Club La Costa Disgusting Customer Service and Misleading 'Prize Luxury Holidays'.

mpython

CHR15 wrote: »

I think our man toprobroy is going to be too busy waging the same war on CAG to come back

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?128859-Club-La-Costa-sound-or-con

He gets involved from page 5 and faces the same onslaught as here later on from the wave of disgruntled victims.

It isn't about the resort stars, it is about the fees and selling practices.

I see he was PPR'd there as well yesterday, according to the site administrator he was PPR'd for:

"making veiled threats of legal action against this website, undermining a member of the site admin team in an email that you inadvertently copied to us, spamming our site with positive reviews of a company which you clearly have a very close relationship with....and a further matter of which you are aware."

maksipup

mpython wrote: »

Found on another website but made me laugh considering all the posts by pro CLC people claiming all the accommodation was 5* so the cost of buying & annual maintenance was "worth it", nb, this was booked in 2009 as well so not last minute:-

Dear Club La Costa,
To Customer Services and to Mr Guy Mantel - we hope you will forward this to him as having met him at the members’ meeting in Birmingham he told me that customer satisfaction was paramount to CLC’s success and that feedback from members was always taken seriously
We have just returned to Glasgow from our booked week in Devon, a holiday which was spoiled at the very start by the room you allocated to us at the Devoncourt Hotel in Exmouth. There are simply not enough words to describe the complete and total failure of this facility being in any way an acceptable CLC accommodation
On arrival at the Devoncourt Hotel on the evening of Saturday 31st July we were shown to Room 12, a room which fell so far below our expectations that we had no choice but to call the Manager and refuse to take up residence.
The Manager at the Devoncourt was very apologetic and embarrassed for us - it was quickly apparent and confirmed that he had found himself in a similar position on previous occasions . Unfortunately he had no alternative rooms available and he was only able - and we gratefully accepted his offer - to try and find us some alternative and acceptable accommodation in the area He was finally able to secure for us three nights in another hotel. CLC could not be contacted and we were profoundly grateful for the assistance he gave us.
We enclose some photographs (low resolution having been taken on a mobile phone) which we hope will help you understand the state of Room 12 which was small, claustrophobic, dingy, and in a poor state of repair. In short, totally unacceptable. As for the “beach views” from the windows - one looked on to a brick wall and the other a fire escape!!
This holiday was booked back in 2009 and our room is so far adrift from the contents of page 37 in your Directory of Resorts that we feel seriously let down. This is not what we signed up for when we joined CLC and needless to say we are extremely upset, disappointed and very out of pocket having had to finance ourselves the expense in securing the alternative accommodation. Because of all the extra expenses incurred our week’s holiday turned into only a three night stay before making the long trip back home to Scotland
It was only by the actions of the Manager at the Devoncourt that the holiday was not a complete disaster. He should be congratulated. However we find ourselves out of pocket and extremely annoyed and irritated by the whole experience. We are also embarrassed to let anyone know that we are members of CLC and that you are wiling to send your members here - Heaven forbid that we might have taken guests
What steps are you going to take to address this matter? Room 12 should never be offered under any circumstances and if any other rooms you have are like this one, then the hotel should be withdrawn form your resorts immediately. We will also be placing a report of this hotel on the separate member’s website as we would not like any one else to experience the disappointment that we have
We consider that the very least you could do is to refund the points for our week in Devon.
Yours sincerely





QUOTE]

