discover access holiday club malta

i am posting this on behaf of my father in law.
he signed up for a 10 year deal with a holiday club called discover access whilst on holiday in malta. he transfered a few thousand pounds via bank transfer to a bank in malta.
i cant find out much about this company, but from what i can find they also trade under the name of access2leisure, this seems to be a timeshare company.
he was happy enough as he thought holidays to malta would be free, but he tried to book a weeks break, but they are telling him he has to pay a £300 booking fee & arrange his own flights.
i think discover access is a letting management company for free weeks in the access2leisure timeshares.
does anyone have any further info.
cheers
happy to be debt free (apart from mortgage: £111,000 @ sept 15)
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Comments

  • zagfles
    zagfles Posts: 20,277
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    Unfortunately this sounds like the usual timeshare/holiday ownership/holiday points club rip-off, where you pay several thousand to "buy" then end up having to pay booking charges, annual maintenance charges as well as flights etc.

    Have a look at the timeshare consumers association website for advice: http://www.timeshare.org.uk
  • Hi, We have just returned from Malta and have signed up (but not given money details) to Discover access. They did explain very thoroughly that you paid for your own air fares and that the costs depended on which hotel range you chose and time of year. between £99 and £199 for late breaks nov - may and 299 and 399 (i think) for peak seasons and top hotels. There is a 14 day cooling off period and the do tell you your membership money (3,900) is what they told us, is non-refundable. They were very clear about that with us. Also, if you want food included in your hotel/apartment stays you pay separte for that too. We are now doing some homework to see whether it is really worth the money or whether there are any more 'add ons' - otherwise we are cancelling within our 14 days. Hope that helps.
  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535
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    lozzy51 wrote: »
    Hi, We have just returned from Malta and have signed up (but not given money details) to Discover access. They did explain very thoroughly that you paid for your own air fares and that the costs depended on which hotel range you chose and time of year. between £99 and £199 for late breaks nov - may and 299 and 399 (i think) for peak seasons and top hotels. There is a 14 day cooling off period and the do tell you your membership money (3,900) is what they told us, is non-refundable. They were very clear about that with us. Also, if you want food included in your hotel/apartment stays you pay separte for that too. We are now doing some homework to see whether it is really worth the money or whether there are any more 'add ons' - otherwise we are cancelling within our 14 days. Hope that helps.

    WALK AWAY NOW

    Of course it's not worth the money. You can get cheap holidays on the High Street or from the internet without paying £3900 to an outfit that probably won't exist in a few years time.

    If you really believe it's worth the money then you are thick and deserve all you get. Or don't get in this case.

    Sorry to be blunt......:mad:
  • lozzy51 wrote: »
    Hi, We have just returned from Malta and have signed up (but not given money details) to Discover access. They did explain very thoroughly that you paid for your own air fares and that the costs depended on which hotel range you chose and time of year. between £99 and £199 for late breaks nov - may and 299 and 399 (i think) for peak seasons and top hotels. There is a 14 day cooling off period and the do tell you your membership money (3,900) is what they told us, is non-refundable. They were very clear about that with us. Also, if you want food included in your hotel/apartment stays you pay separte for that too. We are now doing some homework to see whether it is really worth the money or whether there are any more 'add ons' - otherwise we are cancelling within our 14 days. Hope that helps.

    Sounds terribly unattractive. Do you really want to pay thousands now for undefined holidays in the future?
  • Alan_Bowen
    Alan_Bowen Posts: 4,842
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    Avoid like the plague, there are lots of forums of unhappy customers, it is never worth paying a capital sum to a business that provides no financial protection at all for holidays you may never be able to take. Jump before it is too late
  • I have been a member of Discover Access for a year now and have just come back from my second holiday in Malta. Firstly I'm very happy with the Club. Some of the above posts nearly put me off from joining but having used the company for 6 holidays in 5* accommodation. I Know that any Travel Agent or website could not even begin to compete with their prices! I paid between 159 to 199 for all 6 of my holidays booked with them between 2 days and 2 months in advance. I was so pleased while I was there I booked another holiday for end of April, 159 sterling with my membership for 7 nights for up to 4 people in 5* hotel in Madeira, on the hotels website its 450EURO for 2 people per night!!!!! the savings on that holiday paid for my years worth of membership and then some, obviously my next holiday i will save even more!! I thought this website was supposed to help people save money not put them off? My last point would be that only a few posts on here are from potential members the rest are from people who have had no dealings with the company!!!!!!
  • pelirocco
    pelirocco Posts: 8,274
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    dzug1 wrote: »
    WALK AWAY NOW

    Of course it's not worth the money. You can get cheap holidays on the High Street or from the internet without paying £3900 to an outfit that probably won't exist in a few years time.

    If you really believe it's worth the money then you are thick and deserve all you get. Or don't get in this case.

    Sorry to be blunt......:mad:

    Timeshare does suit some people very well , we used to have one when our kids were small ( we have 4 at at the time we found it hard to find the size of accommodation we needed ). I wouldnt have said we saved any money but it suited us at the time

    I think it works well for people who can take breaks ( especialy long ones ) outside peak season , funnily enough I was in Malta a few weeks ago and spoke to some retired couples who take long breaks in winter for around £100 / week all in ( except flights of course )

    As with most things it isnt one size fits all and maybe you should do some research before calling another poster thick;)
    Vuja De - the feeling you'll be here later
  • Hi,
    I have been a member of Access2 leisure for just over a year. I have had six holidays with them so far and have zero complaints.
    Holidays cost between £99-£299 per week for up to six people in very acceptable spacious apartments. the club has three hotels in Malta and One in Lanzarote as well as access to 4 and 5 star accomodation anywhere in the world for the same price range. I have found the staff to be friendly and helpful without exception and the apartments are to a high quality....I would say that 4 star is just about right for Malta but maybe Lanzarote is a decent 3 star. I can only speak for myself but I have now fully paid up and have no regrets and am looking forward to many more holidays over the next nine years. I would say that most members are middle aged and I dont think that children or young people are catered for very well.
  • George_Michael
    George_Michael Posts: 4,251
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    I don't know about anyone else, but in my opinion this:
    parkes385 wrote: »
    Holidays cost between £99-£299 per week for up to six people in very acceptable spacious apartments. the club has three hotels in Malta and One in Lanzarote as well as access to 4 and 5 star accomodation anywhere in the world for the same price range.

    Sounds remarkably like an advert to me.

    And as for this post
    rexippa05 wrote: »
    I have been a member of Discover Access for a year now and have just come back from my second holiday in Malta. Firstly I'm very happy with the Club. Some of the above posts nearly put me off from joining but having used the company for 6 holidays in 5* accommodation.!!!!!!

    How could they nearly have put you off joining when you have been a member for a year and the posts in question were only posted 6 months ago?

    Sounds like another company effort to promote their business.
  • shaun_from_Africa
    shaun_from_Africa Posts: 12,858
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    I wonder if the owners of Access2 leisure/discover access know that it's illegal for a business that is operating in the UK (and possibly the rest of Europe) to pretend to be satisfied customers in an attempt to make their business appear more legitimate.

    2 newly registered MSE members who both just happened to find this thread and both of whom can't talk highly enough about the company does seem a bit too much of a coincidence.
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