Hubby and I are always after a bargain but I wouldn't have parted with cash there and then to be honest. I really hope you get your money back shirleyh.

We've been discussing this a lot and have decided that we wouldn't benefit from membership so hubby's at the post office as I type sending off a recorded delivery cancellation letter. I appreciate it won't be easy to get our money back, but we can but try. I'm also sending copies of everything to our card company and asking them to advise us on this issue.

My only experience of time share was around 12 years ago when we went to a place in Exeter after receiving a letter claiming we had won a prize etc etc.

The whole setup was very suspect from the outset , but I was very interested just to see how it all worked.

Wow what an eye opener! Basically you purchased a week on a narrow boat in the uk and could then trade this in for a week at one of many hotels abroad in their huge brochure. The setup was a huge room full of sales tables where they sat you and did there sales pitch, They kept us there hours and got annoyed when I argued that given the initial payment, cost of sorting own flights and transfers etc it looked to end up costing far more than if we just booked a holiday as normal. Then the sales man got his boss involved and it all got very high pressure very fast.

Every now and again a champagne / cheap asti cork would pop and another gullible couple signed up for 12 years of canal bound misery...Or did they?

Well no... as this is where it all got a bit messy. On the Sunday we went to the exhibition we arrived at the venue very early as we were not local and lived an hour or so away. We parked up and decided to have a nice walk down to the river to kill a couple of hours before our 11am appointment. A woman had parked at the same time as us and began to unlock the office unit, out of politeness we asked if it was ok to leave the car and come back. "Not a problem" she replied in a thick west midlands accent.So it came as somewhat of a surprise then when at around 2 pm aforementioned woman was happily sipping her bubbly after much fuss had been made when her and her stage husband had signed up!!!!

That was that for me and I made my way out laughing at the sales guy and the situation, he seemed keen we left promptly too but not before I had claimed my prize!

We had a sealed envelope with us that had the details of our gift, it stated on the envelope that it was not to be opened until after the sales pitch. We had of course held it up to the light and could clearly see the words "Compact Disk Music console" or words to that affect. It came as no surprise then when we opened it whilst being ushered out that it had been folded in such a way that the words "you have not won a" were hidden in a crease.

To be honest it was a real eye opener to this often secret world of time share. and I am glad I went and saw the whole scam with my own eyes.

So then about 2 months later when the place was featured on a watchdog type consumer tv program it was very funny to watch the faces we had dealt with running to there cars hiding from the TV camera.

A fair few had been caught out and had lost allot of cash, To me the whole thing was an obvious scam from the outset.

I went along with the intention of never parting with any cash but with an interest into how it all worked. The way I see time share is that you would never prepay for 20 meals at the local pub or restaurant? it could go down hill or you may get bored of the menu, so why risk it with your hard earned two weeks in the sun?

Still you live and learn as they say.......

Fingers crossed that you can get your money back and things turn out for the best . I think we all get caught up with flow of things at the time and it all seems so easy and genuine , as i said in a previous post we had a good time being shown around and made the most of it while there , and again last year we had good banter with the same company reps , at the end of the day they are only doing their job and we all love getting something for nothing , but is that true does anything evercome without a price .

I think we all get caught up with flow of things at the time and it all seems so easy and genuine

I'm sorry but I would never get caught up with the moment because I'm wise enough to keep well away from people who are hanging around resorts with scratch cards, clipboards and anybody who tells me I've won a free holiday.
I don't need to waste any of my precious holiday time being curious about these outfits, and I would never give them the opportunity to get me interested in the first place.

I've posted in the past and warned people about these sharks, they are that devious that they photocopy the main tour operator's logo and stick it on the side of the clipboard, which the tourists would see and be hoodwinked into thinking it was a genuine survey.

Tour Operators do not employ people to stand on the street, if they want you to take part in a survey they will either leave a questionnaire in the hotel, or ask you to fill one in on the plane, or contact you by e-mail after you return home.

Genuine legit timeshare companies do not need to stand on the street either, and there is a difference between timeshare and holiday clubs.
The majority of the former have been brought into line, the latter were excluded from the directive, but hopefully that's going to change, especially in Spain, and how these lying, conniving, manipulating and deceitful so and so's, "who are just doing their job", how they sleep at night, I do not know.
If I found out that any of my sons were doing this for a living, deliberately lying, giving false promises and inflicting misery on people, then their feet wouldn't touch the ground, chose how old or big they are.

You know the saying"¦curiosity killed the cat.
Sanji

I remember some of those mentioned above in Cyprus. They were wearing Airtours T Shirts and tried to pull us up. We just pointed at their T shirts, laughed and walked on.

