In another twist of what seemed to be an already abusive scheme, the time-shares companies in Spain implemented a fresh clause, the now infamous “floating week” – sometimes sold as an “excellent investment opportunity”, whereby the buyer pays for a week which is neither fixed nor referred to in the contract by a specific date, but as a mere right to enjoy the term (one week) within a period that the purchaser will have to choose in advance.
These “floating weeks” have been deemed illegal by the Spanish Supreme Court in an important recent Judgement. In the same rule the contracts purchased in “perpetuity” (excess of 50 years) have also been declared illegal. We note that many of the time-share contracts currently sold contain the perpetuity clause.
The aforementioned Judgement aimed to clarify and settle numerous disputes regarding time-shares, it also covers some other clauses which are virtually always present in these contracts and have also been banned. Among the banned clauses are: the right of the company to take back the membership if the member is not up to date with the maintenance fees; not providing essential information on the actual property, the seller or the overall scheme; abusive increase of the maintenance fees; promises of an increase in value of the shares; and, not informing the buyer clearly of their right of cancellation.
In addition to all of the previous, the time-share companies are commonly guilty of telling buyers that they (the companies) will re-purchase the shares at any moment should the buyer wish to relinquish them. This invariably turns out to be an untruth – when the share owners approach the companies they are refused the re-purchase scheme and instead referred to “open markets” of time-share buyers and sellers. In reality these open markets do not exist in the way genuine buyers are lead to believe – instead they find themselves swamped by fraudsters offering to purchase the time-shares but, alas, the transaction Taxes and Costs must be paid upfront first, often exasperating the situation!
The recent Judgement will thus, finally clarify the scenario for those time-share owners who were misled into buying a holiday product which has turned into more of a perpetual trap.
If you are unhappy with any time-share product and want advice on your options, please don´t hesitate to contact our team for a non-obligation quotation. We can also carry out a full assessment for anyone considering a time-share purchase to ensure you are fully informed of the benefits and risks involved.