I’m new to this - Is this call a scam?

Jenjenyeahyeah · 12 April 2018 at 2:34PM

Hi all! I’ve only been coming a few weeks, today I got a phone call from 01908 041 550 a company called CLC World I think she said. She said I’d filled out a survey via InStyle (I could have I don’t remember) and that is won a holiday excluding flights to Tenerife or costa del sol. Then she confirmed my details (she had my details I didn’t give her anything) the she said she would transfer me to someone else to discuss in more detail - hold music played for 30 seconds then it disconnected.
I’m assuming it’s a scam or something dodgy - but wanted to ask if anyone has heard of them or received calls from them. Thanks guys!

sleepyjones · 12 April 2018 at 2:39PM

InStyle is one of the Mag Dailies, I believe.
A quick Google of the number brings :

https://www.shouldianswer.co.uk/phone-number/01908041550

Which kinda looks like spam ... be sure to check the "Do not contact me" boxes or uncheck them (depending on the wording).

I don't do the Mag Dailies so can't really comment with any authority.

TadleyBaggie · 12 April 2018 at 2:42PM

CLC world peddle timeshares or as they now call them "fractional ownerships". They are just trying to get you to take the holiday so they can pressure you into buying. Maybe not a scam but this type of ownership is not for everyone.

Jenjenyeahyeah · 12 April 2018 at 2:43PM

I thought it sounded a bit weird - it!!!8217;s just that she actually said that I had won a holiday - I know I!!!8217;m being optimistic- and I don!!!8217;t want to be silly by getting all excited thinking I!!!8217;ve won something when I!!!8217;m just getting duped! Which is why I thought I!!!8217;d check here first. It!!!8217;s a number local-ish to me and when calling it back just has a recorded message saying to leave a message but then goes dead and so wouldn!!!8217;t allow you to leave a message. And their website doesn!!!8217;t seem to have any contact details that I can find which is a bit weird.
Shame. I got excited for about a millisecond!

One-Eye · 12 April 2018 at 2:44PM

CLC World Resorts & Hotels is a trading name of the promoter: Club La Costa (UK) Plc.

Please note that we may contact you with (timeshare) holiday offers, which are entirely separate from the Prize Draw and that those offers are subject to attending a presentation.

CLC/Club La Costa are on the SPAM list - tell them you have no money and to remove you from their marketing list.

Jenjenyeahyeah · 12 April 2018 at 2:58PM

The person I spoke to didn!!!8217;t mention the word timeshare at all, only said that I!!!8217;d won a holiday (I know I know I!!!8217;m still keeping a bit of hope that I!!!8217;ve really actually won a holiday!). Well they haven!!!8217;t called me back or emailed me, so I guess they!!!8217;re not trying that hard to get hold of me so guess I!!!8217;m going to have to give up the dream lol!

LILLYB · 15 April 2018 at 7:41AM

Hi,
I can tell you that CLC are real, they contact you saying congratulations your one of a few selected and you've won a holiday, you may have been asked to go on your computer, they will send you an email, tell you to look at CLC and trip adviser to confirm its legit. They then tell you they have a new premises unveiling and as you have been selected, you will be required to collect your winning tickets, this will take 50 minutes and you will be staying in a hotel overnight all paid for, what they require is £90 deposit, incase you don't turn up, you get this back once you've attended.

Now, it's not 50 minutes, it's a good 2-4 hours, depending how gullible you are. The more you openly tell them about your life, the more they talk as if they are your friend and you need this holiday. They then show you a film 2 mins and it boring. They take you back to the table and ask would you rather pay this amount for this luxury accommodation or this pokey bed sit, obviously you say luxury. They then tell you that you can have it at a fraction of a price, you get a few holidays abroad, destination your choice Costa Delhi Solihull or Tenerife, so many weekend holidays all in the price, before you know it there you are filling out paperwork and congratulations you are a member of the club your credit has gone through, your now signed up!!!
Now, you can't take it in, you have to take your free holiday where they say, mmmmmm they giving you luxury, but that won't be the case when you want to book more. While there you will go through the talk again if you've not signed up. You could be offered a trial THREE YEARS! But only if you sign today, it won't be offered again, now the pressure is on.
If you've signed, got a few thousand on credit to pay, you go home. You then read every thing and find they never told you that you also pay £400 a year for fees.

