Club Seasons worth £2950.00..

crazydaisy

Hiya...I too received a recorded delivery letter ststing that I had won a prize to the value of £3750 from clubseasons. I didnt recall entering a competition and went back to Plum Offers which was mentioned in the letter. I hadn't entered a comp to win this prize so I am now convinced it is some kind of scam. I think we should all be cautious as to who we give our details to especially as clubseason have been given my details by Plum Offers. I will be removing my details from their site ASAP :mad:

Tigger1

I have also just 'won' a free membership - now valued at £3750 by Club Seasons - but what is it actually worth? What would I be paying £3750 for? Anyway, I didn't reply to their letter as they wanted £317 as a 'management' fee and today I got another letter - they "are very surprised not to have heard anything from you, since you are NOT required to pay the Membership fee". It goes on "As a gesture of goodwill I have been authorised to contribute 50% of the initial management fee for your first holiday" = £168.50 for 4 people for 7 nights. Now that IS a good offer - just £42 per person per week. We shall therefore be booking Clowance in Cornwall, where we have stayed before and can recommend it. Perhaps it's not one vast big con, then? Moral of this story: Don't reply straight away but wait for them to reduce the management fee!

Tigger1

I have had two Timeshares and found it very hard to sell either. I have been seriously 'conned' by one firm who took us out to Teneriffe - still trying to reclaim the money lost to them. The other I sold when marriage broke up and my ex wanted half what we paid or half what I could get. Glad I chose the latter as I only got half what we had originally paid! So much for being a good investment. Timeshare apartments/villas must be the only property that actually DEcreases with age. The problem about not paying, whether maintenance or Points (if you have them)... they will not bother you for one or two years when there is only £300 or £500 to pay, but after it has accumulated for 4 or 5 you are owing several thousands and that is when they send in the bailiffs. Also, Timeshare is passed on as part of your estate so your children/grandchildren are also being lumbered with the cost....

Tigger1

Missymac wrote: »

I don't think we newbies are trying to persuade anyone of anything

We are just wanting to share experiences. And yes, get a bit of reassurance that there isn't a pitfall we haven't seen.

And has anyone been to the Irish resort or Clowance in Cornwall?

Thank you Missymac - and MPython. I am completely new to this sort of thing - didn't even know they existed (is this what is meant by a 'chat-room'?) Yes, I am a Newbie today and 'joined' as I had typed clubseasons.uk into 'Google' and saw the heading about winning so, being intrigued (nosey? sniff, sniff) I read the opening pages and on the strength of that registered and logged in and this is my 3rd message. (I am now up to message 90 or so on this thread and have 50+ to go!) Like Missymac I just wanted to share my experience of Club Seasons with others. I would like to make the following points:-1. The 'prize' is said to be worth £3750 at 2007 rates - see my first message. But who (in their right mind) would be paying this money in any case? So, as I asked before, what have I actually 'won'?2. To MPython and others who point out you/we still have to pay a fee, there is nothing that says the prize is a FREE HOLIDAY. If you were to win a free car, would you expect free tax, insurance and petrol? Yes, my wife and I WERE a bit disappointed that we had not won a holiday worth £3750, but if we now only have to pay £168.50 for a week, and we can take my in-laws who will pay their share, then it's still cheaper than the maintenance on a timeshare.3. To Missymac who wanted to know about Clowance (Cornish resort). We stayed there (with inlaws) 2 or 3 years ago and found it very nice. It's on the edge of a golfcourse, which you can't wander round. We ate there a couple of times - fairly good menu from memory, I think the cellar was a bit thin and/or pricey. Comfortable but not as good as Craigandarroch - our favourite British timeshare so far.4. Whilst writing, does anyone know or have (had) dealings with Key Property Advisor group - who SAY they can get money back for clients who have been conned by Timeshare people in Spain? and/or Incentive Leisure Group?5. To the retired couple trying to sell their timeshare, Don't have anything to do with United Vacation Teneriffe, who offer to resell for you - they took us out to Teneriffe for a week's holiday and then conned us out of £x000.5. Somebody mentioned ETO (European Timeshare Owners) in an early message. This is run by Sandy (can't remember his surname) and purports to be an independent organization founded to examine claims by Timeshare owners about 'cons' etc. I have found out that they also offer re-sale deals but the prices they offer are well below the current market value. They do sometimes offer good advice but they tend to say that all Timeshare companies are crooks except their own. (They would, wouldn't they?)I hope you haven't been bored by all this, but as you can see I have been at the end of some Timeshare or Ts-associated scams and just wanted to exchange views on Clubseasons. Oh, by the way, MPythoin, there is a sentence in the last letter from clubseasons, in BOLD type AND underlined - "We are also offering a 100% money back guarantee if you are not entirely satisfied with your experience upon returning from your fiurst 7 night holiday". Guarantees that mention "not entirely satisfied" are always a target for my family and me....were we ENTIRELY satisfied? Will let you know when we have booked and been (back) to Clowance.

