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This information applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
What are timeshares and holiday clubs
Timeshares
When you buy a timeshare, you buy the right to use holiday accommodation for a set amount of time each year. The accommodation will usually be part of a resort with other timeshare accommodation and communal facilities, but you can also get timeshares in, for example, caravans and canal boats. How you pay for the timeshare will vary, but usually you pay a one-off lump sum, and annual maintenance charges.
There are special laws to protect your rights when you buy a timeshare. However, not all timeshare agreements are protected by these laws. A timeshare agreement will only be protected if the agreement:-
- lasts for three years or more, and
- allows you to stay in a specific building or caravan for a set period of time each year, and
- was made in a European Economic Area (EEA) country (for countries in the EEA see under heading Countries in the European Economic Area), and
- was made either with a company or with an individual during the course of their business. Agreements made with individuals on a private basis are not covered.
Timeshare agreements which do not fall within all of these categories, are not protected by timeshare laws. It is not clear whether timeshares for canal boats in the UK are covered by timeshare laws or not.
Holiday clubs
When you buy membership of a holiday club, the holiday club usually promises to give you the opportunity to buy cheaper holidays over a long period of time. These could either be in a particular resort or in different locations. The way you pay for the holiday club membership will vary, but usually you pay a fee to become a member and then an annual subscription.
Holiday clubs are different to timeshares because you are not buying the right to stay in a specific property for a set period of time each year. Agreements to buy membership of a holiday club are therefore not protected by the same laws as timeshare.
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Sales pressure to buy timeshares and holiday clubs
Some timeshare and holiday club sellers use high pressure selling techniques to get you to sign an agreement. Examples of these are:
- inviting you to long sales presentations where you are put under pressure to sign an agreement before leaving. Sometimes partners are separated so that they do not have the opportunity to discuss anything
- taking you to a distant location with no means of getting back unless you sign the contract
- offering you a special discount, but only if you sign up straight away
- offering you free travel or accommodation, or some other kind of prize in return for going to a presentation. These prizes often turn out to be bogus. You may be told that the prize is 'out of stock', or find that it is worth less than you were promised, or that you have to pay for extras, such as flights, in order to claim your prize.
If you find yourself in one of these situations, the following advice could help you avoid making a decision that you later regret:
- don't sign anything, no matter how much you're pressurized, unless you're sure it's what you really want
- don't sign anything you don't understand
- don't be embarrassed to walk out of the presentation
- always think through your decision, and say you'll come back in a few days time if you're not really sure
- check that you have the right to cancel the agreement, and that this is written down
- check that everything is in writing that was promised at the presentation
- get independent advice.
It is a criminal offence for a trader to use these high pressure selling techniques and in England Wales and Scotland, you could report them to Consumer Direct on 0845 4040 0506. In Northern Ireland, you could report them to the Consumerline on: 0845 600 6262.
For more information about cancelling a timeshare or holiday club agreement, see under heading Cancelling a timeshare agreement.
If you want to complain about how you were sold a timeshare, you should talk to an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-Mail, click on  nearest CAB.
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Buying a timeshare or holiday club membership
If your timeshare agreement is protected by timeshare laws you must be provided with certain information about the timeshare in writing (to check whether your timeshare is protected by timeshare laws, see under heading What are timeshares and holiday clubs). This includes information about:-
- who is selling the timeshare
- the name and address of the owner of the timeshare development
- the location of the property
- how long the agreement will last
- information about your legal rights in the country where the timeshare is located
- a description of the property and its location
- whether you can join an exchange or resale scheme and any costs involved
- the price of the timeshare and an estimate of the charges for maintenance and repairs, and the management of the development
- the date and place where you signed the agreement.
For more information about what written information you are entitled to when you buy a timeshare protected by timeshare laws, you should talk to an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If you buy a timeshare protected by timeshare laws, you will be able to cancel the agreement during a cooling-off period - see under heading Cancelling a timeshare agreement.
If you buy a timeshare which is not protected by the timeshare laws, or if you buy membership of a holiday club, you will not have these rights.
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Cancelling a timeshare agreement
Whether or not you can cancel a timeshare agreement after signing, will depend on whether the timeshare is protected by the timeshare laws. To check whether your timeshare is protected by the timeshare laws, see under heading What are timeshares and holiday clubs.
The timeshare is protected by timeshare law
If you have signed a timeshare agreement which is protected by the timeshare laws, you will have the right to a cooling-off period during which you can cancel the agreement without having to pay a cancellation fee. The cooling-off period will be 14 days if:
- you signed your timeshare agreement in the UK; or
- the timeshare accommodation is in the UK; or
- you are normally resident in the UK and the timeshare accommodation is in an EEA country.
If you were not given certain written information when you signed the agreement (see under heading Buying a timeshare or holiday club membership), you may have a much longer period of time to cancel the agreement.
For a list of EEA member countries, see under heading Countries in the European Economic Area.
Timeshare sellers in the UK and EEA must tell you about the cooling-off period when you sign the agreement. If they do not, the cooling-off period will be extended. The law says you must not be asked to pay any money during this cooling-off period.
After the cooling-off period, you can cancel the agreement if the terms of the agreement allow for this.
If you agreed to pay by credit, the credit agreement will automatically be cancelled if you cancel the contract for the timeshare using the cancellation notice provided by the seller.
