A message from our CEO, Andrew Cooper:
2020 will be remembered as a historic year. It tested all of us in every aspect of life, and forced new ways of coping, showing empathy and working together—even when we were often required to be physically apart.
After years of standoffs, wrangling and political gamesmanship, the powers that be finally reached a Brexit deal. All involved must be exhausted, and we can only hope the outcome proves beneficial for everyone.
At ECC, we also had a demanding 12 months as COVID-19 shone an unforgiving light on long-standing problems within the timeshare industry.
Andrew Cooper
CEO of ECC
Profiteering
At a time when airlines, hotels and other travel sectors largely tried to act fairly by refunding customers for services they could no longer use, timeshare resorts—almost without exception—took the opportunity to maximise profits. This led to accusations of profiteering and a mass exodus from what is becoming an increasingly outmoded holiday model. Owners, appalled at being charged full annual fees despite being unable to travel, have been seeking safe ways to relinquish memberships or pursue compensation in greater numbers than ever.
Under pandemic restrictions, ECC has had to innovate in order to keep pace and continue supporting clients.
Extra demand under challenging conditions
By using video calls, supporting distance working, and adding additional team members, we have met the increased demand. We have also continued to work closely with our legal partners, M1 Legal, who during 2020 achieved 377 positive court judgements and £6.6 million in compensation awards, as well as over 600 relinquishments. Our success rate is close to 100% in both timeshare relinquishments and compensation claims.
We expect demand to rise further in 2021, and our team is ready to handle the workload.
Timeshare resorts collapsing
The giants of the industry are closing their doors one by one. Club La Costa (UK) PLC is in administration and four of its Spanish companies have filed for liquidation. Azure and Silverpoint are in a similar position. Diamond has reduced its sales activities in Europe significantly, and there are rumours that other major names are about to announce closures.
With that in mind, we have issued an alert to all timeshare owners—whether they are considering relinquishment or compensation claims or not—to get their paperwork in order. Many owners joined years ago and may have mislaid their ownership documents. No club is safe at the moment, and if a resort closes without warning it could become difficult or impossible to obtain copies of your paperwork later.
A simple call or email now to request copies from your club can give you peace of mind.
2021: A new chapter
Will we be able to travel this year? Nobody knows whether COVID-19 will get worse or improve, or what effect that will have on timeshare usage.
It is possible that airlines will demand proof of COVID vaccinations, and there are not yet official timelines for mass availability. If resorts repeat the 2020 response of offering another extra week in 2022, that would stretch credibility beyond most people’s patience—especially as they clearly will not be able to accommodate demand.
If 2020 is any indication, we can expect resorts to charge full maintenance fees again, further highlighting the inflexibility of the timeshare model. Paying the same amount that non-members pay for a week’s holiday, while remaining committed to the expense whether you can travel or not, is not a situation even committed timeshare advocates can justify for long.
Peace, love and safety, from us to you
Whatever your new year has in store, we at ECC wish you and your family prosperity, safety and good health.
We are here for any timeshare-related challenges. For everything else, I’ll leave you with this quote from Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata:
“Whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”
Andrew Charles Cooper.
January 2021