crazy_chick_573

I have just had my last holiday with club seasons. I 'won' in december last year and paid the £157 maintenance. Luckily it paid off. i have enjoyed two lovely holidays, a weekend in whitbarrow village and a week at brunston castle. I won't be paying next year because you can't have school holidays. But if you have a chance to go do take it up. the accomodation is gourgous (mind the spelling) and is well worth the money. i would only do it for the first year though and you only have to go to one talk. it isn't a scam and i will be writing on every website i can to tell people to go for it because it is money well spent. if any one wants photos pm me and i'll email them.

Gryfon

I got one of these today and thought I'd have something free :rotfl:

Our problem is that first thing we can't afford the maintance fee, secondly I'd worry that I wouldn't be able to cancel, thirdly it's too expensive for us to get to the UK in the first place and fourthly I prefer camping :rotfl:

mpython

Hi Tigger1, sorry I missed your posts in July. Welcome to MSE, hope you enjoy it here as much as I do.

I can't quite follow what you're saying in your posts.

Whilst I perfectly accept that if I were to win a car, I'd have to pay for petrol, tax & insurance, in all the 1,000s of competitions I've seen, I'd never seen one that would force me to buy the petrol, tax or insurance from the promoter. Also, if I buy a car from a garage or dealer, I would never be forced to buy petrol, tax or insurance from the same place. So what exactly does this wonderful prize of membership entitle you to? Can you use their leisure facilities for free? How much would you have to spend to use a tennis court for 1 hour?

If you don't mind me saying so, you seem extremely knowledgable about these things, having been to Clowance but prefering Craigandarroch ("our favourite British timeshare"). You go on to say:

"Don't have anything to do with United Vacation Teneriffe....conned us out of £x000"

"ETO (European Timeshare Owners)..... is run by Sandy ... and purports to be an independent organization........they also offer re-sale deals but the prices they offer are well below the current market value. ......they tend to say that all Timeshare companies are crooks except their own. (They would, wouldn't they?)"

"....clubseasons..100% money back guarantee..."

So you've lost £1,000s of pounds to timeshares, yet you still think winning a free membership but having to pay to stay, is a good deal? I'm sure you could find a better use for your £168 rather than covering these people's running costs.

MUGGLEWUMP_3

I`ve been reading the above posts with much interest.

My mother received a notification 3 years ago about "winning" a Seasons Holiday opportunity worth nearly £3000. My mother NEVER enters competitions, BUT, we checked with trading standards and did some research. The offer is genuine even if the "competition" part isn`t. Yes, you have to pay the maintenance every year.

For my 87 year old crippled mother who hadn`t been away on holiday for years, this seemed rather intriguing. we took up the offer of a free short break - Monday through Friday - at Bude in Cornwall and we did enjoy it very much. the staff were pleasant the accommodation and facilities great. We aren`t great holiday makers so haven`t had anything else to compare it with but we were happy to upgrade to a sleep 6 red week.