To provide a bit of balance and with the approval of the other forum in question, here is how the complaint to CLC turned out.
DEVONCOURT and room 12 [URL="http://java script:add_smilie("][/URL]
WOW - 100% resolution! Today, I have had a wonderful reply from the Chairman Mr Peires . BUT...Unfortunately due to some technical and for me unsolvable IT gremlin I have had no luck in copying and pasting both the copy of the e-mail that I had sent to him and his reply which I received today. Technical gremlins being sorted I will, as promised, post the e-mails, but for the moment what is important is that I feed back to all of you and especially those of who have supported and shared advise and encouragement in postings over the horror of room 12, that the Chairman has personally authorised the return of all the points and he is compensating us in full for the additional costs we incurred in funding the three nights at the Royal Beacon Hotel ! AB FAB. So until you can actually see the e-mails this has been the best possible news- a resolution that is due to your support and encouragement in requesting a better offer than the original telephone offer of only half of the points. And it does go to show that CLC are willing to listen and respond to member's concerns and as a respected friend pointed out when I was telling them of our experience they did not think that we would ever had received such a personal and prompt response if it had been a holiday booked through a Tour Operator or a 'budget' holiday company !
And yes, Exmouth is a beautiful town and if it is possible, as Michael suggests, it could be, that at some point in the near future 'Devoncourt' might go onto the market and if CLC are able to acquire and upgrade the hotel I am sure it would soon be a firm favourite for UK bookings.
So, my thanks to all of you for your help, support, encouragement and advise. Our voices are heard and communication channels are open ! I hope that with sharing experiences together and with Guy and CLC Management on board we can all contribute to making membership work for the good of us all.
Thank you

marleyboy

mpython wrote: »

I see he was PPR'd there as well yesterday, according to the site administrator he was PPR'd for:

"making veiled threats of legal action against this website, undermining a member of the site admin team in an email that you inadvertently copied to us, spamming our site with positive reviews of a company which you clearly have a very close relationship with....and a further matter of which you are aware."

Wow, he just does not learn does he, I wonder how many sites he has been PPR'd from total, it wont be long before he is limited to his own site, at least he cannot be PPR'd from there, I really dont know why he does not just stick to managing his own site, it must be hugely embarrassing for someone with so much knowledge about site forums, to find themselves PPR'd from the majority of them. I dread to think how he runs his own "pay per view" website.

antenna

maksipup wrote: »

To provide a bit of balance and with the approval of the other forum in question, here is how the complaint to CLC turned out.
DEVONCOURT and room 12 [URL="http://java script:add_smilie("][/URL]
WOW - 100% resolution! Today, I have had a wonderful reply from the Chairman Mr Peires . BUT...Unfortunately due to some technical and for me unsolvable IT gremlin I have had no luck in copying and pasting both the copy of the e-mail that I had sent to him and his reply which I received today. Technical gremlins being sorted I will, as promised, post the e-mails, but for the moment what is important is that I feed back to all of you and especially those of who have supported and shared advise and encouragement in postings over the horror of room 12, that the Chairman has personally authorised the return of all the points and he is compensating us in full for the additional costs we incurred in funding the three nights at the Royal Beacon Hotel ! AB FAB. So until you can actually see the e-mails this has been the best possible news- a resolution that is due to your support and encouragement in requesting a better offer than the original telephone offer of only half of the points. And it does go to show that CLC are willing to listen and respond to member's concerns and as a respected friend pointed out when I was telling them of our experience they did not think that we would ever had received such a personal and prompt response if it had been a holiday booked through a Tour Operator or a 'budget' holiday company !
And yes, Exmouth is a beautiful town and if it is possible, as Michael suggests, it could be, that at some point in the near future 'Devoncourt' might go onto the market and if CLC are able to acquire and upgrade the hotel I am sure it would soon be a firm favourite for UK bookings.
So, my thanks to all of you for your help, support, encouragement and advise. Our voices are heard and communication channels are open ! I hope that with sharing experiences together and with Guy and CLC Management on board we can all contribute to making membership work for the good of us all.
Thank you

Wow....You are very easily pleased
Paid your extortionate years charges,travelled down to exmouth from Scotland,put in dingy pokey cupboard with no views,bundled off to a private hotel for three days,gave up,went home 4 days early all the way back to Scotland,got your points back and the money you paid for the other hotel and you think you have had a result! .
You ended up with a ruined holiday 4 days short yet you praise the crimeshare company........How can anybody take anything you say seriously....you are obviously 4 days short of a full week.

mpython

maksipup wrote: »

