European Consumer Claims (ECC) of Henley-on-Thames have exclusivity to M1 Legal firm in Málaga, Spain. They have recently succeeded in getting a client more than a €20,000 payout from their Airtours Beach Club timeshare. Just last week, the duo reported a €16,076 payout from Club La Costa World to a Hampshire couple for a timeshare purchase which was found not to be legally compliant.
We have confirmed that M1 Legal are currently processing more than 1,500 timeshare cases of which 985 lawsuits have already been submitted to court at a value of over £21million. They have achieved 195 favourable judgements totalling £3.1million.
Their client, Mr. Townsend, has urged other consumers who may feel backed into corner with their timeshare as he did to seek out 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.”
It was back in 2000 when Mr. Townsend purchased his one bed apartment at Airtours Beach Club in Gran Canaria. It was bought on a fixed week basis (week 38) for £8,211. However over the next 15 years, Mr. Townsend had to fork out more than a further £20,000 in maintenance fees as they rose over 110%.
When purchasing the timeshare, Airtours reassured Mr. Townsend that they were trustworthy what with being a British company but still fed him false information. “I saw it as a holiday the family could enjoy after I was gone - they could benefit from quality 5 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 judgement, and shortly before Christmas, I received the sum of €20,202.” Mr. Townsend was left relieved at the final result and is already thinking about what to do with the fortune. He plans to save some of the money for his family as well as maybe treating himself to a holiday of his choice 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 over 50 years in length is considered to be in perpetuity. Additionally, the contract lacked specific accommodation details of 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 secured their victory.
UPDATE 26/11/2020
As the world continues to battle the pandemic, European Consumer Claims with the assitance of M1 Legal continue to pursue Spanish court claims on behalf of unhappy timeshare clients. Earlier in the year, we confirmed some stats regarding court cases, here is an update:
We have confirmed that M1 Legal are currently processing more than 2,000 timeshare cases of which 1354 lawsuits have already been submitted to court at a value of over £30 million pounds. They have achieved 341 favourable judgements totalling £7.7 million pounds.
“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.”
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