Browse Month

May 2020

Start the Week: More on MacDonalds plus News from the Courts

By Timeshare Insider
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May 11, 2020
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Consumer advice, Consumer Stories, Legal, News, Update

Welcome to the Start of yet another week in the murky world of timeshare, today in Spain we are moving into the next phase of easing the lockdown restrictions, giving us a lot more freedom and with more businesses being allowed to open, yet we are still seeing many being bullied by there timeshare companies. We have reported on the antics of Anfi in Gran Canaria, charging members “cancellation” fees for weeks they cannot take due to no flights and the closure of all hotels. They are also charging hefty fees to “rebook” these weeks and the most disgusting behaviour is the “blackmail” of only being able to save the week and receive a “voucher” if they sign a new contract. This is only the tip of the iceberg, we have also been highlighting the despicable conduct of MacDonald Hotels and Resorts, here is the latest from yet another reader and the “bullying” they are receiving.

Over the past few years Inside Timeshare has been following and reporting on the case of Mrs B and her ongoing fight against MacDonalds. This has now culminated with a move by Shepherd and Wedderburn, the “legal bloodhounds” employed by MacDonalds to take Mrs B (in her 90’s) to court for supposed “maintenance arrears”.

We have received the following from yet another reader who is also being threatened with legal action for arrears of maintenance for a timeshare which is impossible to get out of. MacDonalds will only “consider” allowing a relinquishment on the payment of four years, yes, four years, maintenance fees. Plus any arrears must also be paid, but unfortunately, the time has now passed to be “included in this year’s lottery”. That date was the end of April which we highlighted in several other articles.

Our reader has now received a letter dated 24 April 2020 from Shepherd and Wedderburn headed “Macdonald Resorts Ltd Arrears of Management Charges”, it also states that this a “LETTER BEFORE ACTION”. In other words, they are going to pursue this through the courts.

One paragraph states “In the absence of payment, or an acceptable agreement to pay we will be instructed to raise court proceedings against you. If that is required, MRL shall also seek interest and legal costs in addition (which, if payment is made now, they will waive.)”.

In the letter Shepherd and Wedderburn add to the threat with the following: they are in the process of issuing court claims in England, Wales and Scotland, having issued “over 400 against members”. They also claim so far they have won 22 of the cases that have gone to court.

A point that many of our regular followers will recall from Mrs B, they also sent her “court documents” showing the judgements of the “County Court”, just to frighten her even more.

We Just wonder how many of these people will just pay up because of these threats, feeling they don’t stand a chance against a company the size of MacDonalds!

As we have said before on our pages even the MAFIA would be disgusted with this type of “EXTORTION”!

Last Friday was a very important day in Europe, it was the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. A celebration not just of victory but also the liberation of the whole of Europe including Germany from the tyranny of the Nazi’s. But even with these celebrations going on the courts in Gran Canaria were still working and issuing sentences.

Once again Canarian Legal Alliance has come up trumps (not the US president) for their clients, they began last week with sentences against Marriott and Anfi, then the news broke on the freezing of various Anfi accounts valued at over 600.000€ by Canarian Legal Alliance with the help of the Tax Authorities.

On Friday the Courts of First Instance Number 4 & 5 of San Bartolomé de Tirajana issued two more judgements against Anfi Sales SL and Anfi Resorts SL.

The clients in each case have been awarded 27,946.52€ and 30,413.39€ respectively, on top of this they have also been awarded legal interest and their legal fees. Both client contracts were declared null and void in accordance with Spanish law.

Not a bad end to last week, no doubt there will be many more coming our way this week.

To end today’s article, it would appear that our friends in Greece are still operating, as another reader has emailed with enquiries regarding a claim being made or rather already been dealt with in the Greek Courts. Once again there is a fee to be paid before the money can be released.

Although our reader did not give many details, the name he provided did ring the old alarm bells, Stavros Mpotsari. This name came up with the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs which we highlighted back in January, the full article can be seen on the link below.

https://insidetimeshare.com/hellenic-republic-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-the-latest-eze-group-scam/

If you have any comments on this or any other article, Inside Timeshare welcomes them, if you have been contacted by any company with a story that sounds too good to be true and you would like to know if they are genuine, then please use our contact page and Inside Timeshare will get back to you.

Remember, doing your homework will stop you from being “scammed”.

End the Week: More News on Azure

By Timeshare Insider
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May 08, 2020
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Consumer advice, End of Week, News, Uncategorized, Update

Here we are at the end of another week and what a week it has been, the breaking news that Azure Services Ltd has filed for liquidation, now we have news that two more companies within the Limora Group are being liquidated by Alvarez and Marsal. We have also been receiving emails from concerned members about the phone calls they are already receiving from some very dubious companies regarding the liquidations. Yes, it has already started, the “scamming vultures” have seized the opportunity to use “scare tactics” so you part with your money. Inside Timeshare urges you to not believe what you are being told, it is early days, no one knows what is going to happen and these unscrupulous callers will play on your concerns, after all, they are professional “scammers”.

The latest news now is that Azure Resorts Limited has also filed for liquidation on 28 April 2020, the “Joint Liquidators” are:

Mr. Barry Lynch of Alvarez & Marsal Cayman Islands Limited, PO Box 2507, 2nd Floor Flagship Building, 70 Harbour Drive, George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, KY1-1104

Mr. Wesley Edwards of CVR Global (BVI) Limited, First Floor Folio Building, PO Box 2295, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, VG1110

Azure Resorts Ltd is the management company for the following “clubs”:

Island Residence Club, The Heavenly Collection (including Sands Towers) and Azure Ultra.

