What criteria must you meet in order to be successful in timeshare compensation claims?
There is an increasing number of successful cases in which people who claim compensation against timeshare resorts have won.
Recent cases in the Spanish Supreme court have set a precedent that future cases will be treated according to, making it easier for people with a claim to come forward and seek the freedom and compensation they deserve. However, there are particular criteria that your case must meet in order to be eligible.
Timeshare Perpetuity Contracts
If your contract has no specific end date or it exceeds fifty years from the date you signed it, then you have an apparent reason for compensation. However, things get more complicated when the contract doesn’t exceed fifty years but will exceed the contract holder’s lifetime. The responsibility for the fees can fall on children once the timeshare owner passes.
Fortunately, there are ways around this. But you’ll need a specialist in timeshare law to go over your contract with a fine-toothed comb and explain the options to you.
Floating Weeks
Many floating week timeshare contracts are being deemed illegal as timeshare holders find it hard to book a holiday at their timeshare. Floating week contracts give the timeshare holder a range of weeks to choose from each year, requiring them to log online and book the week they want.
It should mean more flexibility for holiday dates, but instead, it results in a messy, unpredictable battle between owners of the same timeshare property. These conflicts often result in people not being able to access the property at all. It goes without saying that you will still be expected to pay your fees.
It is this fact, that people find themselves unable to access a timeshare holiday at all, that is putting floating weeks under the spotlight, with many floating week contract holders claiming against their timeshare company.
Mis-sold timeshare
Even if you don’t have a timeshare contract in perpetuity or floating weeks, you may have been mis-sold your timeshare. This is why it is called a misrepresentation.
We face a mis-sold timeshare when the seller made an untrue or misleading statement of fact during the sale.
You should also think carefully about whether you may have been mis-sold your timeshare. If it was presented to you as any different to what it really was, then this is a misrepresentation. Where this can be proved (which is, in practice, easier said than done), nullification and compensation may be due.
Timeshare Points
If you have a timeshare points contract, you may have a claim. These types of arrangements are often sold sneakily as ‘exclusive membership clubs’ with the word ‘timeshare’ strangely absent.
Similar to floating weeks, you are fighting other owners for specific weeks, meaning you could end up with less desirable weeks or no holiday at all. In some cases, the resort has been found to offer priority to its own staff. In others, the resorts have simply decided not to make the resort available at particular times. In the worst of cases, the accommodation requested simply did not even exist!
Many people have claimed against a points-based contract due to unfairness.
Cooling Off Period breached
If you weren’t offered a cooling off period (time to reflect and consider whether you’d made the right decision) of a minimum of 14 days after signing, your contract will be null and void. So, too, if you handed over any money whatsoever during this cooling off period.
The process of identifying and acting against unlawful or misleading contracts requires an intricate knowledge of the timeshare industry, as well as contract law. Trying to find the time to pursue a case on your own can be hard. Timeshare cases take a lot of time and attention and are a complicated process.
Whatever your case, seeking professional help from legal experts is highly recommendable as they are used to dealing with the complexities of timeshare contracts.
With the due guidance, exiting from your timeshare contract does not necessarily have to turn into a nightmare.
Therefore, if you are unhappy with the terms of your timeshare agreement, or believe that the contract you signed is unlawful, It is essential for you to consult a reputable timeshare lawyer.