To provide a bit of balance and with the approval of the other forum in question, here is how the complaint to CLC turned out.
DEVONCOURT and room 12 [URL="http://java script:add_smilie("][/URL]
WOW - 100% resolution! Today, I have had a wonderful reply from the Chairman Mr Peires . BUT...Unfortunately due to some technical and for me unsolvable IT gremlin I have had no luck in copying and pasting both the copy of the e-mail that I had sent to him and his reply which I received today. Technical gremlins being sorted I will, as promised, post the e-mails, but for the moment what is important is that I feed back to all of you and especially those of who have supported and shared advise and encouragement in postings over the horror of room 12, that the Chairman has personally authorised the return of all the points and he is compensating us in full for the additional costs we incurred in funding the three nights at the Royal Beacon Hotel ! AB FAB. So until you can actually see the e-mails this has been the best possible news- a resolution that is due to your support and encouragement in requesting a better offer than the original telephone offer of only half of the points. And it does go to show that CLC are willing to listen and respond to member's concerns and as a respected friend pointed out when I was telling them of our experience they did not think that we would ever had received such a personal and prompt response if it had been a holiday booked through a Tour Operator or a 'budget' holiday company !
And yes, Exmouth is a beautiful town and if it is possible, as Michael suggests, it could be, that at some point in the near future 'Devoncourt' might go onto the market and if CLC are able to acquire and upgrade the hotel I am sure it would soon be a firm favourite for UK bookings.
So, my thanks to all of you for your help, support, encouragement and advise. Our voices are heard and communication channels are open ! I hope that with sharing experiences together and with Guy and CLC Management on board we can all contribute to making membership work for the good of us all.
Thank you

maksipup,

Thanks for sharing this. I am genuinely pleased for the member involved.

Amazing how highlighting a problem on MSE can bring results!

In the interests of balance, do you know how long the problem has been going on with Devoncourt, and whether other members who stayed there have also been refunded?

MP

marleyboy

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?128859

Please help!

1. I have Club La Costa points for 8 years. Each year I pay my maintenance fees. This year the bill came through in Euros, because at the AGM it was decided. My paperwork stated the value in pounds and pence can they do this?!?!?! Thanks so much in advance.
2. 24th March 2009 08:25 #8
   mustang67
   
   
   Hi there ,as a former CLC member,I stopped paying the ever increasing maintenance fees in order to escape from them ,and they did cancel my membership after two years unpaid. Am in the next stage now of trying to get some money back from them.Getting back to your question, I would check the exchange rate Euros-pound and see how much they are probably overcharging you,with the value of the Euro falling lately, it is probably not a good deal.Check your paperwork, but because it was passed at the AGM they might have covered their backs. Good luck, you will need it against these Costa robbers
   
   
   24th March 2009 18:56 #9
   pepper_mclean
   
   Thank you Mustang67 interestingly that was my next question. I have paid the first six months of this years maintenance fees and the paperwork says that I have to give 6 weeks notice to end my membership, if I notify them this week of my intention to leave (giving them 6 weeks notice) they have told me I still have to pay the remainder of the year. Can they do this? Is this legal? Are the agreements in anyway lawful or forms of agreement. The agreement does not state one way or the other whether the full year has to be paid if membership is ended.
3. 25th March 2009 08:21 #10
   mustang67
   
   Hi there,In my dealings with CLA concerning maintenance fees I stopped paying them because I just could not afford it anymore.They are one of the main causes of my current financial situation---- broke!!! Anyway I did not pay them for a couple of years. Then 12 months ago they sent me a registered letter of impending cancellation saying that my membership would be cancelled in accordance with the Club Constitution. I still did not pay anything and have not heard from them since. I presume my membership has been cancelled because I cannot access the web site , so I must have been zapped!!! Getting back to your question, I am not sure of the legal situation over any of the agreements.But if you go to the Timeshare Consumers Association website or www.timeshare,org.uk (same site)you will find plenty of advice and you can ring them up and speak to someone who knows the ropes.I know when I was still a member that if you had not paid your fees, they would not accept a booking for that year,then you could not get what you wanted anyway,and have to settle for some were remote if you were lucky.
5. It can be a difficult decision for some people to make,by either cancelling their membership,or just not paying CLA anything,you have to consider how much you paid for your points at time of joining and if you are like me, you are still paying on finance for them. But at the time I have saved a couple of thousand by not paying them at least. At present I am in dispute with the loan company over non payments to them. It is over two years since they have received any money and I have sent them a letter stating "Gross Misrepresentation" over the selling of the product (CLA points)And that is where I am at the moment waiting!!
   
