Timeshare maintenance fee demands often land in December. If you’re staring at another bill, you’re probably asking the same question: how do you get out of the system?
Annual fees and the reality of ownership
As a timeshare owner, you may remember leaving the resort on the day of your initial purchase with a deep, contented rosy glow — ownership documents folder clutched proudly to your chest. Your holidays were paid for in advance for years. You’d secured yourself “luxury”, and with the exchange mechanism, the whole world felt at your fingertips.
After a year or two (sometimes much sooner), you may have started to notice flaws in the timeshare model: "Hang on — even though I paid tens of thousands of pounds to join, I still have to pay again every year to use it? And it’s about the same as it would cost if I hadn’t paid all that money in the first place?"
Then comes the harder truth: the resort can contractually raise fees, add special levies when they decide they’re needed, and you still have to pay every year — whether you want a holiday or not. Exchange systems can be barely fit for purpose, with extra charges for almost any variation from your standard use.
Complaining to the resort rarely helps. It often ends with an appointment with an in-house rep and pressure to buy an expensive upgrade — which still doesn’t solve the core issues. So what do you do: keep spending, or look for a way off the merry-go-round?
Why owners feel trapped
Finding a way out is easier said than done. Over time, a deeper (and often belated) understanding of the paperwork hits home. The ‘rosy glow’ was one-sided. The other party in that handshake had already thought through the angles. The timeshare company knew that, as time passed, the day-to-day reality would sink in — and that you might decide, for cost and convenience, you’d rather go back to booking ordinary holidays.
That’s why contracts were made as “bullet-proof” as possible. There is rarely an easy route to relinquish timeshare ownership, and you remain legally bound to pay the annual costs for the duration of the contract.
An industry-sponsored survey claims that 15% of owners are not satisfied with their purchase. A neutral, academic study by researchers from the University of Central Florida reported a much higher 85% dissatisfaction rate.
Either way, the number is too high. And whichever figure you trust, one fact is indisputable:
100% of those owners have to pay their fees every year.
December: when maintenance fee demands arrive
December is typically when maintenance demands land on timeshare owners’ literal or figurative doormats (for example, their email inbox).
During the festive period, finances are already stretched — buying gifts, hosting with endless food and drink, and often travelling to get together with family and friends.
The average timeshare maintenance bill is currently around £1000 a year, and more if you have a larger unit or the equivalent in points. For many people, that’s a lot of money to be forced to pay well in advance of a summer break. The pre-timeshare option — setting your own holiday budget, or skipping a holiday altogether — can suddenly look very appealing.
It’s no surprise, then, that this is the time of year European Consumer Claims (ECC) receives the most calls from people seeking timeshare maintenance fee demand advice — and asking how to exit a timeshare contract.
"These fee demands are being sent at a time which starkly highlights the negative aspects of their timeshare," explains Greg Wilson, CEO of ECC. "That lack of ability to decide how much to spend — and when to pay for your own holiday — sits particularly uncomfortably with people during this expensive time of year."
"People commit, when signing up for a timeshare membership, to what they believe their future holiday pattern will be. But life has a habit of throwing up unexpected changes, and quite often a person’s situation a few years later is very different from what they expected at the start.
"People want to take back the freedom to make their own holiday choices."
Want to understand your options?
If you’re a timeshare owner who would rather not be, get in touch with our team. We can usually help.
If you have been mis-sold and fit certain criteria, you may even be entitled to substantial financial compensation.