The letter signed by the joint liquidators (which can be viewed using the PDF link below) explain to members of what is happening with regards to their memberships,

Azure Resorts Ltd communication to all members Download

“The JLs appreciate that members will be concerned as to the future of the Clubs and wish to advise that the Company’s liquidation does not necessitate their closure, nor does it prejudice the rights of Club members.”

The letter also goes on to state that “discussions” are and have been taking place with an unconnected third party to take over the management of the clubs.

The next paragraph clearly states the aim of the Joint liquidators is to ensure that the members are protected.

“Please be advised that the Company’s liquidation does not affect your rights as a member of the Clubs and your entitlement to use the timeshare weeks purchased. Following the appointment of a new club manager, members will continue to be able to utilise their entitlements at the Golden Sands Resort in accordance with the rules and constitutions of the Clubs. Please be further advised that, should an agreement be reached to transfer the club manager role to a third party, the JLs envisage that the transition for members should be seamless and therefore cause minimal disruption to the operation of the Clubs. It is noted that the JLs anticipate that members will be able to use their entitlements following the reopening of the Hotel and travel restrictions to Malta being lifted.”

In a similar letter to members at Golden Sands Resort by the Corinthia Group, that

“The shareholders have also reaffirmed that the Golden Sands Resort will fully honour all timeshare commitments arising from obligations entered into with existing members.”

In other words, another company will be appointed to manage the “timeshare” interests of the resort and the members. This has happened with those resorts in Tenerife managed by Excel Hotels and Resorts, that has now passed to the Ona Group.

See the full letter in the PDF below.

Corinthia CompanyAnnouncement Download

It has also been announced on the AzureX website that Azure XP Limited have also filed for liquidation with the same joint liquidators as for Azure Resorts.

On this announcement, they include a link to the CVR Global website:

https://cvr.global/azure/

This is the news as it stands now, as and when further information becomes available it will be published here on Inside Timeshare.

As we stated in our opening paragraph, no one knows what is happening or going to happen, it will all be pure speculation. Do not be taken in by the “scare stories” that you will be told by the cold callers all trying to get in on the act, just remember, THEY ARE JUST AFTER YOUR MONEY!

Have a good weekend and join us again next week.

Just after publishing another reader has sent this FAQ published on the Members Blog.

FAQs-for-Members Download

Consumer Warning: Marie Osborne & Blackstone International Ltd (Fake)

By Timeshare Insider
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May 07, 2020
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Consumer advice, Legal, News

Once again Inside Timeshare has information of yet another fraudulent company contacting timeshare owners and those who have had past dealings with other scammers in the past. As usual, the fantastic news is the courts are holding significant amounts of money which have been seized and now being allocated to “past victims”. But, and there is always a but, there are “fees” which need to be paid before the money can be released.

The caller is named as Marie Osborne and is calling on behalf of Blackstone International Limited, Company Registration Number 03949032 with the registered address of:

40 Berkeley Square London W1J 5AL

An address that is regularly used for registering companies.

The telephone number given by Marie Osborne is 020 7193 0356 and appears to be a “purchased” number not associated with any company. Other numbers given are 020 7451 4000 and 020 7451 4001.

The 020 7451 4000 number is actually a genuine number for the named company, and when called the receptionist confirmed that there is no Marie Osborne working for them and they have nothing to do with timeshare. The receptionist then passed the call to another member of staff who confirmed this and also confirmed they had received many calls on this subject.

The website for the genuine Blackstone is:

https://www.blackstoneinternational.ltd/

As can be seen from the website they are suppliers of “quality consumer goods” and it looks like they are actually a US based company.

**Hello, I’m calling on behalf of RipUoff Associates.**

So here we go again, a group of “fraudsters” using the name of a genuine registered company, this then makes it difficult for people to realise it is a fraud. They will check the company registration and in their mind, it must be genuine. This makes it clear that just because a company is registered it does not mean that it is the one calling.

According to Marie, the money is a result of dealings our reader had with various companies in the past, one being our old friends the fake law firm from Fuengirola Ramirez and Ramirez along with International Travel Solutions and Nicholas Davey Associates.

In order to process the payment the following documentation is required along with the payment:

1) Document to be signed to say money has been received.

2) Document agreeing it to be a full & final settlement.

3) I must include a copy of my husband’s Death Certificate.

The bank details where the money has to be paid are Sort Code 04-03-01 and the Account Number 0000032. When checking the account the following is found, IBAN GB02LHVB04030100000323, BIC LHVBGB2LXXX. This account is for the UK branch of LHV Pank an Estonian banking and financial services company headquartered in Tallinn. It also happens to be the fourth largest bank in Estonia.

The payment is also supposed to go to a third-party company called PULS 8 Ltd, which when we have checked them are a company called Puls 8 (Cyprus) Ltd. This company was registered in July 2018 in the Cyprus Company Register and the company directors are Jonathan David Lassman and Mark Andrew Eddison. So the question is if Marie and Blackstone were genuine why is the payment to be made to a Cypriot company to an Estonian Bank?

It must also be pointed out that this name has come up before, it appeared on the “End of Year Cold Call List” published by mindtimeshare in 2016.

So just from these scant details, we can be absolutely certain that this is a fraud and all readers should be aware of this. If you have been contacted by Marie Osborne or any other person claiming to be from Blackstone International Ltd to use our contact page and give Inside Timeshare any information you can.

It is through the diligence of our reader and the fact she did her homework that she has not been “robbed” of any further money, again reinforcing our message that you should “DO YOUR HOMEWORK” before engaging with any company or paying any money.

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