Kuneva targets timeshare cheats

Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva is planning to ride to the rescue of EU consumers duped by rogue timeshare salesmen. Next month (7 June), she will propose new rules aimed at closing loopholes in legislation governing the sector.

Cunning traders have moved to find ways of circumventing the 1994 timeshare directive, which sets rules on issues such as pre-contractual information, contractual terms and cooling-off periods. Consumers, often approached while they are on holiday, are presented with products that do not match the legal definitions of timeshare deals contained in EU law.

"At the moment the law covers immovable property, stays of more than seven days and contracts of three years or more," said a European Commission official, explaining that traders often slip through the net by selling 35-month contracts for annual stays in movable property such as cruise ships or canal boats, for six days at a time.

High-pressure sales tactics involving free drinks, glossy brochures and sales presentations go some way towards leaving impressionable consumers unaware that they have no legal protection.

The official acknowledged that not all products falling outside EU rules are necessarily scams. "Some are just part of the normal development of tourist products, others are means of circumventing the directive’s provisions," she said. "There’s nothing wrong with new products, but of course if you don’t have rules to play by then you leave space open for rogue trading."

Unscrupulous traders also operate in the market for second-hand timeshares. A gap in the market has led to the emergence of specialised salespeople who approach holidaymakers with a bogus offer requiring a hefty deposit to go ahead. "Rogue traders claiming they can sell property ask for deposits, which are never returned," says Nuria Rodríguez, a legal adviser at BEUC, the European consumer organisation.

A UK couple who lost around €3,000 after a trader disappeared without closing a promised sales deal is just one of a number of case studies cited by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, a UK charity providing legal counsel to consumers, in its submission to a Commission consultation last year.

Discount club scams are another sphere of activity popular among fraudsters. Tourists are invited to subscribe to websites offering apparently significant reductions on flights and accommodation. Rates can run into thousands of euros for discounts of up to 95%. "Sometimes they don’t have contacts with hotels and travel agents. They don’t have much of a product to sell," said the official.

According to Rodríguez, most consumers misled by fraudsters tend to be from the UK. Spain, where roughly a third of the total EU timeshare market is concentrated, is the worst offender in terms of the application of current rules. As well as setting new rules on pre-contractual information, contractual terms and cooling-off periods, Kuneva’s proposed update of EU legislation will ban deposits. The proposal will require the consent of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva is planning to ride to the rescue of EU consumers duped by rogue timeshare salesmen. Next month (7 June), she will propose new rules aimed at closing loopholes in legislation governing the sector.