As Spanish timeshare compensation awards continue to rise, M1 Legal keeps setting new records
Spanish judges increasingly back timeshare consumers
At Court Number Three in Arona, Tenerife, judges rotate regularly. Recent decisions suggest a growing focus on consumer rights, which is encouraging news for timeshare owners bringing claims in Spain.
In one recent ruling, a judge found that "CLC World (CLC) acted in bad faith by alleging that the vendor agency was on behalf of another company".
This relates to a familiar approach used by some resorts: relying on different corporate entities to distance themselves from a sale or contract. In this case, the court did not accept that argument.
In another decision, a judge ruled that where a company has a presence in Spain — even if it is only an office — it can be sued if it breaks the law.
Further rulings also favoured consumers, including findings on contract terms and their often abusive nature.
According to the head of M1 Legal, Fernando Sansegundo, "Things are going our way."
M1 Legal breaks another weekly record for court awards
Sansegundo also says the team is "regularly breaking records in terms of how much money we win in court for our clients".
The previous weekly record for awards (£295,000) was only set in March 2022.
That figure has already been surpassed. The new weekly total is £310,480 — and Sansegundo expects it will be beaten again soon.
This record week’s awards were shared between 14 claimants, averaging £22,177 per claim. Claimants also no longer have to pay their timeshare memberships, which can mean significant additional savings.
A record May for timeshare court cases against CLC and Anfi
Sansegundo says half a million euros in compensation awards used to be considered an exceptional monthly result. "Nowadays," he adds, "that figure is regularly achieved. In May this year (at time of going to press, with two working days left in the month) we have already reached £703,470."
That total was shared among over 30 claimants, with 20 successful cases against CLC and a further nine against Anfi.
There were also several substantial individual awards, including the largest win of the month — against CLC.
An "eye-watering £69,437" was awarded to the client. And while CLC attempted to appeal, M1 had the decision overturned at the Court of Appeal.
As Sansegundo puts it, "when timeshare resorts appeal like this, it is only ever a delay. Our success rate is 98.6% and that 1.4% we did lose was in the early days, when the process was not as established as it is today."
Another major award went to a former Silverpoint owner, who received £50,393. In that case, missing or unclear information within the contract led the judge to rule in favour of the claimant.
This often relates to arrangements such as floating time or points-based membership. While both have been illegal for over two decades, companies knowingly broke the law to profit from consumers. Courts holding resorts to account is a clear step towards fairer outcomes for timeshare buyers.
Finally, Sansegundo highlighted a further £43,609 awarded against Paradise Resorts.
"It is a significant amount of money for the claimant of course. But also, it establishes culpability for yet another CLC entity," he said. "CLC has a complex corporate structure which they try to use to avoid their financial responsibilities. Luckily for their victims, judges are just not accepting that a company as wealthy as CLC is unable to meet legally awarded compensation payments to former owners."
For advice on making a timeshare compensation claim in Spain, or to find out about working with M1 Legal, get in touch with Timeshare Advice Centre for a no-obligation assessment.
