorts. Furthermore, €3.2 billion was generated by the industry in 2007 alone, €957 million of which came from timeshare sales. Read more

It has been brought to our attention that a Singapore based company called River Marketing Limited is including the RDO (Resort Development Organisation) logo on correspondence sent to consumers.

This company does not have permission to use the logo and has not applied, not been accepted, for membership of RDO.

RDO vets the credentials of potential applicants carefully so that it can be confident that it represents the highest standards within the industry and takes any reported abuse of its logo very seriously.

Members of the public should be on their guard if contacted by companies they are not familiar with and are advised to take legal advice before parting with any money. Read more

As part on an ongoing campaign to help stamp out fraudulent practices targeted at timeshare owners, RDO (Resort Development Organisation), the trade body for timeshare and fractional ownership, is calling for consumers to come forward with their complaints.

Of particular interest are complaints from people who have been invited to a presentation either to discuss ways in which to dispose of their timeshare or to join a class action scheme, but are then persuaded to sign up to membership of a holiday club of which they had no former knowledge. A deposit is frequently taken and if no cooling off period is provided, which is frequently the case, consumers may lose significant sums of money. Read more