Time Share and Holiday Club Scams.

tbbr · Post by **tbbr** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:18 pm

Feature on lunchtime radio today about steps being taken back in Uk to make holiday makers aware of the tactics of those who sell the above.

These misguided individuals are a regular feature of the more popular resorts and I wonder if they are yet to be found in CVO.

To any one approached by offering the " free scratch card " , always a winner , just as firmly as you can tell them to " go away ".
Their activities are illegal but sadly far too many holiday makers fall for these and end up thousands of pounds out of pocket.

wee beanz · Post by **wee beanz** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:53 pm

No fear of us Scots falling for that we're too tight lol

Annie · Post by **Annie** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:42 pm

These touts can be very intimidating, and not everyone is able to stand up to them.
Not sure if they have infiltrated Carvoeiro yet, let's hope they don't!
They are a pain in the butt!
In Tenerife earlier on this year I was stopped by one, have to say, I was taken aback when I realised that I had nearly fallen for it!!!! duh!!!
Because you are relaxed and chilled out you are not on the defensive, so to speak, and it is so easy to get dragged into their "world".
My pest control came in handy.....spoke welsh and they soon gave up, not easy as my instinct is to revert to english!!!!!!!
So can fully sympathise with anyone that has been "GOT" by these touts.
Avoiding is sometimes easier said than done!

blue · Post by **blue** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:04 am

When we first started holidaying in Carvoeiro (about 19 years ago) you couldn't move for timeshare touts, as soon as you got out of your car you'd be accosted & your car would be covered in flyers by the time you came back to it. They were banned & disappeared, hopefully they won't come back.

Karen Ann · Post by **Karen Ann** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:12 am

We got caught by what we call the "Timeshare Wallers" about 6 years ago, but we were able to get out of it when we came to our senses the following morning. We vowed we would never be caught again!!
Then just a couple of years later, we were offered a "free scratch card", the girl wouldn't listen to us saying we wern't interested, so I took it and guess what, "We won a free holiday", again we said we wern't interested and we wasn't going anywhere. She still didn't listen so there was only one thing I could do, I scratched off the "void if removed", the reaction was unbelievable. She went mad, shouting that I had cost her 50 euros. She then called after us, "I hope it rains for the rest of your holiday"!. We just laughed at her.
The moral of the story is, if they insist on giving you a scratch card you don't want, just scratch off the void patch, they'll soon get the message.

blue · Post by **blue** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:22 am

We never got bothered by these people because we just didn't react to them, completely ignored them, as soon as you acknowledge them there on you. If I want to buy something I'll seek it out otherwise I'm not interested & as we all know, if something seems to be too good to be true, then it probably is.

Bruce Wallis · Post by **Bruce Wallis** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 2:55 pm

The simple defence, as we discovered in Albufeira is to smile, and say brightly, "Dont waste your time on me...I own a house here"

The other one I have learnt here at home is to deter market researchers. Once again the smile, then, "Im sorry, I dont qualify, I work in advertising"

Gerry Cullen · Post by **Gerry Cullen** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:46 pm

Maybe don,t be so quick to knock timeshare.
Some years ago a couple of us wrangled an "invite" to a timeshare party, working on the principle that we could drink all their free wine and food till they threw us out which would fill in a wet tuesday afternoon quite nicely.We were all broke apart from Tony who had just gotten a few grand claim from a car crash.
Well the plan worked out better then ever,heaps of cheap fizzy wine and the attention of some great lookin sales reps.
Boy were they good ,somehow they worked out that Tony was the money man and they did a smooth job of gettin us half locked and cuttin him off from the herd.
Anyway long story short,Tony ends up signing up for a high spec one week timeshare in Dublin(our home town) with his credit card which had enough money in it to cover the cost.
Next day of course it was all tears ,and if only it was some where abroad we might get a holiday out of it etc.,legal advice confirmed everything was above board and he was hooked good.
Now the gas thing about all this was that he had ,thru no fault of his own,done the deal of a liftime.Every year since he,s been able to swap his week in nov in Dublin(for which it turned out he paid about five grand) for a week ,sometimes two,in some of the hottest spots around the world,in fairness who comes to Ireland for the weather,and since the celtic tiger, Dublin seems to be the place to be winter or summer.And the capper on all this is Tony,s never seen the apt. couldn,t find it if his life depended on it and of course couldn,t care less.

Misty · Post by **Misty** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:02 pm

The problem with timeshares is not the timeshares themselves, its the underhand way they are sold. The sales people are so forceful and aggressive too. Yes, if you can put up with 4 hours of hard selling, you can get a free holiday. They do exist. And if you want a timeshare, then you'll probably be getting some of the best holidays you've ever had as the majority are really top quality. Hilton in the Algarve do them, as do Pestana etc. But if you don't want to be pushed into buying a timeshare, these touts are a real pain in the ****

e-richard · Post by **e-richard** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:20 pm

Bruce Wallis wrote:The simple defence, as we discovered in Albufeira is to smile, and say brightly, "Dont waste your time on me...I own a house here"

Nice idea, but even that doesn't deter the more unscrupulous hard nosed front line sales folks who get a commission just for getting you to turn up at the presentation - whether or not you buy anything.

Bruce Wallis wrote:The other one I have learnt here at home is to deter market researchers. Once again the smile, then, "Im sorry, I dont qualify, I work in advertising"

Please, please do not confuse genuine market researchers with hard nosed sales slickers.

Genuine market researchers work to a very strict code of conduct that does not allow any selling at the time or after the event. Any data you give is meticulously guarded against any intrusion and above all else, you simply have to say NO once, and you will be left alone.

Of course, there are those who pose as "market researchers" while trying to sell you something. This is known as SUGging (Selling Under the Guise [of MR]) and there are a number of reputable bodies who will take action against these vermin. The Market Research Society and ESOMAR are the two big ones.

Bruce Wallis · Post by **Bruce Wallis** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:51 pm

...You sound like an industry insider Richard......