Over the past few weeks the articles published here on Inside Timeshare have been of a somewhat serious nature, so to end November Inside Timeshare is taking a light-hearted view of the industry. Following are some of the timeshare and sales jokes you can find on the internet, some have been used in previous articles. Enjoy.
We start off with the usual beginning of any timeshare tour, you are picked up by the OPC (kid on the street with scratch cards),
so you go to pick up your prizes and told it will only take 90 mins, but have you seen the sales reps after?
Then during the presentation, you are told all the benefits of owning a timeshare,
Do you remember the financial logic part of the pitch?
Somehow they actually made it look as though you would save loads of money.
But after a while you wanted to go, only time has flown by and you then realise how long you have been there!
Or have you been one of those with the in-house reps, you go on holiday using the timeshare you already own and you get the knock on the door the day after you arrive, how do you feel!
Or do you break down and get you credit card out?
But don´t feel sorry for the rep when you say I need to think about it, you will leave him waiting as a be-back!
Its when you get home you realise what you have done!
But don´t forget the sales force is very well trained, they know what they are doing,
Maybe this wasn´t the timeshare for you!
so just to finish here are a few more
And if you ever think about buying remember this,
Hope this has given you a little chuckle, remember you can´t be serious all the time.
Well, we thought we had seen everything until now, it appears that the “scammers” are now sending in the debt collectors to clients who wanted to cancel and refuse to pay or have not paid because they do not believe their timeshare contracts have been terminated. ABC Legal is the company involved and yes, it is the “crook”Mark Rowe who is once again behind it. Also, remember that Mark Rowe and several of his other companies are under criminal investigation in the UK and Spain.
Over the past few weeks Inside Timeshare has been receiving many emails on this subject. The first few were all clients who decided they wanted to cancel the services to terminate their timeshare because they felt pressured into signing and subsequently found some very disturbing news on the internet. Yet now they are being bullied into paying with threats of legal action and County Court Judgements.
Both were sent letters on ABC Legalheaded paper telling them that their timeshare contracts had been terminated, both asked for proof as they had not heard anything from their respective resorts. Plus they are receiving demands for past maintenance fees and for next year.
ABC Legal refused to send any written evidence that the contracts had been formerly terminated. All they have done is refer the clients to this clause in their contract:
To clarify, by “Exit” we mean one of two things:
a) an agreement with the Resort Owner under which your Timeshare Contract is terminated on terms you approve in advance; OR
b) receipt by you of a letter from us stating that we consider that, in all of the circumstances, including the legal context and any legal notices served, that the Resort Owner is likely to treat the Timeshare Contract in effect as if it had been terminated (though in fact it has not been formally terminated) and that in our opinion the Resort Owner is unlikely to take any legal action against you.
Both (Name of Resort) and (Name of Resort) have failed to engage or respond to the legal notices served.
Now there is a very telling point in the second clause:
(though in fact, it has not been formally terminated) and that in our opinion the Resort Owner is unlikely to take any legal action against you.
They actually admit that the contract has not been “formerlly terminated”, that the resorts failed to engage or respond to legal notices served.
The question is what “Legal Notices”?
As we have pointed out on many occasions, most timeshare companies will not engage with or recognise these third party terminations, they will deal directly with the member only. It is also a fact that timeshare companies will pursue owners/members for arrears in maintenance fees. Many of these companies will use the services of Daniels Silverman based in Liverpool, this is the prefered choice of Diamond.
The debt collection agency employed by ABC Legal is CCI Credit Management Ltd, The CCICM Centre Snowdonia Business Park Portmadog.
It is also a fact that ABC Legal and ABC lawyers are in liquidation, with ABC Legal filling on 8 February 2019 and ABC Lawyers also on 8 February 2019.
So another question has to be asked, how can companies in liquidation employ a debt collection agency to recover unpaid invoices for them?
If anyone out there knows a good answer I would love to hear it.
So there we have it, the “Scammers” are still at it but trying to use legal means. One thing we can say to Mark Rowe, you certainly know how to rip people off.
We all hope that you end up getting your just deserts and are thrown into prison for a substantial time just for all the misery that you have heaped on the unsuspecting.
If you have been contacted by CCI Credit Management Ltd or have had dealings with any of these companies and are still receiving your maintenance bills, then please use our contact page and get in touch.
For those readers who have been following Inside Timeshare over the past few years, you will remember the story of Mrs B and her battle with MacDonald Hotels and Resorts. Mrs B made contact in 2016 after receiving threatening letters from MacDonald Resorts regarding her timeshare membership at the Dona Lola Club on the Costa del Sol and the maintenance arrears. Despite all efforts to resolve the situation MacDonald Resorts refuses to budge and the story is now getting worse.
The story begins many years ago when Mrs B and her sister both in their 60’s and 70’s ended up on a presentation at the Dona Lola Club. After a rather long presentation, they decided to purchase, even though they already owned at Oasis Lanz in Lanzarote.
For several years they used the timeshare and were very happy with the resort, but circumstances changed. Due to severe medical issues, they were unable to travel and no longer used the timeshare. They continued to pay the annual maintenance fees as soon as the bills arrived even though they were not using it.
Then in May 2014, they were contacted by a company who told them they could relinquish their contract. Everything was explained to them and Mrs B paid £5695 to this company to do the work for them. This included relinquishing both Dona Lola and Oasis Lanz.
In May of 2015, they received notification that both timeshares had now been transferred to the name of another person. (Inside Timeshare has his name, address and passport number, he even shows on the electoral register).
The notification included copies of the document duly signed by a registered notary in Spain that the timeshares had been transferred.
It was not until the maintenance bills kept arriving with demands for payment of arrears that they found out that unlike Oasis Lanz, MacDonald Resorts did not recognise the transfer. According to MacDonald’s Mrs B and her sister were still liable for the maintenance fee each and every year.
Oasis Lanz
Eventually, they began receiving demands from a debt collecting agency called Network Credit Services threatening court action if the arrears were not paid. Inside Timeshare contacted this company on behalf of Mrs B and they refused to acknowledge that the debt was in dispute and they had no legal basis to continue the recovery.
Now the story moves on to this year, Mrs B has now received even worse threatening letters from another debt collecting agency, Shepherd and Wedderburn.
In this letter, they once again threatened legal action to recover the debt and have also included copies of County Court Judgements made in favour of MacDonald Hotels and Resorts. To say the least, this is intimidation at its worse.
Now what you must remember is that both are now very elderly with Mrs B aged 93. Both are virtually housebound and have alarm systems in place in case of an emergency. They both live off their pensions and cannot afford to pay the arrears which no amount to over £5,000 which includes interest court fees and legal fees.
MacDonald Resorts want them to pay the arrears before they will even contemplate allowing them to surrender their membership and then they will want 4 years worth of maintenance fees upfront. This will amount to over £10,000.
MacDonald Resorts are no strangers to the press, Tony Hetherington amongst others has published numerous articles on how they behave. One article highlights one story titled “The timeshare contract that even death will not save you from.”
Inside Timeshare is working with Mrs B and one of her neighbours to once again try to resolve this dispute. We will keep you informed.
Follow the links below for more on this subject.
Have you had a similar experience either with MacDonald Hotels and Resorts or any other timeshare then we would love to hear from you?
Do you want to know how to relinquish your timeshare or even if you have a legal claim?
Then please use our contact page and we will get back to you.
