Think twice before you sign a timeshare relinquishment waiver and waive Spanish claim rights

Tens of millions of pounds in timeshare compensation awards are currently being processed through the Spanish courts, with the average claim valued at around £20,000–£25,000.

With a surge of new cases moving through the system, some timeshare companies are now offering to take ownerships back (provided you meet their criteria). What you must understand, however, is that when you sign away your timeshare ownership rights, you may also waive your right to bring any claim against them.

These are often the same organisations that sold timeshare contracts in high-pressure sales environments. A “handover” or “surrender” offer can look appealing on the surface, but the small print may include wording like this (or a clause to similar effect):

“If you agree and sign this document, you will waiver your right to claim now or in the future”

In recent months, we have been informed that major players such as Europe Club La Costa World, Diamond Resorts, Anfi and others are attempting to sidestep legal obligations and misinform members, using this as a tactic to encourage them to sign a waiver of their claim rights.

We asked M1 Legal to reconfirm the factors that could lead to a successful timeshare claim.

1. Fractional Ownership
2. Points
3. Floating time
4. No specific unit information together with the date and time of check-in and check-out
5. No land registry information
6. No end date or an end date exceeding 50 years (in perpetuity)
7. Payment of any monies during the initial cooling-off period (which in some cases can be extended by 3 months)
8. Failure to issue full contractual information as required by timeshare law

These factors (and how they can combine) are explained in the victory reports published by M1 Legal – you can view them here: https://m1legal.com/our-victories

Before you make any decision, ask yourself this: are you prepared to sign a timeshare relinquishment waiver that could mean walking away from the money you’ve invested so far?

In recent months, some resorts have found themselves in serious financial difficulty due to the volume of judgments against them and have been forced to close for good. The latest example was Silverpoint.

IS YOUR RESORT NEXT?

In a recent victory, a Spanish judge stated that “Club la Costa World are a conglomerate of companies where the intention is to avoid the legitimate rights of the clients through the instrumental mechanism of diluting their contractual obligations and the ownership of the affected properties, with the purpose of hiding and protecting the solvent company that could comply with the obligations acquired... Therefore, the fraudulent use of all these companies with the purpose of causing damages to third-parties (clients) lead to the doctrine of lifting the veil”. This was also published as a press release and is viewable HERE:

TOTAL VALUE OF CLAIMS IN COURT BY RESORT

TOTAL VALUE OF COURT AWARDS BY RESORT

This is only one company. Now consider how many more timeshare claims are currently working their way through the Spanish legal system.

One final point:

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing and some timeshare resorts still closed, these may be desperate times. But should owners be misinformed and then still expected to pay maintenance fees when they can’t use what they’re paying for?

WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN YOUR NEXT MAINTENANCE FEE BILL ARRIVES?

For friendly timeshare advice, call today on 01491 529029

OR

Find out what your claim could be worth with our simple claims calculator. Click the button below to get started.

CLAIMS CALCULATOR