05/12/2005

Timeshare resale

Dubious firms offer consumers to resell their timeshare contracts subject to payment. The ECC advises not to accept such offers because the deposit to be paid for it is lost.

Some firms invite consumers abroad, in order to finalize the sale there. Be on your guard against these firms. You will not only pay for the trip, but one will try to persuade you to sign another contract. Many consumers fell victims of such practices and finally found themselves left with their unsold timeshare part and a new holiday formula.

There are also so called cash-back systems, where the firms offer you an “extraordinary” product. This system has different variants: Sometimes you are invited to invest an important sum of money, which will be refunded after a certain time in addition to the selling price for the timeshare part. In this case too, you are up against swindlers making a quick getaway with your money.

In a word: any sum invested in the resale of your timeshare part is wasted money.

When buying a timeshare part you pay for your future holidays. If the annual extra costs have not become too expensive, it is generally more interesting to profit from your timeshare as long as possible, or to rent it.

If you do not want to make use of your right of use and you do not want to rent it neither, you only have one possibility. Do not pay the annual extra costs any longer. In this case, most contracts provide for the loss of the right of use. It could, however, also be interpreted as failure to comply with the contract and, consequently, you could be summoned to court. Such a case is, however, not known to this day.

The ECC Brussels has published a small brochure on “timesharing” in French and Dutch. If you are interested, please contact the European Consumer Centre under 02/517 17 90 or send a mail to info@cec-ecc.be.