THOUSANDS of Britons are being duped in a $62.9 million-a-year scam offering membership of bogus luxury holiday clubs.
Victims are asked to pay from $3,000 to $39,000 for exclusive membership of clubs, which then guarantees them discounted holidays for life in the worldﾴs most glamorous locations.
Instead of a dream holiday in the Bahamas or the Turks and Caicos Islands, however, they are offered accommodation at low-grade hotels and apartments in the Spanish costas or the Canary Islands, which can be bought more cheaply at any travel agent. Many firms have folded before members even have time to book a holiday.
Complaints to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) about the sham holiday clubs have doubled within a year. Their proliferation appears to be linked to new laws imposed on timeshare sharks two years ago which introduced a statutory two-week ﾓcooling offﾔ period before a consumer was bound to a timeshare agreement.
The watchdog has identified more than 100 unscrupulous club operators, many of whom were previously involved in timeshare cons, and it is urgently considering legal action against the worst offenders.
The OFT launched a campaign yesterday to advise consumers to walk away from the sharp practice.
Many of the tricks appear to be those formerly used by some timeshare firms.
People may be telephoned at home and told that they have won a prize, usually a weekﾴs holiday or an expensive video camera. To collect their prize, however, they must attend a presentation about the holiday club.
Another ploy is for holiday club agents to approach unsuspecting holidaymakers in seaside resorts in Spain and the Canary Islands offering them a scratchcard.
ﾓWinnersﾔ are then taken to an office or hotel to claim their prize, provided they watch a presentation for the club.
People are then subjected to pressure-selling techniques to join the club. They have to endure presentations lasting five or six hours and are then offered sweeteners, such as a cashback scheme after ten years.
Penny Boys, deputy director-general at the OFT, said she was particularly concerned that the traders were deliberately focusing on affluent people with disposable wealth. ﾓThese are not vulnerable consumers, they are people with time and leisure who have spare cash for the best in life and are able to afford it. Cheap luxury holidays for life is a very attractive prospect,ﾔ she said.
Many of the complaints to the OFT are from couples in their fifties, with savings in the bank and children who have left home. Some clubs even promised that the deal could be passed on to their children or grandchildren in the event of death.
Often they are tempted by the deal because it offers such a huge choice of holiday locations.
Mrs Boys spelt out the pitfalls. ﾓIt is not a property right, itﾴs not a guaranteed use of a property at a particular time. Itﾴs not a timeshare and the cooling-off period of two weeks after signing a contract does not apply.ﾔ
People have also discovered that the clubﾴs booking service offers more expensive flights and they end up paying for transfers from airport to property, plus rental supplements.
The official advice is to ignore cold calls and scratchcards and stay away from presentations. Leaflets are being handed out by tour operators and are available at libraries and Citizens Advice Bureaux.
It is not illegal to offer a booking service for discounted luxury holidays but the deal comes into question if the reality does not match the promise. Anyone wishing to join a bona fide club can check a firmﾴs credentials on the Organisation for Timeshare in Europeﾴs website, www.ote-info.com.
Nicola Bray, who organises lettings for a property company, and her partner, Graham Jolly, a painter, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, lost ﾣ2,950 after signing up to a bogus deal while on holiday in Spain last November.
The couple were approached by a woman who handed them a scratchcard. Mrs Bray said: ﾓWe were very sceptical, but apparently we were winners ﾗ a holiday or a camcorder. We decided we had nothing to lose because we were adamant we werenﾴt going to sign anything.ﾔ
They were then offered club membership for 50 years for ﾣ12,950 or ten years for ﾣ5,950, but they said they were not interested. ﾓIt was too much money. Then they came up with our prize holiday in the Canary Islands at new year ﾗ if we signed up to a three-year deal worth ﾣ2,950.ﾔ
As it happened, the couple were already planning a new year break. ﾓThe locations were beautiful. It was all four or five star and it also came with an option for hiring villas from ﾣ300 a week. That was tempting for us because we hope to get married abroad within three years and thought we could offer it to family and friends. We found out since that the rentals quoted were a deposit only.ﾔ
They arrived for their new year holiday expecting luxury, but discovered the flat was three star, with no double bed, no kettle and no toaster. She complained and was offered another weekﾴs holiday. ﾓBut I checked out the details and it is three star again, not luxury, and the deal they offered me was ﾣ274 per person ﾗ when I can get the same myself for ﾣ199.
ﾓI think weﾴve got off lightly, with a very expensive new year in the Canaries. I would like people to know it is ﾑbuyer bewareﾴ. Donﾴt be tempted.ﾔ The couple are pursuing their grievances with the OFT and with the company concerned.
By Valerie Elliott, Times Online
