Holiday bond

Seronera

zagfles wrote: »

Indeed. Also you can tell a lot about a product by the way it's sold. I don't know about this particular scheme, but similar schemes (points/timeshare) are often sold at presentations where they want you to make a decision on the night. No going away and thinking about it/researching it.

Any product sold in this way is almost invariably a rip-off. If someone tries to get you to commit to spending several thousand on something without being given a chance to sleep on it is invariably trying to rip you off. Will it really not be there tomorrow? Or next week? Seriously? Course it will. You say "no" then come back a few days later will they really say "sorry - you had your chance, not available any more". Course they won't, they'll snap your hand off.

Stuff like double glazing is often sold in the same way. usually some bulls**t about a discount that expires tonight etc. Nothing wrong with the product itself, but they don't want you to shop around, see what others quote, perhaps (in the case of timeshare/points) get them on the second hand market if you're really interested.

There is no 'Hard Sell' of the HPB. It was decided early on that this kind of approach would be utterly counterproductive if you are seeking people to put money into the bond and leave it there. Very early on there were a few reps, and indeed we agreed to meet one back in 1986, but it was soon found that the bond didn't need that kind of approach, and apart from the ads and glossy literature its all done by word of mouth.

There are occasional 'meet the HPB' events you can attend (or there used to be anyway), but nobody attempts to get a sale or signature. Its all very genteel and you take away some blurb to look at in your own time. They encourage calls and questions to head office if something occurs to you, but nobody will do an overt 'sell' attempt on you. It doesn't work does it...well not on me.

My intro to the bond was in 1986 when a semi-retired colonel in the office I worked in slapped the brochure on my desk as he walked past and said "You might like this, but there's not enough golf for me". He bought an apartment at La Manga with hot and cold running golf. My wife and I drove up to Keswick to look at the bond property in Braithwaite...a place we knew well anyway....and decided there could be something in it, so I rang the company who sent out the then local rep....and we decided to take a risk. The rest is history and my bond membership number is well under the 4000 mark and there are now over 55,000, so I consider myself a fairly early adopter. I don't have a lot of money in it. The average bond is double the size of mine, but I'm content with what I have and am unlikely to add to it.

I do find a lot of what I read on here frankly unbelievable as its so far from the truth, but I havn't lied about anything whatsoever and if I thought it was dodgy I'd say so and have indeed put my dissatisfaction on record when I felt things were going wrong. Happily that has been resolved as far as I'm concerned

Seronera

mgdavid wrote: »

ah, so they are just self-catering places then, thank you.
When we were young and had a young family we were 'poor' and rented self-catering places for holidays; it was obvious that it really wan't much of a break for my wife, who just did the same every day as at home - but somewhere else. Now we are older, wiser, and better off, we prefer to take more restful holidays where other people do all the work.
Generalising for a moment, I do find it very common that the more money a mistake has cost somebody the harder they find it to admit it, and the harder they work to pretend it's the best thing since sliced bread. A friend of mine calls it a form of self-delusion.

What a stupid posting. If the food where you stay isn't very good then you've paid for it anyway, and you end up paying twice if you have to eat elsewhere. Most hotel food is very average. We can choose where we eat, and we would not do an all in holiday for love nor money.

If its right for you it right for you, but I'm not going to use your choice to infer that you have made some kind of inferior choice like you have stated about my choice. You just illustrate ..yet again..that you have not the faintest idea about HPB which has an incredibly high satisfaction rating amongst some very discerning members.

Self delusion indeed. What sort of idiotic comment is that!

mgdavid

Seronera wrote: »

.........Self delusion indeed. ......

OK give me another reason why a complete stranger would spend so much effort writing some of the longest posts on the forum defending and justifying how they have taken their holidays for the last 27 years?
The OP's question was settled in post 6 before you even came in.
If you're on sales commission you're in for a lean time, and if you're not then what is the point?

Seronera

mgdavid wrote: »

OK give me another reason why a complete stranger would spend so much effort writing some of the longest posts on the forum defending and justifying how they have taken their holidays for the last 27 years?
The OP's question was settled in post 6 before you even came in.
If you're on sales commission you're in for a lean time, and if you're not then what is the point?

Another disgraceful and totally indefensible comment by you. Are you just another internet troll?

I have repeated on numerous occasions that I have NO CONNECTION with the HPB other than being a bondholder. Which bit of that do you fail to understand. Whats more I have never had any other connection and never been paid and never been asked to comment, and my comments are entirely my own opinion. I am a private individual with no fiduciary connection or relationship to HPB in any capacity. Is that clear enough for you? Probably not on past showings, but I live in hope.

You seem to have a chip on your shoulder of considerable proportions given the accusations you are making against me with no justification whatsoever. They are libellous you know!

My sole reason for such lengthy comments is to address the gross misrepresentations of the HPB that I have read on here from people who appoint themselves as advisers to others yet know absolutely nothing about the HPB, of which you are one. I have never suggested that anybody should become a member. I have suggested that people keep an open mind and go and look for themselves if they are genuinely interested in finding out more. Its not for everybody, its not cheap, but its been great for me and thousands of others and I'm not ashamed to say so. To suggest we are some kind of self deluded idiots and implying dishonesty on my part as you have done is the height of arrogance and so far from the truth as to be laughable.

The question was not settled in post 6 as the replies were wrong. This is a minor point you seem happy to applaud as it appeals to your prejudices. I thought the purpose of these forums was to give ACCURATE information not the kind of disinformation you are peddling. Everything I have written is 100% accurate. Period.

What can possibly be wrong in me putting people right?

mgdavid

Seronera wrote: »

...over-reaction
...repetition
...blah blah
What can possibly be wrong in me putting people right?

Laudable but you seem to have overlooked the simple fact that the OP said '...don't think I'll bother' 10 days ago and hasn't been back since.

jonesMUFCforever

Can't be bothered to read the most recent posts - I've only got 4 days off - ITS TIMESHARE.

Seronera

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Can't be bothered to read the most recent posts - I've only got 4 days off - ITS TIMESHARE.

Oh dear, how sad, never mind. You'll get over it. And you are wrong as I've never signed a timeshare contract in my life, and never will. It's a small but significant point I am sure you will make an effort to overlook.