   
   25th March 2009 08:44 #11
   mustang67
   
   Back again!!
   If you see any of those adverts in the paper saying they will buy your points or timeshare of you, tread with caution.Some of them want an upfront fee etc. You could end up in a bigger mess financially.I went to one but because I still had finance outstanding on the loan they did not want to know and if they did buy them off you , they were basically another holiday company and you were tied into them.
   
   The "Gross Misrepresentation" I was refering to before is the misselling of the whole CLA idea. That is you do not get what you were promised at the time of sale, apart from the free breakfast!!!. ie My family could only go in school holidays end of August, but trying to get were you wanted to go was impossible,was always sent to RCI ,and then you have to pay them extra fees etc and still finish up in the Costa Del Sol!!!
   
   Anyway good luck and get in touch with the Timeshare Consumers Association.
   Cheers!!!
   24th April 2009 15:59 #12
   Nighthawk-2
   
   Can anyone give me advice. I notice that there are a few posts here that say they have stopped paying their maintenance fees to CLC and eventually their membership has been cancelled. Did you get threatened with legal action and taken to debt collectors? Did it affect your credit rating?
   My husband and i are no longer together and have decided to cut our losses and cancel our membership. We wrote to CLC at the end of last year but they told us we have to pay up for 2009. To date we haven't done this and we are now being told that legal action will be taken against us if we dont. I notice in the Members area of the website that they have a notice re non payment of maintanance fees so i suspect that with the economic crisis there are quite a few members not paying. Surely they can't afford to take everyone to court!!
   
   Any advice welcome. Thanx
   24th April 2009 18:41 #13
   mustang67
   
   Hi there, they cancelled my membership 12 months ago, after I had not paid fees for two years. All they did was send a letter asking for payment and if none was received membership would be cancelled, in accordance with the Club Constitution which it was thank god!!!. Have not heard of them since. Still fighting GE money (who provided the loan) have not paid them for a couple of years. So you could call their bluff and see what happens.
   
   24th April 2009 18:50 #14
   mustang67
7. If you go on the website of the Timeshare Consumers Association you might find more advice there.
   www.timeshare.org.uk
   
   There is a phone number on there and you can speak to someone who knows the ropes.
   
   Did you enjoy the breakfast!!!!
   24th April 2009 22:23 #15
   brucebb
   
   We are in the same boat with CLC at the Paradise Club Teneriffe.We simply cannot afford the management fees so asked CLC, by email, in December for information on how to surrender membership.
8. We did not receive any response except an automated emial thanking us for our message and they would get in touch with us shortly.
   Now, in April we have received a letter threatening debt recovery if we do not pay.
   On emailing them back we have received the same automated email and as yet still no information.
   We simply do not know how to surrender our weeks timeshare!
   requests for the constitution have gone unanswered.
   We do not know what to do next.
   25th April 2009 07:55 #16
   mustang67
   
   Hi there, I think the only way out of CLC is to stop paying them,we have a product that is unsellable.Like I have said in earlier posts, I did not receive any threats about debt recovery, just that my membership would be cancelled, which it was. That just leaves you with the problem of what you have paid for membership and any outstanding balance that you may have. In my case that is 20 grand. At least I am 'saving' a thousand a year by losing my membership!!!! I am on the points system, so am not sure about actual timeshare like you have.The only advice I can give is to get in touch with Timeshare Consumers Association as mentioned in my other posts. www.timeshare.org.uk
   Good Luck keep us informed.
   26th April 2009 16:56 #17
   nosh56
   
   hi i'm thinking of talking to G E Money have you really stopped paying your loan for club la costa points ?? Have you not had any repercussions Club la costa dont want to help after they blatently misrepresent the truth they are happy to stash your money and wait for the next vulnerable victim to come along .