If you are not entitled to a cooling-off period under the timeshare laws and you used your credit card to buy the timeshare, your credit card company might agree to get the money back for you, but only if they have signed up to a voluntary code of practice. In these circumstances, it is essential that you write to both the timeshare seller and the credit company notifying them that you wish to cancel the agreement, within 10 days of signing the timeshare agreement. You should check whether your credit card company offers this type of protection.
For more information about getting your money back from a credit card company, see under heading Faulty goods or services on credit in Credit.
The rules about cancelling a timeshare agreement are very complicated. If you want to cancel a timeshare agreement, you should talk to an experienced adviser, for example at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To find details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
Timeshares not protected by timeshare laws, and memberships of holiday clubs
If you have bought membership of a holiday club or made a timeshare agreement which is not protected by timeshare laws, you do not have the right to a cooling-off period during which you can cancel your agreement. However, you may still be able to cancel the agreement if, for example, there is a term in your contract which says that you can.
There are other circumstances in which you may be able to cancel a holiday club membership or a timeshare agreement which is not protected by timeshare laws. For more information, you should talk to an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
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Selling a timeshare or holiday club
It can be difficult to sell a timeshare and the resale price is often much lower than the price you paid for it. Timeshare resale organisations may be able to help. You should think about asking several timeshare resale organisations to value your timeshare to get an idea about how much it is worth.
Before signing an agreement, check thoroughly that the terms and conditions offered by the organisation are suitable for your needs. For example, some timeshare resale organisations do not deal with timeshares which work on a points scheme and some may ask you to pay a fee up front. If an organisation is a member of a trade association, this may give you extra protection as it will be required to follow a code of practice.
You may have received an unsolicited telephone call or fax from a timeshare resale organisation saying that it has buyers keen to purchase your timeshare. In return, the organisation will ask you to pay a fee up front. After the fee is paid, the organisation may disappear, the sale of the timeshare may not happen, or the price the timeshare is sold for may only just cover the fee you paid to the resale company. You should consider any offer from a timeshare resale organisation very carefully, as there is often very little you can do to put things right if you have a problem.
If you already own a timeshare, a seller may try to persuade you to buy a better one, on the understanding that they will sell your existing timeshare. You should be very careful about accepting this type of offer as you may find that your existing timeshare is never sold, but you are still committed to buying the second timeshare. This is known as the 'buy-sell con'.
If you are thinking of selling your timeshare or holiday club, you should talk to an experienced adviser, for example at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including details of those that can give e-mail advice, click on nearest CAB.
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Exchanging a timeshare
If you want to exchange your timeshare, a timeshare exchange organisation may be able to help. Often, the timeshare exchange organisation will charge you an annual membership fee and a fee whenever an exchange is made.
You can get details of timeshare exchange organisations from the Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE) – see under heading Organisations that can help with timeshares or holiday clubs.
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Problems with timeshares and holiday clubs
The options you have to resolve a problem with your timeshare or holiday club membership depend on the terms of the agreement and on the law which applies to it. The law which applies to your agreement could be:
- the law in the country where the agreement was signed
- the law in the country where the timeshare company is based
- the law of a third country which the agreement says applies to it.
You may need the help of a specialist solicitor to decide which law applies.
For more information about what to do if you have a problem with a timeshare agreement, see under heading Organisations that can help with timeshares or holiday clubs. In England and Wales, see also, Timeshare, in Consumer fact sheets.
For more advice about how to resolve a problem with a timeshare or holiday club membership, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
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Organisations that can help with timeshares or holiday clubs
The Timeshare Consumers Association (TCA) gives help and specialist advice to timeshare owners living in the United Kingdom about timeshare and how to resolve a problem with a timeshare. The TCA helps timeshare owners exchange information and supports timeshare owners clubs.
Timeshare Consumers Association
Nornay
Blyth
Notts
S81 8HG
Tel: 01909 607 0077 (premium rate number)
Fax: 01909 591 338
Email: info@timeshare.org.uk
Website: www.timeshare.org.uk
UK European Consumer Centre
You can find useful information about timeshares, holiday clubs and timeshare re-sales on the website of the UK European Consumer Centre at: www.ukecc.net.
Vacation Owners Independent Coalition in Europe (VOICE)
Vacation Owners Independent Coalition in Europe (VOICE) offers an information service and a free advisory and conciliation service for consumers with disputes about timeshares.
VOICE
PO Box 165
Wallasey
CH45 3ZR
Tel: 0870 240 8993
Fax: 0845 230 2430
Email: uk@voice.eu.com
Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE)
The Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE) is the trade association for timeshare in Europe. The OTE website gives general advice about timeshare to potential buyers and to those who already own a timeshare. The website also explains current laws in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE), AISBL
Oak House
Cours St Michel 100/3
B-1040 Brussels
Belgium
Tel (Consumers): 00 32 (0) 2533 3069
Fax: 00 32 (0) 2533 3061
Email: info@ote-info.com
Website: www.ote-info.com
The Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is keen to receive information about problems you may have experienced with timeshare and holiday clubs based in Europe. The OFT gathers evidence, which it may be able to use to get an enforcement order against a trader based in Europe, to stop them breaking the law in the future. However, the OFT can only act when it is in the public interest of British consumers for them to do so. The OFT cannot get involved in individual cases or help you to resolve your problem.
Enquries team
Office of Fair Trading
Ground Floor
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London
EC4Y 8JX
Tel: 0845 722 4499
Email: enquiries@oft.gov.uk
Website: www.oft.gov.uk
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Countries in the European Economic Area
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