Posts

Travel industry launched a merciless legal fightback after epidemic of false sickness claims by Brits, has cost hoteliers hundreds of millions of pounds.

 

The problem has become so out of control the travel industry even threatened to end the all-inclusive package holiday for Brits wishing to book them.

A 500% increase in sickness claims between 2013 and 2016 by British holidaymakers prompted the revolt by hoteliers, who threatened to withdraw the all-inclusive package from the UK market.

The surge in claims is blamed on rogue claims management companies who tout for business in tourist hotspots and also cold-call holidaymakers … Read more

Curry’s PC World receives a barrage of customer complaints, and staff aren’t happy either !

Product after-care plans have been pushed by sales staff for many years and, in some cases, are well worth the money, by providing peace of mind and reassurance for many customers. However, it now seems that Curry’s customers are being charged for the insurance, even though they never signed up for it, or turned down the cover.

And staff on the sales floor are not happy either. We looked at Glassdoor.co.uk an online reviewer site where employees and former employees anonymously review companies. 539 reviews … Read more

Our Vault LTD fined £70k by the Information Commissioners Office, after making 55,364 nuisance phone calls.

 

In a statement, the ICO said it had issued an Enforcement Notice to the company, ordering it to stop its illegal marketing activity.

Our Vault had been cold-calling people who had previously registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and had not consented to being contacted by Our Vault.

Our Vault claimed that all their personal data was checked against the register. However, following an investigation by the ICO, Our Vault were found to have never requested a TPS license. A TPS license … Read more

Wesley Scott Aldred, from Kissimmee, Florida has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for violating the conditions of his probation order. He was previously convicted for telemarketing fraud in 2015, for participating in a timeshare resale Deceptive scheme. The company, named Premier Timeshare Solutions, defrauded timeshare owners all over the United States, including South Illinois, where Mr Aldred is currently serving his sentence.

Whilst on probation for that conviction, Aldred was found to be engaging in a similar telemarketing scam which targeted Timeshare owners. Aldred and nine other defendants were indicted in May 2014 for felony charges, including conspiracy … Read more

The new EU Package Travel Directive, ensures all travellers get the same holiday protection.

From 1 July this year, travel agents must take responsibility for each aspect of a holiday someone books with them in a single transaction. The new rules make travel firms responsible for every aspect of the holiday, and sorting out any problems falls to them. This means that the travel providers must ensure the holiday is as promised, even if they do not actually provide the service they are selling. For example, if you book a flight transfer, excursion and something goes wrong, it is up … Read more

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating HMRC to establish whether or not the government tax body has been illegally recording and storing more than 5 Million Biometric Voice ID’s.

Watchdog Group ‘Big Brother Watch’ (BBW) lodged an official complaint with the ICO. The advocacy organisation said that the collection of Voice ID’s is not being done with explicit consumer consent, and information on how individuals can easily and securely have their voiceprint deleted is not publicly accessible. BBW says this is a direct violation of the recently implemented GDPR.

A ‘Freedom of Information’ (FOI) request by BBW revealed HMRC … Read more

Millennials are the new target demographic for Bluegreen Resorts.

 

 

Bluegreen CEO Shawn Pearson says his company are attracting more and more millennials seeking good quality, unique experiences and value for money.

Pearson says that this is a fantastic business and Bluegreen offer a great product. They own 69 resorts and provide a unique experience at every destination. Pearson said, “we really capture the local flair and for people that want to have a unique experience we offer all kinds of opportunities within our system”. 

Pearson was asked, whether millennials are buying timeshares. He replied, “I think what’s Read more

Sisters Sammy and Sylvia booked a 3 night stay in Alicante, through Teletext Holidays, to celebrate their mother’s 55th birthday.

 

When the 3 arrived at Alicante Airport, they were told that their hotel was a €350 taxi ride away, or 7 hours by public transport. They thought Teletext was a good place to find a reasonably priced short break. They spoke with Teletext over the phone and specifically asked for a hotel near to Alicante town centre.

“The guy on the phone gave us lots of different options and was very persistent, we said we wanted to check around Read more

Over the past 12 months, HMRC has requested the takedown of more than 20,000 corrupt websites. HM Revenue and Customs claims to have saved the public over £2.4 million, by shutting down websites and fraudsters who run them. Most people with a mobile phone have probably received a text purporting to be from HMRC which looked Genuine. The public have been made aware that these texts are fraudulent, by the government, who stated that they would never contact an individual by text, despite this being the way in which many people have been scammed.

Fraudsters alleging to be from HMRC … Read more

Praetorian Legal are representing a number of clients in relation to mis-sold timeshare contracts by Azure Resorts Ltd.

A number of our clients purchased timeshare products with Azure Resorts, which were funded by loan agreements arranged by the resort. The sales company which advised those clients to enter into sizeable and complex loan agreements was not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, rendering the loan agreements unenforceable.

Many clients were not provided the correct information when signing the loan agreements, some signed the contracts after enduring long, high-pressure and aggressive sales presentations. FCA guidelines are in place to ensure that … Read more