Narrow escape? - 'Club la Costa'

radishroot2002

We have just returned from our 'free' weeks holiday courtesy of Club La Costa on the Costa del Sol. I was expecting very little from it, I just wanted a bit of sun on my back for a change, and a chance to give the kids some sort of holiday this year. We had no intention of taking up any sort of Timeshare option (financially we are in no sort of position to do so anyway)
Without wasting too much space & time, we had a great time. The accomodation was a little dated, but still very nice. We hired a car, and did something every day away from the resort - which is very nice, if you are a sun lounger & swimming pool person.
Yes, we had to sit through the dreaded 'hard sell' - which wasn't too bad - 4 hours including a free breakfast. We had a prepared script which we stuck to, and just kept saying 'no'. You do have to be strong, if you don't feel you can be - don't take the holiday, as there is a fair bit of pressure on you to sign up.
To their credit, when we said 'no' at the end of the presentation, (albeit with a now very grumpy salesman) we were left alone to get on with the rest of our stay.
Looking through some of the previous comments in this thread, I think there's a bit of 'holiday snobbery' going on. People are slating this 'deal' off, without having experienced it themselves. Yes, I would like to have enough money to not have to do a cut-price (although very enjoyable) break like this. But I haven't, and this was the only chance we had of getting away. In an ideal world, would we have gone with Club La Costa? Probably not......but it isn't an ideal world for us at the moment.
For the record, with everything I have read about them, I wouldn't touch their product with a barge pole. But I am happy for 4 of us to go to the Costa Del Sol for 1 week in decent accom. for £550 - including a hire car.
If you feel like you can withstand the good cop/bad cop techniques & see through the bulls**t for approx. 4 hours - do it......if not....don't. Simples.
I hope this has been of some help to people in a similar situation to us. If anyone needs any further honest information please ask.

Tangible

Club la Costa themselves clearly state that they don't award 'free' holidays to anyone but families who own their own property and who earn a qualifying income - students and couples without means looking for some sunshine aren't their target market.

Even I understand that they aren't a charity and it might explain why the time share business is in trouble if they're giving away free holidays when their own paying customers are having to pay 'through the nose' for the same product.

I don't know whether or not what you're saying is true. However, I do know that it sounds daft. If they took the idea on to Dragons' Den it would be laughed off the TV. 'You're trying to sell something that you also give away free ?'

The terms are the basic qualifying requirements for a loan agreement. In accepting the 'free' holiday you begin the process. Maybe you'll need to provide card details to pay airport fees - and there you go.

I don't think there's much of a market even for free holidays, and a Club la Costa one doesn't ignite much excitement with all the bad publicity. If they can't pick up holidaymakers who're already there times must be bad.

If you're giving your product away free, it says something about the product. Maybe they just don't understand commerce, I don't know.

radishroot2002

A couple of points in response to your post Tangible -- I booked my own flights, so I don't really see where you are going when you talk about 'the start of a loan agreement'.
My own take on Club La Costa's success (and like it or not, they are a rapidly expanding company) is that they make so much money out of the people who are foolish enough to sign up to their product, that they can afford to take a slight financial hit on those who come out on 'marketing breaks' in the expectation of drumming up further business. I don't know what the percentage is of marketing visitors who sign up for membership - but it must be high enough to generate sufficient profits for them to be worth it - or (as a commercial business & not a charity) they wouldn't do it. From what I have read on various websites, there are an awful lot of very disgruntled Club La Costa members who seem to be shelling out a hell of a lot of money each year.
As I said, personally I wouldn't touch there product with a bargepole. I took a bit of a punt with them and the (not quite) 'free' holiday, and for me & my family it was worth it. I understand that some people either wouldn't want anything to do with it & have the financial options to choose something else....that's what makes us all different.
Finally...you are correct when you say that you have no idea whether I'm telling the truth...I guess I'm the only one who knows that. I've tried to be completely honest - i.m.h.o. crappy company to join, pleasant people to visit for a week!

C_Mababejive

I couldnt be bothered with all this carry on. I just do my research,book the holiday i want,pay for it,go and enjoy it.

Why do they pick on the Brits anyway? Is it because they think they are cheap and gullible?

Cyprus is another dump where there is aggressive sales by cockney ill bred scrubbers who get nasty when you blank them.

Tangible

The timeshare industry is struggling very badly, with current owners refusing to pay fees and new clients refusing to go near them. The initial proposition started off as quite a reasonable idea, but the use of outrageous sales tactics has for ever blighted their reputation. The bad smell generally associated with the Spanish property market hasn't helped.

