Essential Travel Club - Scam ???!!

CHEATauWorld

You have to be really cautious with travel clubs. Take the Chateau World scam in Alberta (which is a province in Canada that has made it pretty easy for travel club scams to operate)
Here you have a huge club with thousands of members- and it is not a licensed travel club ( a crime where it is operating). Does not seem like a big deal, but members recently found out that the director of "the club" was previously up on 125 criminal charges along with several of his own companies (which he had set up specifically for the scam)
Now, members are discovering that the properties they thought they had timeshares and travel club points in are all being foreclosed on and none of the numbers or email addresses for Chateau World are functioning. The Director, prior to the ship sinking, sold all contracts to a financial company and so, now, not only do members have memberships in nothing- but this financial company is demanding payment on the club memberships. Victims are really in a tough spot because they have been scammed out of their memberships- but if they don't pay the finance company, they loose their credit ratings... it is a real mess.
For a better idea of the kinds of tricks used in these scams, check out CHEATauWorld.ca

Harleybobs1

The Essential Travel Club. We bought in about 3 years ago at a cost of about 450 GBP but have never had the opportunity to use it. This week I am trying to sell the membership and have been offered 7450 GBP - seems too good to be true. Maybe it is the fact that they want 1200 Euros upfront from both us and the buyer to secure the sale. We get the 1200 Euros back when the sale is complete. Has anyone else experienced this?

Pollycat

Harleybobs1 wrote: »

The Essential Travel Club. We bought in about 3 years ago at a cost of about 450 GBP but have never had the opportunity to use it. This week I am trying to sell the membership and have been offered 7450 GBP - seems too good to be true. Maybe it is the fact that they want 1200 Euros upfront from both us and the buyer to secure the sale. We get the 1200 Euros back when the sale is complete. Has anyone else experienced this?

Why do they want €2400 up front?
What is this money to be used for?

Do you really think you'll get the €1200 back when the sale is complete?

BFG_2

Go right ahead.

Even better, put your money in a pile on the back lawn, and then carefully set fire to it.....you'll get more from that than joining a holiday club.

Pollycat

BFG wrote: »

Go right ahead.

Even better, put your money in a pile on the back lawn, and then carefully set fire to it.....you'll get more from that than joining a holiday club.

Er, I think the OP DID 'go right ahead' - they bought in 3 years ago and is now trying to sell - so probably realises that it was a mistake. :rolleyes:

And is therefore looking for advice about selling, not about buying.

Liz_Griffin

Harleybobs1 wrote: »

The Essential Travel Club. We bought in about 3 years ago at a cost of about 450 GBP but have never had the opportunity to use it. This week I am trying to sell the membership and have been offered 7450 GBP - seems too good to be true. Maybe it is the fact that they want 1200 Euros upfront from both us and the buyer to secure the sale. We get the 1200 Euros back when the sale is complete. Has anyone else experienced this?

Liz Griffin
Just had a chap ring me re trying to sell my membership (I'm one of the lucky ones I did get it for nothing) but have been paying re-activation fees for the last few years and never used it, so decided to sell. Firstly he said I would get £7,600 but had to put 1,200 euros on my credit card,like other people warning, bells started ringing, he called back again later saying he would take 600 euros I was even more wary however he now seems to have given up so I'm pretty sure it was a scam don't fall for it. I won't re-activate another time.

cannielad

Have had membership for years (was virtually free as have had 2off free holidays (accomadation only) but is was o.k. Have stopped paying the annual renewal fee years ago and have been approached serveral times by these so called selling agents. They all asked for money up front usually about 1200euro's and have suggested they take it out of the proceeds of the sale!!! of course they won't. IT IS A SCAM STAY WELL CLEAR !!!!!!

Charlieboo_2

Liz_Griffin wrote: »

Liz Griffin
Just had a chap ring me re trying to sell my membership (I'm one of the lucky ones I did get it for nothing) but have been paying re-activation fees for the last few years and never used it, so decided to sell. Firstly he said I would get £7,600 but had to put 1,200 euros on my credit card,like other people warning, bells started ringing, he called back again later saying he would take 600 euros I was even more wary however he now seems to have given up so I'm pretty sure it was a scam don't fall for it. I won't re-activate another time.

Has anyone actually sold a membership and seen any money back for the sale. I was promised £7,500 for my membership but haven’t seen any money back yet.

Liz_A

Hi all , I am afraid I went even further with this .I decided to sell my so called membership and was offered about £7500. Great I needed the cash.I was asked to pay up front £1000 and was told this would be returned when sale complete,it was stop me selling it on to someone else while they were completing.Fortunately I said no and they agreed to half the amount but I had the presence of mind to put it on Barclaycard. I don't know if it ever would have completed because the company that was dealing suddenly crashed when all the stock markets went down .They were called Leisure Time Marketing. I suspected a scam so I contacted Barclaycard who were amazing.It took some time but I did get my money refunded.top marks to Barclaycard.
It seems I still have my shares in the company who are now Essential travel club ( I got them when they were travel Emporium)but have never used them .I can book holidays with them but I tend not to go away these days .

Piste_Basher

Whatever you do DO NOT pay them any Money. This is a complete scam and if in doubt look at the TCA (Timeshare Consumers Association) website. I paid out the initial 1200 Euros but became very suspicious when the "Buyers" could not raise the funds. Then the "Corporate Division" (probably the next desk in a grubby office in Malaga) said that they had sold my ownership for more money BUT they needed me to pay another 1600 Euros for the Administration etc, etc, etc and OF COURSE this would be refunded. I WILL NOT be paying them any more money.