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Death doesn't bring an end to timeshare fee

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  • terryw
    terryw Posts: 4,396 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    I agree. Personally I can't believe that people haven't challenged this (and won) before. But then it is just some old article from the Mail so no doubt it's just a bit of chuntering nonsense.

    A difficult one to answer fluff. The Mail may not be everyone's source of news and many people like to disregard anything in there.

    But Tony Hetherington is very well respected and has been a genuine people's champion for many a long year. To disregard this article is not a wise decision just because it was in the Mail.

    Just out of interest, have you (or indeed anyone) come across anything at all where people have challenged this and won?
    "If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools"
    Extract from "If" by Rudyard Kipling
  • fadetogrey
    fadetogrey Posts: 1,648 Forumite
    just wondering,if you "sold" it to A N other and had his "signature" on the paperwork and A N other was to emigrate leaving no forwarding address then you are in the clear and its up to the timeshare company to take it up with him when they find him?;)
    counting down the time I got left.:beer::beer:
  • Azari
    Azari Posts: 4,317 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    fadetogrey wrote: »
    just wondering,if you "sold" it to A N other and had his "signature" on the paperwork and A N other was to emigrate leaving no forwarding address then you are in the clear and its up to the timeshare company to take it up with him when they find him?;)

    I suspect not.

    If you have a liability you cannot simply sell it. If you sell something with an attached liability (e.g. you sell a house with some repayments remaining on a load for improvements) the liability remains with you. Otherwise, all sorts of debts could be reneged upon.
    There are two types of people in the world: Those that can extrapolate information.
  • tbw
    tbw Posts: 5,137 Forumite
    Azari wrote: »
    I suspect not.

    If you have a liability you cannot simply sell it. If you sell something with an attached liability (e.g. you sell a house with some repayments remaining on a load for improvements) the liability remains with you. Otherwise, all sorts of debts could be reneged upon.

    But if your yearly maintenance payments are up to date then surely you are not selling it on with an attached debt? My paperwork (a bit sparse on detail) does say on the certificate that its very easy to sell and just involves signatures on the certificate etc with no fiddly other paperwork.
    ELITE 5:2
    # 42
    11st2lbs down to 9st2lbs - another 5lbs gone due to alcohol abuse (head down toilet syndrome)
  • fluffnutter
    fluffnutter Posts: 23,179 Forumite
    terryw wrote: »
    A difficult one to answer fluff. The Mail may not be everyone's source of news and many people like to disregard anything in there.

    But Tony Hetherington is very well respected and has been a genuine people's champion for many a long year. To disregard this article is not a wise decision just because it was in the Mail.

    Just out of interest, have you (or indeed anyone) come across anything at all where people have challenged this and won?

    No, I've not heard of any successes in challenging this. But that's probably because I simply don't know of anyone who's bought or inherited a timeshare! I suspect they're less common than they used to be... too many horror stories.
    "Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell" - Edward Abbey.
  • Azari
    Azari Posts: 4,317 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    tbw wrote: »
    But if your yearly maintenance payments are up to date then surely you are not selling it on with an attached debt?

    It's not a debt, it's a liability.

    I really don't know the answer. It's something that needs a solicitor. It may well depend on whether the people who originally sold the timeshare ever suspected it would become worthless. If they didn't, then their remedy for non-payment of the fees may be limited to repossession of the property.
    There are two types of people in the world: Those that can extrapolate information.
  • fluffnutter
    fluffnutter Posts: 23,179 Forumite
    Azari wrote: »
    It's not a debt, it's a liability.

    I really don't know the answer. It's something that needs a solicitor. It may well depend on whether the people who originally sold the timeshare ever suspected it would become worthless. If they didn't, then their remedy for non-payment of the fees may be limited to repossession of the property.

    Indeed. If you've inherited a timeshare that you don't want and don't use, then simply not paying may well result solely in repossession. In which case, who cares?
    "Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell" - Edward Abbey.
  • Errata
    Errata Posts: 38,230 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I don't think fresh air can be repossessed, which is what a timeshare is. Does what it says on the tin :)
    .................:)....I'm smiling because I have no idea what's going on ...:)
  • Azari
    Azari Posts: 4,317 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Indeed. If you've inherited a timeshare that you don't want and don't use, then simply not paying may well result solely in repossession. In which case, who cares?

    That is, however, only one possibility. Others may be less benign.

    You cannot simply rely on that being the case.

    Consult a solicitor. :)
    There are two types of people in the world: Those that can extrapolate information.
  • zzzLazyDaisy
    zzzLazyDaisy Posts: 12,497 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Selling a timeshare isn't always as easy as they make out. It isn't the timeshare itself that is the problem, it is the underlying lease which the original TS owner remains liable for if the subsequent owner/s default. I am at the moment trying to transfer a jointly owned TS into the sole name of my ex (by agreement). I am having to complete a complicated form, take it with my passport to a notary public and have the whole thing witnessed presumably to prove I am actually the joint owner and the ex isn't trying to steal it from me. The cost to me is going to be something in the region of £100/150 and then there are further fees to the ex when he registers the deed with the TS owners. TBH it is worth it to me to get rid of the liability since it has always been 'his' in practice and I have never used it. But the point is, it really isn't as simple as finding a stranger to take over the liability and then disappear.

    (Although it has occurred to me that someone on the verge of going bankrupt could buy it and then take the whole thing down in the bankruptcy, but I bet there are holes in that idea too!)
    I'm a retired employment solicitor. Hopefully some of my comments might be useful, but they are only my opinion and not intended as legal advice.
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