European Consumer Claims and M1 Legal secure €20,202 Airtours Beach Club timeshare compensation

European Consumer Claims (ECC), based in Henley-on-Thames, works exclusively with M1 Legal in Málaga, Spain, on Spanish timeshare claims. The partnership has recently secured a payout of more than €20,000 for a client in an Airtours Beach Club timeshare claim. Only a week earlier, they also reported a €16,076 payout for a Hampshire couple relating to a Club La Costa World timeshare purchase that was found not to be legally compliant.

We have confirmed that M1 Legal are currently handling more than 1,500 timeshare cases. Of these, 985 lawsuits have already been submitted to court, with a combined value of over £21 million. To date, they have achieved 195 favourable judgments totalling £3.1 million.

The client, Mr Townsend, has urged other consumers who feel backed into a corner by their timeshare to seek help from European Consumer Claims. “If anyone has a similar situation, my advice would be to go along to a meeting and see if you have a claim, and if you do, then you can take comfort in knowing that this company does pursue claims unlike others out there.”

Mr Townsend bought a one-bedroom apartment at Airtours Beach Club in Gran Canaria in 2000. The purchase was on a fixed-week basis (week 38) for £8,211. Over the following 15 years, however, he paid more than a further £20,000 in maintenance fees as charges rose by over 110%.

When he purchased the timeshare, Airtours reassured Mr Townsend that they were trustworthy as a British company, but he says he was given false information. “I saw it as a holiday the family could enjoy after I was gone – they could benefit from quality five-star accommodation with facilities such as a spa and a private beach,” said Mr Townsend. “But that was not the case. I later found out I had been misinformed and felt trapped with no option to sell. I was also becoming increasingly worried about my family being held liable for the annual maintenance bills.”

In 2016, he stopped using the property and received his payout in December 2019. “In early December 2019, M1 Legal informed me that the Judge had passed final judgment, and shortly before Christmas, I received the sum of €20,202.” Mr Townsend said he was relieved by the outcome and is already considering what to do with the money, including saving some for his family and possibly treating himself to a holiday this year.

The contract provided by Airtours to Mr Townsend was found to be a 96-year lease, when the legal time period is a 50-year limit. Under Spanish law, a contract longer than 50 years is considered to be in perpetuity. In addition, the contract lacked specific accommodation details about when the timeshare could be used, and there was no land registry number for the accommodation. The case was heard in the Court of First Instance in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, where M1 Legal secured the judgment.

UPDATE 26/11/2020

As the world continued to battle the pandemic, European Consumer Claims, with the assistance of M1 Legal, continued to pursue Spanish court claims on behalf of unhappy timeshare clients. Earlier in the year, we confirmed some statistics regarding court cases; here is an update:

We have confirmed that M1 Legal are currently processing more than 2,000 timeshare cases. Of these, 1,354 lawsuits have already been submitted to court, with a combined value of over £30 million. They have achieved 341 favourable judgments totalling £7.7 million.

“If there is anyone who is on the fence about pursuing a claim with ECC and M1 Legal, then I am happy to recommend them based on my personal experience,” said Mr Townsend. “It is my understanding that my case was not easy and I would like to thank M1 Legal for pushing to get a positive outcome.”