Clubseasons help!

Tiger_greeneyes

I know, you don't have to tell me... all I can say in my defence is that I looked into it with a fine toothed comb and I even googled them... I didn't find anything adverse and I scraped together and paid my £250 last week. We thought that it sounded a good deal just to keep it for the first year and then let our membership lapse after that. We can't afford holidays - I can't work due to ill health.

I have spent the last few hours reading all the threads on clubseasons and I'm really confused

Some of it strikes warning bells - ie 'Carol' wasn't about when I rang them. But I wasn't given any hard sell, I was asked if I would be able to attend an open day so they could show us around - I declined as it's a long way to go for a meeting - and they were fine about it, not pushy at all.

I've looked through their paperwork and can't find anything about a cooling off period - I'm hoping they've got a 14 day period as we paid last Wednesday.

I'm really hoping that someone who has been on holiday through them and successfully cancelled their membership will reply and tell me that they've had no hassles and I'm not the plum I think I am...

Any help will be gratefully received!

elver_man

Sorry i cant offer any advice as i have not had any dealings, but i do hope it works out for you.

debsue

HiI dont know anything about them really, only what I have read on the boards and the telephone calls I have had following competition entries. My advice is to collect your paper work and go to CAB pretty quick, see if they can help you. Perhaps post on the vent boars, there may be more people there to help. Good luck.

newmum1

did you check it out as been reputable before you paid. on your paperwork does it say you have a cooling off period? are you having second thoughts??

Tiger_greeneyes

Thank you for your replies

I really did check it out as far as I thought I could but I didn't really know where to look - I googled them but if you google 'clubseasons' you don't find any adverse comments I was alerted to it a day or so ago when I posted of my competition 'win' and a couple of MSE'ers pointed me in the direction of some historic threads on the subject.

I'm now worrying as a matter of course - I've read the threads on here and I've pm'd a few MSE'ers who've posted information that might be relevant to me so I'm keeping my fingers crossed they check their pm's/don't mind me bugging them out of the blue!

I've found a website https://www.timeshare.org.uk and emailed them so I'm hoping I'll hear tomorrow - if not, I've got their phone number. There's lots of useful advice on how to cancel on their website.

I've read through the brochure I was sent in the membership pack (again) and it says that Seasons can cancel our membership if we stop paying. It seems straightforward enough but you never know until you try doing so.

I've also done a 'whois' search on the websites used by this company - they're owned by a 'non trading individual'. That rung alarm bells - any company worth their salt will employ a company to deal with the internet side of things, not a 'non trading individual'. Also, the company seems to have been going many years, but the company name seems relatively new. I'm going to check with Companies House tomorrow. There are companies who trade for an amount of time under one name and then shut down and resume trading under another - these companies generally tend not to be of the 'blue-chip' variety.

There's something called Distance Selling Regulations (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002334.htm) which should cover me.

I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. I have visions of being locked into this contract until 2069. If that's the case, or it's some other type of scam, we'll get a new debit card issued with a new 16-digit number on it so they can't take our money next year - and forget to tell them when we move next year! And chalk it up to experience, of course.

Fingers crossed for good news from somewhere...

kizzykizzywizzy

Good luck I hope it all works out for you.
We had the "free holiday" stuff through as well, luckily we found the info about them. Don't feel like a plum, if it was anything like us, they sent it recorded delivery, which does give you the idea that you've won it!

Tiger_greeneyes

Thanks Kizzy They're so genuinely believable, aren't they

I'm certainly putting it down to experience, I've de-registered from quite a few of the comping sites this morning!

I checked with Companies House - Seasons Holidays plc used to be registered as Moneycoin plc. I can't find Club Seasons plc registered at all.

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/bb1f22d64d8ee0d1cb13ef00aaf33370/compdetails

I'll be happy only when I can lapse my membership by not paying next year - with no comeback...

skintandsad

You should definately be entitled to a "cooling off" period.
I have not heard of this company, and assume it is some sort of timeshare you have entered into to?
This being the case, from the experience of one of my family members, I would say cancel, especially if pennies are tight.
Each year she had to pay a maintenance fee, which was becoming extortionate. She also had to pay for flights, and by the time she had finished paying for all the necessary things, it was an expensive holiday.
When her husband died, she decided to sell, and they demanded all sorts of fees etc, it was a nightmare. In the end I managed to help her sort it out, so that she "gave up" the timeshare in exchange for them cancelling all their fees. But she seriously lost out as she paid thousands for the timeshare in the first place.

If I have got the wrong end of the stick, I apologise.

If it is timeshare, then I agree with previous comment that you should get down to the CAB and ask for their assistance. Their services are free and they are brill :T

Good luck, please keep us updated.

Tiger_greeneyes

That sounds a nightmare, Skint. It must have been an awful time for her - I hope she's over the ordeal now. Thankfully you were there to help, I feel sorry for the people who have to deal with things like this alone.

I've contacted the company (https://www.clubseasons.co.uk) and asked if I can lapse my membership after this year and they told me it was "entirely up to you". It really doesn't seem a problem at all. I'm still hoping for someone to pop up and reassure me that they've let their membership go and haven't had any problems. Club Seasons said I could write in to cancel, so long as I do it asap. When all's said and done, if it's all as straightforward as it has been then I won't have done badly at all.

It's a shame because they have some fabulous destinations and air travel is relatively inexpensive these days. At first we were really excited, we've always wanted to go to Egypt - it would be ideal for our honeymoon because we can't afford one otherwise.

Now I just have to work out whether to cancel or be a bit brave and test the water before lapsing my membership

furndire

If you are hoping to let it lapse make sure you have it in writing and make sure you put that letter somewhere safe ~ don't just ring and rely on their reps honesty. As if they are honest, they won't be there long

skintandsad

IF it were me, I would cancel.... having searched the web, I don't know enough about this company to confirm whether or not they are trustworthy, and like I said earlier, cancelling my mother-in-laws timeshare turned out to be a complete nightmare.
Yes she had fab holidays in wonderful locations, in excellent apartments, however the fees they piled on for administration, selling the timeshare, maintenance etc were so extortionate that it really has to be "buyer beware"

And like the previous comment said, the salespeople really will tell you anything just to get the sale through. It can't be proven later, and only if you have it in writing exactly what the terms of sale are can you rely on it.

I have never heard of a timeshare company allowing people to "let it lapse", only selling them on your behalf and asking for large upfront fees.

I can only talk from my own experience, and ultimately the choice has to be yours, but the fact that I have seen loads of people claiming to have "won" this free timeshare is ringing bells with me.

If you decide to proceed I would insist on having something in writing from them confirming exactly what will happen if in twelve months time you cancel your timeshare ie. fees etc.

Hope this helps you :rolleyes:

PS. tiger - I love your signature - makes me giggle!