Resorting to Legal Action
Solicitors If you feel that your genuine grievances are being rejected both by the timeshare company and by your credit card issuing bank or finance company regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, you could consider obtaining a fee quotation from a solicitor for handling the claim. Or you could refer the claim against your card issuing bank to the Banking Ombudsman (pamphlet available from 020-7404 9944). View list of Associate Members - Lawyers Your home insurance policy It is worth looking at your insurance policy to see if legal costs cover is included. A single call to your insurers should give you this...
Additional Rights of Redress if You Paid by Credit Card
If you paid by means of a Visa credit card, you should be aware that Visa introduced a rule in November 1996 (which is not linked to any legislation) and Mastercard more recently (which is linked to the EU directive), which set out that a customer buying timeshare with a credit card is entitled to a 10-day cooling off period, irrespective of whether there is local cooling off legislation in place or not. The 10-day Visa/MasterCard cancellation and cooling-off rule is particularly relevant in areas of Europe that are not subject to the European Timeshare Directive as they are outside the...
Unhappy With Your Purchase and Now Outside the Cooling-Off Period?
If you have a complaint about a non-RDO member's sales presentation, it is best to (jointly) sign a letter of complaint and to send it recorded delivery to the timeshare resort in question rather than writing to its trustees or head office elsewhere. Set out concisely what aspect of the sales talk you now find was inaccurate, and who made the misleading statements about which you are complaining. Ask the sales director to make all necessary investigations. If you feel strongly that you have signed a purchase agreement and perhaps paid a deposit on a timeshare which was so misrepresented...
If You Decide to Cancel an Agreement
If you wish to cancel during the timeshare cancellation period, it is best to communicate this in writing by recorded delivery to the seller's office. Remember that if two people signed jointly, both should also sign the cancellation letter or formal Notice. You should give the contract number and the date on which you signed the agreement. Posting the cancellation recorded delivery relieves you of any responsibility for proving that you actually posted the cancellation. You are not required to give any reason for the cancellation. You should also cancel, in writing, any loan application that you might have signed at...
What Should I Expect When Buying from an RDO Member?
The Contract The contracts of RDO Members shall always be clear and comply with national Law and the EU Timeshare Directive and provide you with full protection. The printed agreement or contract will include all your rights and obligations. RDO Members must ensure that buyers receive in writing and in their own language all information which a prudent purchaser would reasonably require to make up his mind. A full description You will receive a full description (sometimes called a Disclosure Statement) of the product, resort and any services provided, which forms part of the contract you are signing. The contract should show your...
Have you been defrauded?
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...
UK Timeshare Statistics May 2008
Resorts UK & Ireland: * England 74 * Wales 10 * Scotland 22 * Ireland 7 * Total 113 Weeks in the portfolio: * UK & Ireland 189,000 (72% already purchased) * Scotland 56,000 (81% already purchased) Average accommodation units per resort: * England 30 * Wales 31 * Scotland 51 * Ireland 15 * Total 3,780 Average rooms per resort: * England 53 * Wales 57 * Scotland 107 * Ireland 27 * Total 7,038 Number of bed nights generated annually: * UK & Ireland 2.24 million * Scotland 675,000 Occupancy levels: * UK 87% * Scotland 92% Total annual holiday makers: * UK 630,000 * Scotland 200,000 Week long holidays taken each year at UK timeshare resorts 115,000 Annual holidaymakers staying at UK resorts 630,000 Average annual sales volume: * UK...
2002 Worldwide Timeshare Statistics
The figures below have been kindly provided by Ragatz Associates, a business unit of RCI, and are extracted from their “Resort Timesharing Worldwide: 2003 Edition Summary Report”. Worldwide $9.4 billion timeshare sales in 2002 6.7 million households own the rights to about 10.7 million timeshare weeks 5,425 timeshare resorts, of which around 25% are situated in Europe North America hosts 31% of resorts, Latin America 16% (where Mexico leads with 40% in the region). Rapidly emerging Asia offers 14%, led by Japan, but with Thailand and India increasingly prominent. ...
The European Timeshare Industry 2008
Key Findings for 2007 General characteristics of the timeshare industry in Europe In 2007 1.5 million European households owned timeshare. The UK and Ireland form the largest market having 589,653 timeshare owners, followed by Germany and Italy. Most resorts are concentrated in Spain, with 26.3% of the total, 14.94% in Italy and 11.05% in the UK & Ireland There were a total of 1,312 resorts in Europe. The total number of units in European resorts is 73,540, resulting in 67,590 million bed nights. ...
Cruise Industry Overview 2008
Cruise Industry Overview 2008 12.6 Million passengers (worldwide) took a cruise in 2007 with 12.8 Million passengers estimated for 2008 Cruise Industry is the fastest growing category in the travel industry with an annual passenger growth rate of 8% p.a. The average length of a cruise is 7 days Utilization is constantly over 100% 35 new state of the art ships are contracted or planned to be added through 2012. This is an investment of a staggering USD 21 Billion 95% satisfaction...