Prime timeshare conversionans seeks to find ways of easing the burden ouAn investigation by the National Consumer Commission of 545 complaints from disgruntled holidaymakers could settle long-standing unhappiness about leisure companies. More than 740000 South Africans own timeshare. The commission's head of enforcement and investigations, Prudence Moilwa, said the number and nature of complaints
about timeshare had spurred it to undertake a large-scale investigation of the industry. In just two years, the commission has been flooded with complaints about holiday contracts. In 2011, it dealt with 781 such complaints and in 2012 it handled 596, including complaints about travel and budget-holiday clubs. The complaints include:
Those from customers wanting to cancel their contracts because of financial difficulties, misleading information or unsatisfactory contract terms;
Unavailability of accommodation during the client's timeshare period, often due to overbooking;
Frustrations linked to upgraded products that did not fulfil their purpose; and
Demands for refunds. Moilwa said consumers must be vigilant in protecting their rights. She would not name the timeshare companies under investigation or detail the complaints because, she said, the investigation was continuing. But on the website HelloPeter.com almost 120 timeshare-related complaints were posted in just under a year. One reads: "I have been trying to terminate my contract with X after 14 long hard years of membership fees I had to pay and I just cannot afford . finally, after reporting them twice to Hello Peter, they came back to me with a R2000 offer to buy my timeshare back. Another owner wrote: "I called the call centre of X today to make my bookings . when they do eventually decide to allow me to make my bookings; there will be no units available. When I purchased my timeshare I was told that I could make advance bookings, so what is the problem now?"
Another said: "I have just been made aware that X sold my timeshare week, which I bought in 1991, on auction without the necessary documentation and without communicating with me." Melanie Hatjigiannakis, of the Vacation Ownership Association of Southern Africa, said the association had been working closely with the National Consumer Commission. She said an industry study by accountancy firm Grant Thornton in 2011 had shown that South Africa had 183 resorts and 741775 timeshare owners. The association had advised all timeshare companies not to comment on the matter until the investigation was completed, Hatjigiannakis said. Moilwa said most companies had cooperated with the probe. If found guilty of contravening any provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, companies face fines of up to R1-million or 10% of their annual turnover, Moilwa said. The investigation is due to be completed by July 17. But Moilwa said: "This is a very complex industry, which requires a lot of time and energy to understand. "The investigation might, therefore, drag on way beyond the expected time frame." Adapted from the Times live report of 4 june 2013.
