M1 Legal is notching up win after win in the Spanish courts. Could this mark a turning point for timeshare malpractice across Europe?
Spain’s timeshare problem
For decades, Spain has been at the centre of the European timeshare industry. Holidaymakers, many from Britain, were often targeted by high-pressure sales tactics so aggressively that consumer protection laws were introduced to curb abuses. Even so, many timeshare companies continued to overlook these rules for years, relying on the slow pace and complexity of the Spanish legal system to deter complaints. For individual owners, taking Spanish timeshare contract legal action against a resort could feel impossible without the time, funds or specialist know-how.
ECC and specialist timeshare lawyers
That is where European Consumer Claims (ECC) and M1 Legal (M1) come in. Working together, they began challenging timeshare resorts in court and securing successful outcomes. ECC supports clients through the process, while M1 handles the legal work in Spain for people who may not know how to pursue redress or start claiming back mis-sold timeshare in Spain. The resorts have not made it easy: their legal teams have put forward every delaying tactic and procedural hurdle they can. However, M1 has continued to meet each challenge, and as key decisions build up, the process has begun to move more quickly.
CEO of ECC
Recent wins and growing momentum
“The M1 success rate is increasing exponentially,” says Andrew Cooper, CEO of ECC. “In the beginning the work was extremely arduous, with a disproportionate amount of lawyer-hours needed for every small victory. Now that work is paying off as legal precedents are being set almost on a weekly basis. The momentum has built up enormously since those early days.”
Fernando Sansegundo, director of M1 Legal, adds more detail on the firm’s results: “Since the beginning of 2022, we have won 66 separate court victories, amounting to £1,106,892 in compensation awards.
“On top of those court awards we have also reviewed and processed 76 Club La Costa claims to the UK administrators, FRP. These cases have a combined award value of a further £4 million.
“This is incredible news for all of the victims involved who for the most part had given up any hope for justice.”
Director of M1 Legal
Record week in the Spanish courts
“This past week we broke our own records with an incredible 18 court victories, and £295,000 worth of compensation awards,” says Sansegundo, with modest pride. “It is a testament not just to the M1 team’s hard work this week, but also for all their past diligence in overcoming each new delaying tactic or procedure dreamt up by the timeshare legal departments.
M1’s record week included a series of notable outcomes: “We had two significant judgements against Marriott Vacation Club,” continues Fernando. “One of these was for £57,000 and the other for £40,000. A third Marriott’s victory was for £10,500. There were 5 wins against Club La Costa totalling £70,322; £26,500 for two awards against Diamond; Then Anfi were next, we had 3 wins against them, totalling £57,200. Lastly a win for an ex Infiniti customer for £11,000.
“These are just the awards in Spain. We also achieved 3 further ‘jurisdiction victories’ worth a total value of £70,200 against Club La Costa. Their lawyers argued that the cases could not be heard in Spain. The judge disagreed, so that is 3 more clients well on their way to justice.”
“M1 Legal really are producing the goods,” says Andrew Cooper. “Now is a very good time for anyone who believes that they may have been mis-sold timeshare in Spain to explore their compensation options.
“The first step is to get in touch with us at Timeshare Advice Centre so we can explore your situation with you. If you fit certain qualifications a claim can be relatively straightforward. The main thing is to explain your circumstances so that our experts can (together with M1) check what potential routes you have to a claim.
“Even if you don’t qualify for compensation, we can still help you to escape from restrictive timeshare contracts and their associated maintenance fees.”