Why do you think that you won't get a free holiday before they've confirmed your salary, and that you're a family with a property of your own ? It isn't a condition of the UK border agency to exit the UK.

People are offering to give away their timeshares for free and failing to find anyone to take them up

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/8512857/Timeshare-fees-trapped-in-a-holiday-that-lasts-for-life.html

Ironically CLC don't appear willing to accept their free holidays either.

If someone offered me a car free, I'd accept, but not if I had to go to Spain to collect it. Giving holidays away for free isn't a business - it's a charity, and good luck to them, but it's not a viable business proposition. Sorry - but this isn't a business I'm going to invest in, or waste my time investigating what is only the same old tune being played on a different instrument.

If the UK holiday industry believed it, they'd be quite upset to find themselves being undercut by this free holiday offer. Haven't heard a peep yet.

It's the same ol' same ol', and you'd think they could do better.

Where do I sign up for one of these free holidays ? I'll take a punt at it and let you know what happens.

I've not seen anywhere online I can apply and I'm trusting that this isn't another myth.

C_Mababejive

Interesting link Tangible... why would anyone want to go back to the same place year after year anyway?

I think that an illusion is created in the Sangria soaked Brits that they actually own the place and are wealthier/have a btter lifestyle when in reality,they dont.

Tangible

I own up that the first holiday I ever took was to Benidorm, but late in life after vowing I would never countenance a camping holiday, I realised that the privations were worthwhile to have a view of the Himalayas instead of a concrete jungle.

I believe that timeshares now offer a product that is outdated and no longer appeals to the general public. The mind numbing thought of a lifetime of repeat holidays ia as unappealing as the daily grind of workday drudgery, and the points sytems they operatein in an attempt to get round that, simply don't work and provide no guarantee of anything.

It is plain common sense that once you have committed to a lifetime financial commitment, you lose significance in the eyes of your provider. That is a fact proven by experience.

The simple truth is that the value of their offer is easily exposed in that they give them away free now, we are told, and they won't assign a value to handing them back. In fact they won't accept them back at all.

You can't give them away free. It's that simple. It's surprising that these people representing the pinnacle of commercial sales cannot comprehend the simplest basics of the market.

If they're giving it away free, I don't have to comb the fine print for the drawbacks, I know it's worth nothing. QED. It's simple logic.

Timeshare_Tipster

I have read through quite a few of the posts listed in this thread, and find it very interesting. What I do notice is that some really enjoy the timeshare product and some are really quite adverse to the concept.

The big question for everyone here is "is it for me". Timeshare doesn't suit everyone, a simple fact, however the money saving benefits are very obvious if you select the correct package.

These days, timeshare as a product is more accepted, with Marriott, Hilton, de Vere and such; being major players. They are specialists in hospitality after all.

A clear cut example of a saving for me as a consumer became blindingly obvious only 6 weeks ago. I viewed it as a member of the public, rather that someone in the industry. I have a friend who is to be married in Phuket in 2012 (march) and as a group from the same area, we all intended to visit for two weeks. As I knew the cost of annual maintenance fees for the Marriott timeshare resort in Phuket (some £600 for a 2bed), I figured I would try Marriott directly online. To my shock, I was quoted $13,500 for the two weeks. A private owner also quoted me a similar amount (some 20 per cent less), using their rewards account.
To cut the story short;

t/s = £1200 for two weeks
direct; £8300 for two weeks

Now, take into account the fact I can then swap the Phuket ownership each year for a different Marriott resort (add approx. £150 to annual costs), and do this to a different one for the rest of my adult life, I personally feel the product works very well.

You get what you pay for.

If wanting Marbella, Estepona, Mallorca I would still save approx. €1,300 per week of stay in the August period.

If you prefer to have "somewhere to put your head at night", then yes t/s may not be for you, as the concept is one of quality.


If I then decided I wanted to sell my ownership I could, as the brand is strong enough to maintain some value.

usignuolo

One of the points made by the pro timeshare faction is that you can swap your points for equally appealing holidays in different years in different resorts in the scheme. Yet one of the chief complaints of timeshare owners who post here and in particular owners of CLC timeshares, is that they cannot do that after all, all the resorts they might want to visit are booked up years in advance plus the quality of the accommodation is very variable.

Hedgehog_Jim

We want to get out of this Club and have just given notice (22nd October) having received confirmation of 2014 management fees. However we have been told that we are liable for these annual maintenance charges for 2014 (of around 2000 euros) as we need to make them aware before 1st September of any decision to leave. Any advice? Worried sick about this. Really cannot afford these fees hence our decision to leave. We do not plan on taking any more holidays and as far as we are concerned we have given them more than 2 months notice but they are asking for 4. Help!