The Sunday Times reports on European Consumer Claims victories over rogue Spanish timeshare firms

The Sunday Times shines a spotlight on rogue timeshare companies — and the firm helping owners fight back

Honest, intelligent news

The Sunday Times is a 102-year-old, high-quality British broadsheet newspaper.

It has a global reputation for careful writing and rigorous editing. For decades, reporting by The Sunday Times correspondents has been syndicated to other major newspapers around the world.

The Sunday Times' credibility is beyond question, and it is widely rated as an accurate, well fact-checked media source — among the best in the world.

European Consumer Claims in The Sunday Times

In September 2023, after weeks of investigation, research and detailed fact-checking, The Sunday Times published a hard-hitting half-page article on the shocking behaviour seen across parts of the European timeshare industry over the past quarter of a century.

It also looked at the claims firm taking action to hold rogue operators to account.

The piece is titled The plight of the timeshare prisoners. Respected journalist Eugene Costello drew on personal experience: his septuagenarian parents were sold a 25-year timeshare in Portugal, committing them to fees until they were 95, for a staggering £20,000.

Due to illness and other age-related factors, they were only able to visit their unit three times after buying in 2003. Eugene's brother tried to extricate them from the expensive, burdensome contract, but sadly passed away before he could make progress. In April this year, Eugene's mother Eileen also died, prompting his father to ask Eugene for help.

Eugene chose to document his journey through the difficult process of helping his 90-year-old father, Dennis, escape what he described as a Portuguese timeshare nightmare.

What the Sunday Times timeshare report exposed

While writing about his and his family's experiences, Eugene Costello discovered that, of the 500,000 to 600,000 British timeshare owners, almost half own in Spain. His research into reputable timeshare claims firms led him to European Consumer Claims (ECC), described as an industry-leading company with a highly successful seven-year history in compensation claims and relinquishments, based in the UK, Spain and New York.

ECC spokesperson Mark Jobling said: “It is exceptionally rare to find customers who are happy with the contract and maintenance fees.”

Another ECC expert, Steven John, explained: “Europe’s timeshare firms have run roughshod over consumer rights for decades,” referring to many companies choosing to ignore a series of laws introduced since 1999 to protect consumers from high-pressure sales.

Because of this disregard, claims companies such as ECC have been suing relevant timeshare operators on behalf of victims. ECC's reported success rate is 98.6%, which it says reflects the weak legal position of some timeshare operations in Europe.

ECC says it has successfully completed over 2800 relinquishments and has 364 positive judgments to date, resulting in awards of over £25 million. It is currently handling a compensation claims portfolio of thousands of cases amounting to well over £100 million.

“The reality is that, especially in Spain, but also elsewhere, these rogue operators know that the game is up and it is only a matter of time before their businesses are out of action,” John comments.

Choose the right firm

“A journalist who writes for The Sunday Times is clearly highly skilled at research,” says Andrew Cooper, CEO of ECC and noted philanthropist. “Eugene Costello wasn’t just researching for an article — he was personally invested, because it was his own father he was trying to help.”

“What Eugene quickly came to understand,” Cooper continues, “is that there are many firms out there offering relinquishment and claims services who are scam operators. There are various ways to tell honest from dishonest claims firms. The key is to make sure you don’t enrich a scammer.”

“Eugene Costello’s research led him to us at ECC, and thankfully we were able to help him and his father, Dennis. Their contract has been nullified and Dennis is free from any further financial obligations to the timeshare resort.”

The Costellos were released from the burden of ownership, but did not meet the criteria for claiming compensation. However, Andrew Cooper is adamant that people who do qualify have a moral obligation to claim what they are owed.

“Claiming your compensation is absolutely the right thing to do. Timeshare companies got rich by ignoring consumer laws and taking money from sometimes quite vulnerable customers.

“Making them pay that money back is the only way to hold them accountable for the harm they have done.”

If you want to discuss your options for exiting an unwanted timeshare, or whether you may be able to claim compensation, get in touch with our team at Timeshare Advice Centre.

We can help.