Pair borrowed £11,000 to join timeshare club

ONE couple whose case has been taken up by the Exeter Time Share Steering Group are Pamela and Stephen Tasker, from Exwick, Exeter.

They bought 60 points in a holiday club through St Frances Marketing, trading as Buena Viva Promotions, after attending a presentation at Brendon House, Marsh Barton, in October 2007.

The total cost was £10,995, paid for by way of a loan from a finance company. To help cover interest payments on the loan, Buena Viva said it would pay the couple £100 a month for the first 10 months of their membership.

Pamela and Stephen, 57, were initially unwilling to sign up because they already owned a timeshare in a narrow boat, which they were happy with.

Pamela, 52, who works at Specsavers in Exeter, claimed: "At this point the salesman proceeded to offer that they would purchase our timeshare from us for the full cost of what we paid — £7,500 — which we could offset against the £10,995 loan for their points.

"We asked if we could think about it for a while, and were told no, we had to decide there and then. Based on their offer to purchase our timeshare, this induced us to proceed with the purchase of the points system and we signed the contract. He said he would sort out the paperwork for our narrow boat later, but we have never received it."

They also claim sales staff at the presentation repeatedly confirmed the product was not a timeshare, but a holiday club.

In April last year, the couple took up an offer from the company of a week's free accommodation at a resort in Malaga.

During their stay they were invited to a meeting with a representative to give their views about the holiday.

"This turned out to be another sales pitch, and she confirmed we had indeed purchased timeshare and we ought to upgrade the product by spending another £6,000 to receive further benefits," said Pamela.

"After this meeting we felt very misled by the original sales meeting."

Back at home, the couple found a number of complaints about the company on the Holiday Watchdog website.

When they contacted Buena Viva, they were told the company had no record of a part exchange offer on their canal boat timeshare, which was not mentioned on the purchase agreement they signed on the day of the presentation.

"This is when we asked to cancel our contract on the grounds of misrepresentation, and so far they have refused to do so," said Pamela.

With the dispute ongoing, they have refused to make any repayments on the loan, which with accrued interest now stands at £13,500, and face the prospect of being taken to court by the finance company. "It's very stressful," said Pamela. "I have lost sleep over this."