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Another Timeshare scam, this time from Malta !

Another Timeshare scam, this time from Malta !

Police in Malta and the Malta Tourism Authority are investigating a timeshare company who purportedly defrauded clients out of thousands of euro’s. The company named as Platinum International Malta Ltd sold a timeshare membership with cost between €2,000 and €3,500 and promised to provide its members with heavily discounted hotel bookings and holiday packages. The membership covered a range of locations in five destinations, all the customer had to pay was €500 to Platinum for the service.

Instead of providing the services they had promised customers were left  with unsettled hotel bills … Read more

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Timeshare owners face further financial exploitation from scammers, warns action fraud!

A recent increase in cases of Timeshare owners being targeted for further abuse has prompted Action Fraud to warn owners to be on the lookout. Scammers are actively seeking out Timeshare owners who may be vulnerable or previously mis-sold their Timeshares and telling them they are owed compensation. The scammers pose as reputable companies offering unsuspecting customers exit from their timeshare burdens for a fee and promising to be able to reclaim compensation.

The scammers are aware of the Timeshare owners personal information from their previous investments which provides them with false credibility. They request upfront fees from owners … Read more

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Brothers Behaving Badly – Timeshare Scammers Jailed

The Birmingham brothers have been ordered to pay back “Hidden Assets” or face an additional 15 months in prison.

Brothers Amarjit and Shivjit Bagharian, from Smethwick, were both jailed for seven years in February 2016 after admitting a Scheme to defraud topping £1 Million. Operating under 2 bogus companies, Sun Properties Solutions and Avon Client Services, they duped over 38 victims into handing over money in exchange for timeshare abandonment services, even promising their victims could obtain a handsome return on their investment.

However, the duo made no effort to sell timeshares, nor had any intention to do so. Instead … Read more

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UPDATE: Holiday Products Fraud, 40 Months for Prolific Conman!

Francis ‘Frank’ Madden took holidays around the Mediterranean while his businesses deceptively obtained hundreds of thousands of pounds from unsuspecting customers.

Madden, 61 from Bournemouth, has been jailed for 40 months and barred from holding a directorship for a decade! The Conman, who was jailed this week, ruled his companies with an ‘Iron Fist’, despite spending much of his time on cruises with his wife and spending thousands of pounds in doing so.

Staff at his companies, Central Marketing LTD, Glenleigh LTD and Reco Corp LTD, were instructed to cold-call hundreds of people a day inviting them to attend a … Read more

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South African Timeshares – Public Inquiry

In South Africa, there is in excess of 200 resorts and over 600,000 people who own timeshares. The industry has come under the spotlight and it has become apparent that consumers are not so happy.

There have been many allegations and complaints against the timeshare industry and the National Consumer Commission are now looking to kickstart a public inquiry. The inquiry will optimistically get to the bottom of the allegations that consumers have made, such as being conned into signing contracts that last a lifetime and not being able to cancel the contracts once they have signed them.

Consumers are … Read more

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Timeshare owners owe $24 million.

A timeshare resort in Canada that went into liquidation is offering to make a deal with owners who deserted their timeshares if they agree to pay-up within 30 days.

Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge appointed administrators by order of the court to help address financial concerns after they faced financial deficit from 2015-2018 and during this time one quarter of the 13,000 owners had defaulted on their timeshare payments. The timeshare units are part of Wyndham Destinations, but the aging properties were not maintained, and owners became tired of paying fees and not seeing any improvements made to the resorts. … Read more

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Australia’s Timeshare trap

Consumer groups demand investigations into allegations of misleading timeshare sales tactics.

Consumer groups in Australia has made a broad move and are accusing the timeshare industry of trapping people in long term timeshare contracts using predatory sales tactics.

Choice is a consumer group based in Australia and they are urging the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to act and prosecute timeshare operators who break the law. They also want an investigation into the entire timeshare industry after receiving a remarkable number of complaints from customers who have been trapped in contracts that last up to 99 years. They said in … Read more

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Have you ever attended a timeshare presentation? One unlucky couple did, and this is their story!

Back in 2017 Mr and Mrs Bunton were called by CLC world and told they had won a free night in a hotel. The offer was very appealing as it was a short drive to a luxury hotel in Cheltenham. They agreed to accept their ‘prize’ and very much enjoyed their stay at the hotel, however, the following morning they were shocked when they were forced to sit through a long presentation about holiday points membership. The hard sell lasted from 10 am to 4pm that day, incredibly they managed to resist the pressure and not sign up to the … Read more

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September marks the start of Oddfellows Friendship month

This annual event is held every year and aims to encourage people to connect with others in their community. The event highlights the growing concern of loneliness in our elderly and vulnerable members of society.

At the turn of the year, 2020, the world was hit by a pandemic, and millions of people were forced into isolation. It was a stark reminder that now, more than ever before in recent years that people needed to be there for each other. The acts of kindness were unprecedented, a newfound appreciation for our NHS and other critical services was expressed by all … Read more

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How to establish whether you were unlawfully sold timeshare

There is a misconception that timeshare is property investment.

 

There is a good reason for this. Over the past five years, fractional ownership has been sold as an investment vehicle by both Club La Costa and Diamond Resorts. While this has been the case, consumers will be pleased to learn that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) have very recently ruled in favour of the consumer.

The FOS investigation and determination found that fractional timeshare is not an investment and should never have been sold as one.

Timeshare was once fashionable in the 1980s and saw a massive growth across … Read more

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