Mis-sold 'holiday'

bookworm1363

Really? From someone who got bamboozled over the phone into handing out card details etc in the 1st place? I would advise these people to stay as far away from the place as they can, or they'll be back next year with a "I got tricked into buying a timeshare" thread... :undecided

DCFC79

bookworm1363 wrote: »

Really? From someone who got bamboozled over the phone into handing out card details etc in the 1st place? I would advise these people to stay as far away from the place as they can, or they'll be back next year with a "I got tricked into buying a timeshare" thread... :undecided

i cant believe an apparent prize cost the OP £58 when alarm bells would ring as usually competition prizes dont cost you nothing

bookworm1363

DCFC79 wrote: »

i cant believe an apparent prize cost the OP £58 when alarm bells would ring as usually competition prizes dont cost you nothing

My point precisely.

wealdroam

bookworm1363 wrote: »

You have a short window to cancel under the DSR and get a full refund, but time is of the essence.

You letter should say something like this:

Dear sir/Madam,

I am in receipt of the written confirmation for [state the event, date etc] and those written terms are substantially different from what was actually discussed over the phone, in particular about being a timeshare presentation, cancellation rights etc...

Under the Distance Selling Regulations, I can cancel and get a FULL refund within 7 working days of receiving the terms of the agreement, and I hereby confirm that I received your letter on [date of receipt] and am fully within the required time scales to comply. I therefore ask you to cancel the whole thing straight away and refund me in full within 14 days of this letter.

Yours...


Or something like that.

Bookworm, are you sure the OP is able to cancel this holiday under the DSRs?

Paragraph 2.20 of the OFT's guide to the DSRs says...

2.20 The requirements to provide pre-contractual information, written and additional information, the right to cancel and the obligation on the supplier to carry out the contract within a maximum of 30 days do not apply to the following types of contract.
Contracts to provide accommodation, transport, catering or leisure services (for example hotel accommodation; plane, train, or concert tickets; car hire; or sporting events) where you agree to provide the service on a specific date or within a specific period. However, long-term residential hotel accommodation agreed under a distance contract may be considered to be rented accommodation and therefore subject to the DSRs.

In particular, it appears that the right to cancel a holiday are excluded from the DSRs.

I would value your opinion.

bookworm1363

I have always read it that the "specific date or within a specific period" to which the partial exclusion applied was in the cases where the "specific" related to an even which would be happening before or on the 30 days mentioned higher up in the text, which is logical... You can't book a long week-end to Paris on the Thursday leaving on the Friday and expecting them to still supply all the proper info on time.

I agree the OFT guidance you have quoted is written somewhat misleadingly, as it looks as if your interpretation could be right, but in fact, it is the requirements to provide within 30 days (pre-conceptual info, written and additional info, right to canx etc...) which are excluded, as far as I am aware anyway.

You got me doubting myself, lol, so I went to a couple of my saved links (saved just for this kind of time where the brain is slowing down, lol) and: http://www.onlineshoppingrights.co.uk/buying-a-holiday-online-consumer-rights-cancellations-refunds-and-complaints.html
certainly seems to confirm that the 7 day period applies to holidays as well.

HTH

wealdroam

Thank you for your further explanation Bookworm.

I can clearly understand your example of a trip booked at very short notice.

Disgressing slightly, if I were to book a concert ticket say six weeks in advance, could I cancel that booking within seven days?
You seem to be of the opinion that I can.

How can Travel Lodge etc sell cheap bookings that are termed 'non-refundable'?
We both know that they are unable to contract us out of our statutory rights, so can these conditions also be challenged under DSRs?
I doubt it.

Sorry, but I still think OP will not be able to use DSRs to get out of his contract.

:beer:

bookworm1363

Ok, now I have re-read the actual regs themselves, I am thinking it is far too late for me to make sense of them, but you could well be right in which case I apologise to the OP and would advise them to just go for the disputed transaction route with their bank. TBH, what was worrying me a bit was not the hotel part, but whether they could argue that the hotel/presentation part was in fact part of the whole timeshare contract which would cause further issues... but anyway, as it seems to be a scam, the bank should reverse the transaction fairly easily, especially if they take a copy of this booklet.

I will go through the Regs again next week but looks as if you're correct... In which case it is very scary as there would be nothing to protect consumers for things like holiday, and that is frankly frightening.

Sorry, I have to go to bed, I am normally in bed much earlier than that, and the brain is fast fogging up!

Thank you for querying my post, and doing so in a polite manner instead of the usual throat-ripping one sees so often on the boards these days. If I am wrong, I am grateful that it got spotted and clarified for the OP's sake, and will hold my head down in shame and my hands up, lol. Good night.