Have you heard back from them yet Shirley??

Hi BB,

Not a dicky bird from the timeshare company even though we sent the letter 4 weeks ago. They haven't even contacted us with regards to booking our free week's holiday which they said they would do within 4 weeks of us signing the contract- Just adds to our case really as we've had no contact with them whatsoever since that day. It does look as though they've taken our money and run.

Our Credit card company are onto the case and have put the payment into dispute for us which means that although the amount stays on our card, we are not required to pay it at the moment, nor will it incur any interest. We've been informed that the retailer has until 31st of this month to respond before the card company initiates proceedings to claw back the money. The last time I spoke to a customer advisor on the phone he was in no doubt that I'd be getting my money back, but nothing in writing to that effect yet.

I'll keep you updated as and when there's any news- Thanks for your interest.

Over the years we have had one or two people try to sell us timeshare/holiday club things. I always say at the outset that I will not sign anything that day and would only agree to buy after my finacial advisor had taken a look at any paperwork they were providing. We have looked over a few very nice properties and even had a couple of good short breaks in luxury accomodation for either free or a nominal sum. We have also got free tickets for local attractions, bottles of booze etc at some. As long as you never pick up a pen you cannot be conned.

Latest update. I telephoned my cc company earlier to see what the latest situation is and we've had some good news. As coincidence would have it the dispute was resolved only this morning and according to the girl I spoke to the money has been refunded into our accout. We should see it appear on our on-line statement in a few days If that's the case, we're well pleased as it hasn't taken long. I was prepared for a bit of a long drawn out batle tbh.

I'll only believe it when I see it in black and white though. Here's hoping

Although there are indeed some genuine holidays clubs out there(few and far between) and I do know people who are members of such groups I know that none of them can actually holiday in peak season.

That is good news shirley

Let's hope for the best then shirleyh

Shirley, I'm glad you're getting your money back, TBH I think you want to count yourself lucky that you are because others who have been ensnared in these operations have had to fight long and hard, and some who have handed over a lot more money than you did, have no chance of ever recovering the money or getting a holiday.

No I'm not being hard, I did a bit of delving a few weeks back one rainy afternoon, but I didn't say owt until you posted again, and the paper trail took me from Benalmádena to Gibraltar and then to the Isle of Man, with one person's name cropping up time and time again on the various domain names for companies.

This bloke has more companies and domains registered and they all are tied one way or another back to each other with timeshare/holiday club S$$m&.

Obviously I'm having to be careful what I write so that I don't put HT in the poo, otherwise I know this post will be wiped, but I know what I would like to write.
Needless to say all these companies that this man has connections with are on the timeshare black list....and I take no pleasure in telling you that the company you dealt with are on the list too and yes, this individual is behind the operation from his bolt hole in Gib.

So remember peeps"¦..keep away from scratch cards, clipboards/surveys and the invisible free holiday prize.

If you want I'll send the info via PM.

Sanji x

So remember peeps"¦..keep away from scratch cards, clipboards/surveys and the invisible free holiday prize.

I'll second that Sanji. I never thought I'd be taken in by them as I'm a no nonsense person and I don't think twice about telling it like it is! I was taken in this time as I'd only prepared myself for the one scenario. When asked to sign away thousands of pounds I was prepared to tell them 'on yer bike' which is what I did do in essence. It was the unexpected low price deal that followed my refusal that I hadn't bargained on and was taken in by that

I'm still not counting my chickens until I see it in black and white on my statement which I'll be checking regularly because tbh the girl I spoke to was a bit vague at first, just telling me that the issue'd been resolved yesterday. I had to ask her what the outcome was and she then said that in cases such as this the money would have been paid back into my cc account.

If you have that info you dug up handy I wouldn't mind seeing it Sanji, just in case I have to take things further. I also want to thank you for all your help

PHEW! Big sigh of relief eh Shirley? Ht and members to the rescue.

I've just checked my cc statement and the payment's been refunded. I'm now in a minus figure- never seen that before It looks as though the Spanish company refunded it all without complaint.

Thanks again to you all for your interest in this matter, it really was a help when I was composing my letter of cancellation and request for a refund.

One happy bunny here

Phew thank goodness Shirley

I'll send you the info later, gotta get some housework done first.

It looks as though the Spanish company refunded it all without complaint

Nope, the company isn't Spanish, it's just operating in Spain, the top dog mastermind is living in Gibraltar and is Dutch, the companies are registered in both Gibraltar and the Isle of Man, and the packages are promoted through a company in Spain, which they'd have to do to get a licence to operate ..... an off shore set-up, coming in through the back door.

Sanji x