Arlene McCarthy MEP said: "Rogue traders have changed their practices and introduced new schemes which get around current timeshare law."
The Committee is set to vote for proposals to protect consumers when they buy and re-sell timeshare holidays and timeshare-like holidays on cruise boats, canal boats or caravans or popular "discount holiday clubs".
In addition the Committee will go further and demand action for constituents locked into expensive and unsatisfactory contracts for holiday clubs or exchange programmes and tackle timeshare companies' failures to give proper information.
An amendment by Arlene McCarthy will be voted on to extend the right of withdrawal for all contracts in the field from two weeks to 21 days.
"I am expecting the Committee to back my key amendment to extend the right of withdrawal for all consumers to 21 days. With people often subjected to pressure sales whilst on holiday, all consumers should have the right to have time to reflect on any purchase once they return home. During this period there will be a ban on making payments of deposits or on any other costs being incurred."
Arlene McCarthy added "We have more timeshare owners in the UK than any other EU country and this new draft law is therefore vital to protect UK citizens. I want my constituents to be able to purchase a timeshare or holiday club deal confident that they will be protected by the law and stop them being ripped off by the scam merchants who have continued to plague the timeshare industry."
"The Parliament has been calling for action and a review of the 1994 law by the European Commission since November 2001, when we organised a hearing in the European Parliament. Over the years the problem has been getting worse and consumers continue to be duped or ripped off. This review is long overdue and Europe really needs now to act to protect consumers. "/-ENDS-
NOTE TO EDITORS:
The Committee's additional proposals set to be adopted Monday include:
- Increasing the cooling off period to 21 days.
- ensuring consumers are not bound by a contract if they haven't received full information about the product from the seller
- extra protection to enable consumers to have a flexible payment plan to spread the cost over the life of their holiday club contract (eg 5 payments over 5 years)
- granting consumers the right to terminate timeshare property exchange contracts at any time, as many have been locked into agreements that have not delivered equivalent standards of property.
Once adopted Arlene McCarthy MEP will lead the Parliament in negotiations with European Government's and the Commission to seek backing for the additional protections put forward.
Timeshares and the UK
- The UK is amongst the most affected Member States both in terms of consumers owning timeshare, in UK and abroad and in terms of national timeshare industry.
- The UK industry (in terms of timeshare agencies, timeshare developers, sellers and resellers, etc) is estimated to be worth a total € 157 million per year.
- The UK has more timeshare owners than any other European country. In 2001 31.6% of all of timeshare owners in Europe were residents of UK.
- The number of UK timeshare owners is almost 500.000.
- 50% of timeshare owners in Spain in 2003, resided in the UK.
What will the new proposal cover?
The new proposal will replace the old timeshare Directive with a modern, simplified and coherent framework covering timeshare and long-term holiday products, as well as exchange and resale. The proposal will extend the scope of current rules to cover:
- Shorter term contracts - contracts of less than three years will now be covered.
- Moveable property - the rules will cover contracts for timeshare on property such as canal boats, caravans or cruise ships.
- Long-term holiday products - these include holiday discount clubs, where consumers pay for instance 3,000 euro to get a password to a website, where they are promised "huge discounts" which are often misleading, on holiday accommodation, flights and rental cars.
- Resale of timeshare products - many timeshare owners are approached by commercial agents who ask for a fee in return for selling their timeshare.
- Exchange of timeshare products - some timeshare owners pay an additional fee to join an exchange club, where they can swap their week in e.g. the Canaries for a week in the Alps. Additional information requirements should ensure they get a realistic picture of the offer and they do not end up being disappointed.
The lack of regulation of long-term holiday products, resale and exchange schemes means that they are not covered by rules on cooling-off periods, deposits and consumer information. Consequently, consumers who sign up under pressure have little scope to change their mind. The new proposal will enhance consumer rights in the market for timeshare and long-term holiday products, and create a level playing field for the sellers of these products.
For more information please contact Suzanne Richards in Arlene's office on 0161 909 5107 or 07811 175617 or email: suzanne.richards@easynet.co.uk
or call the the European Parliamentary Labour Party press officer, Silke Thomson on +32 479 790 053.
European Parliamentary Labour Party, European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, 1047 BRUSSELS, Belgium
