Revitalised Time-Share 'Scams' under attack in the European Parliament

12.00.00am GMT Wed 21st Mar 2001

The European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee today heard about a further initiative against holiday time-share scams.

Commenting on the issue Diana Wallis, Liberal Democrat Euro-MP for Yorkshire and the Humber said:

"The first time-share directive did a lot to help curb the problem of unscrupulous time-share sales, unfortunately those who deal in these products are very inventive and have now managed to construct an alternative product, so called 'holiday clubs,' where unsuspecting tourists buy time at a resort, rather than a specific property and this falls outside the legislation. So buyers have none of the protections that the EU intended.

"During the last months when I have had occasion to speak with the Euro guichet (offices in each country offering advice on cross border legal problems), they tell me that far and away the biggest issue for Europe's cross border buyer is time-share related problems. Clearly we have to act in some way."

Some felt that the solution could be left to national governments or to industry peer pressure, however this seems unlikely to bring results given the cross border nature of the problem and the fact that firms are already actively and purposely avoiding existing consumer protection legislation.

Ms Wallis concluded: "We have to listen to the experience of buyers who are being cheated. It maybe that the European Commission's expected proposal to introduce what has been called a 'duty to trade fairly' could assist here if the enforcement mechanisms are sufficient, for example, along the lines of the Federal Trade Commission in the USA. Europe needs to get tough on rogue traders of all kinds."