Advice to Consumers
Holiday Clubs – Making the right choice.
What is a Holiday Club?
Holiday Clubs have various different benefits and characteristics, however they are generally defined as a membership scheme that offer holidays, usually with the benefit of a discount on the normal retail price. These products cannot be categorised as Timeshare because their membership does not include:
(a) The ownership or fractional ownership of any property.
(b) Any specific right of occupation for a specific number of weeks per year contracted for three years or more.
It is therefore important to be aware of exactly what is on offer before deciding to purchase membership of a Holiday Club.
Things to be aware of when purchasing membership of a Holiday Club.
- Never purchase membership of a Holiday Club because you feel pressured into it, or “just to get away from” the salesmen. If you feel that the product is not for you just say “No”.
- Check that the marketing company making the presentation to you has written authorisation to sell the product/s you are being offered. All reputable marketing companies have a signed contract with the suppliers of the product/s.
- Ask for references from the marketer that show that they are a reputable, established company.
- Beware of companies that actually sell Timeshare but claim to be holiday clubs. The definition of Timeshare is the contracting of a specific “Right to Use” a week or number of weeks of a specific property or group of properties for three years or more.
- Seek proof that the Holiday Club has actual access to holidays for your use. It is absolutely reasonable to ask to see evidence of availability, including high season.
- Ensure that anything that you are promised is put in writing and is consistent with the products advertising, for example check the product benefits on their public web site.
- Beware of anybody that promises to rent weeks that are allocated to you through your membership to earn you income. Always bear in mind that if these companies could rent the weeks allocated to you for a much higher amount than they propose to rent them to you, why would they want you involved?
- If you are an owner of a Holiday Club or a Timeshare week beware of anyone claiming to be able to sell your existing ownership on your behalf if you purchase their product.
- This is a well-known technique that has unfortunately been rife in the Timeshare Industry for several years and is called a “Buy Sell”. The usual format is as follows.
(a) The sales person will produce a quote that says a Company will give you ££££££ for your timeshare (Normally a fax, that has just been passed through their own machine or sent from the office next door or from an unscrupulous resale agent who is being paid to participate)
(b) They will then justify the very large price the fictitious company is willing to pay through a story about getting money out of South Africa or obtaining travel permits for Russians or Chinese.
(c) This is all on the condition that you purchase their membership, your sale will be finalised after the transaction of you membership with them is completed.
(d) In the end no sale of what you previously owned is ever made and the result is that you now own two products.
Whilst there are, unfortunately, some unscrupulous operators in this sector, there are also genuine reputable Holiday Clubs who dedicate themselves to seeking and contracting the very best deals and service for their members, enabling them to save many thousands of pounds over the period of their membership
These companies will have an established presence in the market, will have all of the necessary travel licenses and bonding in place and will be clearly visible to and contactable by their members. They will have clear and permanent addresses, will not hide behind a P/O Box number, especially in a foreign country, and will generally have a significant and professional Internet presence where the directors and owners of the company will be clearly identified.
Genuine Holiday Clubs want their members to take holidays and are therefore in permanent touch with them to communicate their latest offers and availability. Genuine Holiday Clubs will have sought out and be able to present many testimonials from their existing clients commenting favourably on the service and treatment they have received. Evidence of this two-way communication between a Holiday Club and it’s existing members is the strongest proof that the company making the presentation to you is presenting a genuine product which will deliver what has been promised.
This informative booklet has been produced in order to give general advice and to highlight some of the areas, which will help you to decide upon whether or not to purchase a Holiday Club membership. This information is not meant to be, nor should be considered as, a substitute for the law. When in doubt you should always seek legal advice or the opinion of an independent government body, such as the Office of Fair Trading http://www.oft.gov.uk
