MVCI Refunds Awarded in the Spanish Courts

The latest news from Timeshare Advice Centre and European Consumer Claims.

If you are a Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI) owner, we would like to offer you an invitation to explore your legal rights to a full refund on your membership.

The Spanish Supreme Court ruled in January 2015 that all contracts signed after 5th of January 1999 cannot be in perpetuity or for a period of more than 50 years. Contracts must also comply with specific legal criteria and must include the details of the apartment/unit/weeks owned together with dates of use (thus rendering many “points” or “floating weeks” contracts illegal).

Recently, Malaga based M1 Legal have set landmark legal precedents by obtaining hundreds of compensation awards including two recent awards for clients against MVCI.

To date M1 Legal have secured 523 victories against Spanish based resorts valued at £9.1 million pounds and are handling hundreds more cases including many against Marriott Vacation Club International through the Spanish courts.

This is a clear indication that major timeshare companies now have to accept the inevitability of compensating members to whom they have issued illegal contracts. Some less credible companies have looked to avoid this responsibility; however, we are pleased that MVCI have accepted that many of their Spanish contracts failed to comply with the law and have responsibly allocated funds for compensation. In their 2020 MVCI Annual Report they state...

Loss Contingencies

"We are subject to various legal proceedings and claims in the normal course of business, the outcomes of which are subject to significant uncertainty. We record an accrual for loss contingencies when we determine that it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. In making such determinations we evaluate, among other things, the degree of probability of an unfavorable outcome and, when it is probable that a liability has been incurred, our ability to make a reasonable estimate of the loss. We review these accruals each reporting period and make revisions based on changes in facts and circumstances."

In the same report, they also highlight that since 2018 they have incurred $58 million dollars in litigation liabilities. In 2019, approximately two thirds of their litigation liabilities related to projects in Europe.

We hope that you have found this notice informative and invite you to find out more about your legal rights.