You have to pay for food and your own flights. If this suits then all is well, but you can book a nice holiday just the same if you save. Be realistic, can you pay for it monthly, plus pay for flights and food, plus as many weekends away as you want ( you have to pay a small fee for these, you read this when you get home)

Hope it's helped.

Dassiekins · 15 April 2018 at 2:24PM

Horrible company....made the mistake of letting them get my phone number once and they bombarded me with calls for weeks. Sorry.

All the genuine wins I've had have either arrived unexpectedly in the mail (including a cheque for £250, and £600 of cinema vouchers) or I've had a nice email in advance....

Lots of luck for a real win soon x

Jenjenyeahyeah · 18 April 2018 at 7:56PM

Thanks all for your replies. I did a lot of a reading about them and although yeah it seems like there is a way to get a free hotel/villa stay it just doesn!!!8217;t seem worth it with all the admin fees you have to pay (if I win a holiday I want to win t he whole thing and not have to pay admin and processing fees - dodgy!!). And I really wouldn!!!8217;t want to go through the whole hard sell dance with them to get the travel voucher and then once on our holidays. Nope nope!

LILLYB · 19 April 2018 at 10:37AM

I went through it, hard sell, but they state they don't. Seemed good, so I signed for what they call a 3 year trial. I was reading the details before I signed ' don't bother reading as such and such is going to go through it all with you now,' then he announced your credit has gone through your next payment is..... Wowwwwww Who said get the credit now? So off we went in another room,no, did not go through the contract, so I just wanted out of there. A biscuit and a cup of tea and endured 4 hours, supposed to be 50 mins, so yes hard sell. We arrived home, the next day I read you cannot travel the world on a 3 year trial, just Tenerife or Costa Delhi Solihull, you can only have weekends away at 1 location and we can book it for £250 what? So they don't say that, they tell you two two week breaks abroad and as many weekends as you want in the UK as long as they are available, they don't actually say its Not in the price. So you don't get every thing unless you sign up for 19 years and you have to pay it over 10 years. If you go with another agency you pay them £250 on top, then administration fees, your flights, supplements, collect from and to the airport, so I looked at other holidays for the time I wanted to go all inclusive for 4 flights, airport collection and return £425 each for ELEVEN Days. So we withdrew from the contract with in the 14 days, cancelled the credit they set up with a finance company. We have all copies of letters, phone calls and proof of sending mail tracked and signed for.
So not worth being in the same complex twice a year for 3 years. They say you have a choice of places to stay, have a look on Google earth, all are next to each other, joined on the same site, they are all residential too.

Jojo_ma · 20 October 2018 at 5:52PM

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. I’ve just had a horrible first encounter with these people today. My bad for not doing enough research and really thinking I have won a one week holiday plus £50 voucher all for joining a raffle draw at the cake and bake show.

They say they will only take 90 minutes of my time for a talk at their newly opened Regent Street branch; but it took more than that. By the 90 minute mark, I was so furious, my partner and I walked out without anything.

I was trying to tell them to give me all the costs involved and they kept on comparing our past holiday expenses with their packages which only include the annual service fee of around £700. However there’s also this membership fee (I think £150++ per month?) and you have to pay with (probably exorbitant) interest rates for 7-8 years - I had to juice this out from them in the middle of their pitch and they wouldn’t give the actual value until they finish their sales pitch. Not to mention that their resorts are in the middle of nowhere so you’d have to take a 30-minute taxi ride. Then you have to pay for food at their expensive restaurants - again, the resort is in the middle of nowhere so you can’t just buy your groceries and cook, or go to town and get some decent local food. They were trying to hide the real cost of their scheme by mentioning it only at the very last minute so you’ll second guess yourself that actually this is worth paying for.

In the end my partner and I walked out while everyone else were still going on with their sales pitches.

I’m new to this - Is this call a scam?

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