Timeshare and National timeshare helpline advice please

lisa_2023

Last message. 

Nan does not believe the facts of timeshare inheritance. Doesn’t believe they have T&Cs. And saying it can’t be transferred into family members eg my Daughters name. She hasn’t got a clue. Refused to take Daughter off Will. 

It’s like talking to a brick wall. 

Up the creek without a paddle. 

She will be stuck with it until 2069. 

Would be nice to hear from other Seasons members to see what options they have.
Someone has told me Seaaons members need to get together to discuss things. 

elsien

if you are on Facebook, there is a Facebook owners group that might be worth joining to ask some questions. it’s a private group so you can’t tell what they discuss until you are a member. 

lisa_2023

Aww thank you 🙏 

Integritymatters

Hi Lisa, I can explian the situation. Firstly the Seasons Holidays timeshare products. The 2029 contract will be the original product purchased. In 2009, Seasons started selling the 'Fractional' Keys products and has persuaded  many of the original 2029 contract holders to 'trade-in' their 2069 for the Keys contract, which as you say, has a term of 16 years. There are hundreds of people challenging the legitimacy of the Seasons Keys contracts in several ways, including complaints to authorities and filing court claims. In terms of it being a potential liability in an estate, this isn't so. It could be left in a will, but doesn't have to be, and there is no ongoing debt issue with the Keys product, so no liability. At the end of the contract term the legal owner is given a choice to accept a sum as their share of any sale of the property said to be underpinning the contract, or take another 16 years of 'free holidays'. As I said, there are claims being filed alleging that Seasons hasn't complied with the terms and promises of these contracts, but what I can definitely state is that there is no ongoing liability or payments to be made - no debt. Regarding the amount you say has been paid to National Timeshare Helpline, which is a trading name of Mercantile Claims Management Solutions Ltd., I would need to know more, including evaluating the contract ' agreement to ascertain what has occurred. I believe you can direct message me if you prefer.

Nebulous2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81855994#Comment_81855994

I'm sure you know considerably more about this than I do - but here's a webpage from another firm offering to help people extricate themselves from Seasons.

SEASONS HOLIDAYS HELP

What this page appears to be saying is that - while in theory you can ask them to sell up, get your share of the proceeds and leave, in practice that doesn't happen because they can take years to sell, and while you wait you will have to pay maintenance fees.

I'm certainly not promoting getting another company involved for the OPs daughter, and building up further fees for no success.

I posted earlier in the thread, suggesting that the OP try to remove the emotion and provide a timeline of what actually happened. She has provided a timeline, but there are still a lot of details missing, such as what did the National Timeshare helpline take the money for? What did they tell her when they said they were unsuccessful?

While she's very upset at her mother-in-laws behaviour, we are getting the information second or third hand and we don't know what the Grandmother actually wants. She has recently come through a bereavement, may not have dealt with the family finances, and may well be burying her head in the sand about any costs / liabilities attached to this. Getting annoyed at her may mean her simply digging in and pretending it isn't happening because it's too difficult, rather than forcing her to deal with it.

It's a mess, and clearly the OP doesn't need the stress at a difficult time in her own life, but trying to step back, work out what each party wants and planning how to move forward - or agree to park it until a better time for everyone - would be a possible route ahead.

doodling

Hi,

There is no way that your daughter can get stuck with her Nan's timeshare no matter what Nan's will says, providing that neither of you choose to execute her will when Nan dies or choose to accept a bequest including the timeshare. That is a choice thst can be made at the time when the full picture is clearer, not now. Forget about the will, it can't hurt you or your daughter.

Integritymatters

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81856135#Comment_81856135

I have contributed to the information on that page and on a Facebook group on this topic, which has nearly 1,000 members. It's true that Seasons did previously say that Keys purchasers will have to pay ongoing fees during what they describe as the 'sales period, but Seasons has had to withdraw that statement, as there was no legal basis they could charge such fees - the product documentation clearly states there are no fees payable once the large upfront payment has been made, so that 'threat' no longer exists. They can indeed 'park it' and wait until the contract concludes in 2028 to see what Seasons offers them, which should be Option 1 - a share of the proceeds of sale, or Option 2 - a 16-year extension. Both options are now the subject of contentious claims against Seasons, but of course, the OP and her family are not obliged to take similar actions. What I can categorically say is that there is no ongoing liability, so hopefully this will reassure the family, ease their fears, and reduce the friction.

I agree that the situation regarding National Timeshare Helpline needs clarification. The company is FCA-regulated as a Claims Management Company (CMC), but normally claims are on a no-win, no fee basis, so it would need to be determined what service has been provided - and indeed verified that it is actually this company that has charged the £5,000 (there are substantial problems with 'clone companies' in the CMC / FCA-regulated sector. I suggest that the OP contacts the company by email -

info@National -timeshare-helpline.org.uk, and asks the director of the company featured on the website about page to investigate and provide clarification.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81855531#Comment_81855531

What exactly does the will say your daughter inherits?

doodling

Hi,

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81856572#Comment_81856572

That doesn't matter. The choices when Nan passes away will be (a) if I am named as an executor, do I execute the estate? and (b) if I am named as a beneficiary do I want what is bequeathed to me?

Both of those are choices to be made at the time. If, I was bequeathed just a timeshare then I wouldn't accept it. If I was bequeathed a timeshare and a £100k house then I would investigate what the timeshare company would want to terminate the timeshare agreement and if that was less than £50k then I'd probably take it - even after costs I'd be £40k up.

It should be noted that until the timeshare is sorted, it is unlikely that any beneficiaries could be paid anything as the timeshare will represent a debt owed by the estate of an unknown size (i.e. the cost of getting rid of it). The OP does need to make sure that they or their daughter don't yield to pressure from the executor into accepting the timeshare after Nan has died so that the executor can finalise the estate but that is a simple exercise in saying 'no'.

The two paragraphs above are premature of course - Nan might go into care and there may be no house. If there was just the timeshare and there were ongoing costs associated with it then it is possible that her estate would be insolvent and the answer then would be for the executor and beneficiaries to just walk away.

elsien

@Integritymatters just for the sake of clarity are you, or are you associated with, one of the no window, no fee companies you mention.

when you DM the OP will you be promoting a paid service at some point?