In journalism, freedom of speech matters — but so does accuracy. That’s why we’re careful about making bold claims about our own business. With that in mind, here’s why we believe European Consumer Claims (ECC) leads the field in timeshare compensation claims.
European Consumer Claims is “number one”
Number one?
It’s a strong statement — and it needs strong evidence. That’s especially true in a sector where the cash-rich timeshare industry and its paid lobby groups work hard to challenge and undermine claims firms.
For decades, timeshare sales businesses operated with little regard for consumers, extracting vast sums from ordinary people. Courts are now awarding compensation to victims, and that shift has put the industry under pressure. As a result, timeshare-backed organisations are doing everything they can to discredit and disrupt the work claims companies do to secure justice for people mis-sold timeshare products through high-pressure sales tactics on the Spanish costas, islands and elsewhere.
Timeshare-funded entities know you’ll research your options. That’s why they sponsor multiple pro-timeshare “advice” websites designed to steer you away from making a claim against them.
They also scrutinise every word published by claims firms such as European Consumer Claims (ECC), looking for opportunities to raise what are widely seen as nuisance complaints with bodies like the Advertising Standards Authority. Any minor correction they obtain is then promoted as a “major victory” in ongoing — and ultimately unsuccessful — attempts to damage the reputation of their legal opponents.
With adversaries as determined as these, ECC does not claim to be number one lightly.
We stand by the claim.
Below are the metrics we believe justify it:
Corporate history
ECC: credibility built from the start
ECC was formed in 2016, shortly after the first ever successful timeshare compensation claim (won by Norwegian national Tove Grimsbo against Anfi">Anfi Del Mar).
Before 2016, nobody could say with certainty whether the thousands of claims being pursued against European timeshare outfits would succeed, or whether they would prove to be an expensive experiment.
Ms Grimsbo’s €40,000 compensation award established a vital legal precedent and helped open the door for European Consumer Claims to incorporate and ethically represent other timeshare victims.
In the seven years since that judgment — reflecting strong demand for financial justice — ECC has grown to become a dominant force in the claims industry.
At the publication date of this article, seven years is the maximum time a claims firm can have been operating while knowing for certain that a successful legal outcome is achievable.
Awards total to date
Tens of millions in compensation awards
From the company’s inception up to the time of writing, ECC’s associated firm of lawyers, M1 Legal, have secured 1247 award victories.
The total financial amount is £23.4 million. These cases are already won.
There are over 1000 further claims currently being processed at various stages of the relevant legal systems, with a value of a further £22.3 million.
Consistent year-on-year increases of between 30% and 50% in ECC’s compensation victory totals demonstrate the scale of the untapped market — and ECC does not expect demand to slow any time soon.
We are unaware of any other claims firm with a claims portfolio and evidencable success history on this scale.
Offices and partners
Henley, New York and Malaga
ECC operates from a well-appointed head office in Henley-on-Thames (UK) and has offices in both Spain and the US. We’re always happy to welcome visitors at our customer centres, either in person or by video call. In our view, this is a hallmark of a genuine claims firm — it shows we have nothing to hide.
We work closely with multiple legal experts in Spain and the UK, including M1, Michelmores, Mishcon De Reya and Pinder Reaux.
ECC recognises that an international range of legal expertise is essential because timeshare operations often span multiple jurisdictions. With this level of coverage, there is nowhere for timeshare companies to hide from ECC.
We believe ECC’s corporate presence — including our partnerships — is both more substantial and more credible than that of our rivals.
Volume of staff
Hundreds of staff across multiple countries
ECC currently employs a workforce (including leadership) of 173 dedicated professionals.
We are unaware of any other firm in this space with even half as many full-time staff.
Having a large team enables us to resource each stage of the claim or relinquishment process with dedicated specialists.
Yes, we need a strong headcount because we support a high volume of clients and active cases — but it also means clients benefit from real depth of expertise and experience from every part of both the claims and timeshare industry.
Post-sales departments
Specialist departments that support clients
One major difference in client experience between choosing ECC and using less experienced or less trustworthy “competition” is the standard of post-sales care.
ECC has a Post Sales team of 16 expert administration personnel.
We also have dedicated Onboarding and Documents departments. Their role is to support clients — including those who may be older or less confident with technology — with paperwork and evidence needed for a timeshare claim. Where documents are missing, the Documents team has several options to obtain records directly from resorts through legal channels.
In addition, our Pre-Legal department assesses and prepares the collated evidence before assigning each case to the most appropriate lawyer/firm, based on the resort involved and the experience required.
Alongside online client portals that allow clients to check progress, we have a dedicated Customer Assistance Area with 8 full-time staff to answer queries and provide support via video call, phone, email or chat. Video calls are our preferred option because we believe communication is more effective when you can speak face-to-face.
Client feedback and reviews
Consistent 5-star client ratings
ECC’s commitment to service and communication has helped build a strong reputation for customer care, reflected across major online review platforms.
Five stars (or as close as is realistically possible) is ECC’s typical rating. Internally, we do not accept performance below a five-star standard.
Alongside external written reviews, ECC encourages clients to leave video testimonials on the company website. “The concept is straightforward,” says Andrew Cooper, CEO of ECC. “When you can see the real human being giving the video testimonial, you have more opportunity to judge their authenticity than you do with a written reference. It is quite simply more credible.”
These video reviews are audited by KFP Consulting, headed by former UK Trading Standards CEO, Leon Livermore.
KFP contacts each new video reviewer to confirm that:
- They are a genuine ECC client
- Their testimony reflects their real experience with ECC
- They have not been offered payment or any other incentive to recommend ECC
Putting it all together
There may be rival firms that come close to ECC in one or two areas — for example, one or two may have been operating for a similar length of time.
However, we confidently assert that no other timeshare claims company matches ECC across more than one of the metrics above.
We invite any observer to prove otherwise.
Find out for yourself
If you’re stuck in a timeshare contract you’re no longer happy with, get in touch with our team to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation.
See for yourself what makes ECC “number one”.