This is where it gets interesting. There are four time periods in the year. (I`m getting good at this now, I should be paid!) green which is basically the miserable weeks of the year (apart from Xmas), yellow - getting better, red which gives you access to all the weeks of the year apart from the premium weeks covering the school holidays. No school age kids in our family so red week is great.

Now, one red week can be exchanged for THREE green weeks or TWO yellow weeks. That, to me is a bargain. We don`t care what the weather is, we enjoy the change of scenery, the pool, the sauna other facilities and the walks, the areas of outstanding natural beauty AND extra short breaks mon-frid and fri-mon throughout the year.

We hve had teething problems and paper work gone missing; and paying out nearly four hundred pounds for one week sounds a lot. but we rarely use our red week, we usually swap it for three green! plus some short breaks(available from only £49 for FIVE DAYS for the lodge, not per person) there are various upgrades on offer and I have to admit, it`s taken me three years to get my head around the plan and for them to get the paper work sorted - made more complicated because we bought another red week so can now have SIX green weeks a year in any seasons resort in the world and hundreds of affiliated resorts all over the world. It is exciting, it is complicated but it IS genuine.

We had a dreadful week at Laugharne recently -again sadly - the lodges are ok but the standard of cleaning is absolutely dreadful. on complaining, Seasons have given us another week free to make up for their mistake of putting my wheelchair mother in a lodge with over 20 steps and for the disgraceful state of the lodge. My advice - don`t go to Laugharne. but you have Scotland, Ireland, The Lake District, Bude and the newly aquired 5star resort of Clowance in Cornwall to choose from within easy reach. they are always looking to purchase more.

So, my advice as a seasoned (sorry) Seasons holiday maker is, you get this week for around 60 years, yours to bequeath, to sell or to rent out for all those years. Yes, you pay maintenance - ours is £800plus a year for two red weeks or, for up to 6 green weeks for 8 people. now THAT is a cheap holiday option. if you want to go to Europe to their wonderful looking resorts in Portugal and Spain, flights can be had for just a few pounds. My mothers friends who bring her to the Seasons resorts, pay £3000plus for two weeks for themselves and their family - numbering 8 including children when they have their annual holidays.

The staff have always been pleasant the ONLY problems we have ever had have been at Laugharne - but even there, the staff are nice.

So, there you have it. Go on the short break they offer you(it won`t cost you anything but petrol and food), get some advice from trading standards, or holiday ombudsman (I don`t know who they are but you can google for them) and make a list of questions to ask them and keep notes. enjoy the break and say no if you don`t want to take up the offer, simple. the simplest word in the world - NO - yet seems to be the hardest to say for some people!

type Seasons Holidays into google and look at the resorts available, it is not a scam.

I hope this has helped. and to any cynics who read this, NO, I DO NOT WORK FOR ANYONE!

mpython

MUGGLEWUMP wrote: »

......... but we rarely use our red week, we usually swap it for three green! plus some short breaks

...........

......you get this week for around 60 years, yours to bequeath, to sell or to rent out for all those years. Yes, you pay maintenance - ours is £800plus a year for two red weeks or, for up to 6 green weeks for 8 people......


.......

I hope this has helped. and to any cynics who read this, NO, I DO NOT WORK FOR ANYONE!

Evening mugglewump. 'Fraid you are no more convincing than any of the other happy customers, don't you lot check what you write before you come on here? Can't you remember whether you have 1 red week or 2?

pcar964

mpython wrote: »

Evening mugglewump. 'Fraid you are no more convincing than any of the other happy customers, don't you lot check what you write before you come on here? Can't you remember whether you have 1 red week or 2?

mypython, read the post again.

mugglewump wrote:

because we bought another red week so can now have SIX green weeks