The original idea for Timeshare came about in 1960s when a French ski resort developer had the idea to sell the rooms in the resort to the people that he rented them out to. Encouraging them to rather than rent the room each year they could buy that part of the resort, which would become their own piece of real estate in it's own right and would be theirs to sell or exchange, this became so successful and so the idea took off, and the concept of partial ownership was born.
This mostly takes the form of one week brought in a resort, at a specific location, some developers also operate a system where points can be used as a form of vacation currency which allows car hire and hotel stays. These ideas have been taken on by developers worldwide and now we have the multi million dollar Timeshare industry with resorts that now almost span the world.
The Hard Sell
However a lot has changed since those early days and now there are many Timeshare complaints and people claiming they have become victims of Timeshare Fraud and now are part of various Timeshare Class Actions that that have been brought against some of the companies.
A lot is said especially during the initial sales pitch about how owners can exchange their week or weeks for other weeks in other resorts worldwide. These are arranged by numerous exchange agencies that have sprung up the two largest of which are RCI and Interval International, however most of the resorts are affiliated and members find that they can only exchange within other affiliated resorts, so beware. Owners can also arrange to exchange privately amongst themselves saving them the exchange fees levied by the exchange companies, there are now many bulletin boards on the internet where owners can meet and swap mutually agreeable weeks and locations privately amongst themselves.
Owners Action
Many visitors on their first visit to a resort would have been approached and offered various inducements to get them there, these offers are also being currently investigated buy various consumer groups in countries where Timeshare operates, most of the Timeshare Complaints are from people harrased by over zelous touts inviting them to a resort. Many of the fraudulent practices that have been used by these touts have been stopped, they usually involved the offer of a holiday or a cash prize if they visit the resort. When they are there the aggressive sales pitch begins, and many visitors to a resort often find that when they leave the resort they have been sold a product. To start with all can seem fine, but it is when you find that you are not using it so much as you thought for one reason or another or the annual maintenance fees keep rising and you may be finding it difficult to keep up with the payments. When you decide to get out, this is then where your problems start. Many bogus companies have been set up offering Timeshare resale packages where in fact you could end up spending more money on another Timeshare or other repackaged deal, one certainty is you will end up paying out more money.
With new legislation being drawn in the US which will give more powers to authorities to combat the growing fraud of Timeshare resale which is plaguing the industry and is a mounting problem in many other countries where Timeshare companies operate. Though a lot of the Timeshare Fraud is centred around the resale market which is carried out by a criminal element that can be impossible to identify and track, much tougher legislation would be needed to be brought in to combat this criminal element.
What You Can Do
If you have been a victim of Timeshare Fraud or have been miss sold a Timeshare or are experiencing problems trying to arrange a resale, contact ITRA to arrange a free consultation +00 44 207 952 1000
or visit the website for more information regarding Timeshare Refunds, Timeshare Fraud or to become part of a Timeshare Class Action www.itra.com
For further reading click in the link below
Death of Timeshare: Murder or Euthanasia
Court Order Served
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13310746
Further Useful Links
Timeshare Consumers Association
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