1. Cont..............................

marleyboy

26th April 2009 17:04 #18 nosh56

1. We are in the same boat with CLC at the Paradise Club Teneriffe.
   We simply cannot afford the management fees so asked CLC, by email, in December for information on how to surrender membership.
   We did not receive any response except an automated emial thanking us for our message and they would get in touch with us shortly.
   Now, in April we have received a letter threatening debt recovery if we do not pay.
   On emailing them back we have received the same automated email and as yet still no information.
   We simply do not know how to surrender our weeks timeshare!
   requests for the constitution have gone unanswered.
   We do not know what to do next.
   
   hi there , i just wonder how many people are out there all in the same position as us ! club la costa has cost us 10 s of thousands of pounds that amounts to one yes one very expensive holiday. we get no reply from them when we contact them and now we too are barred from the site with no explanation what so ever. how do they keep getting away with it
   26th April 2009 18:48 #19
   mustang67
2. Hi there, glad to see that I not the only one with CLC problems, must be a lot more out there.
   At the end of the day we have been sold a lemon (and there are plenty of them in Spain!!!)
   Yep I have stopped paying them, the main reason apart from unemployment was when CLC cancelled my membership. This was because I did not pay maintenance fees to them.
   Its not much use talking to GE as they do not want to know.
   After the first few missed payments they will bombard you with phone calls, then the letters start coming and because it is a joint account you get one each!!!!!. So be prepared for a lot of mail. Must have received a small forest by now!!!
   Its several months since last call,but they keep sending arrears letters, but not really demanding any payments, they have not got nasty yet.
   The only way I know at the moment to try and get some money back, is to have both GE and CLC for "Gross Misrepresentation" . Thats the misselling of the product, which we all know is true.
   Thats the stage I am at now, they both deny any wrong doing.
   Last October there was a succesful appeal in court of a couple being awarded 15000 against a DCA over CLC membership (GE had sold the debt to them). So there could be light at the end of the tunnel.
   Watch this space
   28th April 2009 15:00 #20
   ajs444
3. Same boat as you brucebb, fees are far too dear this year, with really no improvement to our apartment.
   I signed original agreement through Paradise Club who were bought out by CLC, no new terms and conditions were issued nor signed so I think they might have a legal problem.
   Reading the minutes from AGM I see the following on page 4:-
   
   The Chairman said that members would have to default on their Management Charges in the first instance to get rid of the week. In the default process there are members who cannot pay and members who will not pay. Any debt is worked through until a debtor is identified as a "will not pay" for whatever reason. As the Club survives because every week is sold and contributes to the Management Charge, the burden of any week not contributing a management charge over a long period of time would be passed on to the remaining members. It is therefore essential to pass on those default weeks to someone else who will pay the management charges and, as it is not the Club's responsibility to sell the weeks of members who do not wish to remain in the Club, those weeks are passed to CLC for the amount of the outstanding debt plus any charges. CLC then pay the future management charges for those weeks.
   
   My understanding was that if you do not pay fees the apartment is repossessed, that was under Paradise conditions.
   Don\'t let the B**tards grind you down

1. Now all they have to do is resolve these issues, I would post more, but there are just far too many

nicechap

mpython wrote: »

Appreciate the explanation.

Is it always 50p a point?

He told me 74p a point for 1500 when I was comparing my recent trip to Portimao???

nicechap

maksipup wrote: »

N.B nicechap, re your misleading CAG quote, the 3* accommodation we stayed in was as posted here, in Venice where CLC have no resorts and it was with RCI.

??? where have I quoted CAG?

nicechap

marleyboy wrote: »

Paying twice, and continuing to pay for it, whether or not you go

Agreed, well over £1100 via CLC or £600 direct for Portimao.