After an 18 month investigation into timeshare practices in South Africa, the National Consumer Commission has released its report, containing their recommendations for what they call ‘a broken industry.’
Here’s a link to an article which sums up the investigation. It’s well worth your time:
Among the recommendations:
The practice of enticing or seducing consumers through purported freebies e.g. holiday vouchers, motor vehicles, free flights and similar items should be discontinued
All presentations made to consumers in the course of marketing should be recorded (visual/audio) and copies be kept and archived, in accordance with the Archives Act
The practice of requiring consumers to bring along credit cards to venues for marketing presentations should be outlawed and discontinued
The practice of inducing consumers into signing contracts under pressure, using ‘offers are valid for only today’ type threats should be discontinued
At the point of sale, the seller should provide a clear and concise statement as part of its standard disclosures of the points’ value and the calculation behind it
In instances where a consumer could not secure holiday accommodation during any year, the consumer should pay a reduced levy/management fee
A platform should be created for cashing in, exchange and resale of points
Mind you, these are only recommendations but it seems to me that someone has been paying attention to the timeshare industry’s practices quite carefully. We can only hope that someone in this country does the same. It’s long overdue.
1 comment:
Enjoying my first pass through your blog. I think the U.S. is NOT in a period of protecting consumers. Nice to hear South Africa is watching. Business and most especially Time Share Industry is very dog eat dog now in U.S.
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