If you ever have a question about a company related to timeshare matters, please save yourself time, aggravation and money by calling a trusted source such as Timeshare Insights, Mindtimeshare,, TATOC and/or The National Timeshare Owners Association before moving forward.
Often ‘dubious’ companies targeting timeshare owners
are presented under a simple trade name, a website with a phone number and a
virtual address.
It
is obvious that what behind this lack of transparency there is an obvious
objective.
We
would like to point out the ‘minimum’ information that a company has to provide
to its potential clients.
Whether
a business is trading online or not, it is almost certainly affected by the
E-Commerce Regulations which came into force in the UK in 2002. They cover more
than just e-commerce.
The Regulations, properly
called the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002,
implement the EU’s Electronic Commerce Directive 2000into UK law. The
Directive was introduced to clarify and harmonise the rules of online business
throughout Europe with the aim of boosting consumer confidence. The Directive
was passed in June 2000.
Service
providers, whether involved in e-commerce or not, should provide the following
minimum information, which must be easily, directly and permanently accessible:
§ the name of the service provider must be
given somewhere easily accessible on the site. This might differ from the
trading name and any such difference should be explained – e.g. “XYZ.com is the trading name of XYZ Enterprises Limited”;
§ the geographic address of the service
provider must be given;
§ the details of the service provider including his or
her email address, so long as it allows rapid contact and direct and
effective communication. A ‘contact us’ form without also providing
an email address in not sufficient;
§ details of a register, including any registration
number, should be provided;
§ if the business is a member of a trade or similar
register available to the public, confirmation of that. For example, if a
company, the company’s registration number should be given;
§ the particulars of the relevant supervisory authority
if the services are subject to an authorisation scheme;
§ details of any professional body or similar institution
with which the service provider is registered, his or her professional title
and the Member State where that title has been granted besides reference to the
applicable professional rules where the service provider exercises
a regulated profession;
§ a VAT number, if a business has one should be
stated – even if the website is not being used for e-commerce transactions; and
§ prices on the website must be clear and unambiguous
and, in particular, state whether prices are inclusive of tax and delivery
costs.
Finally,
do not forget the overlapping information requirements of other laws:
§ The Distance Selling Regulations contain various
information requirements for businesses that sell to consumers over the web.
For details of these requirements, see our guide, The UK’s Distance Selling
Regulations.
§ If the service provider is a company, the Companies Act
2006 requires that the place of registration should be stated (e.g.
“XYZ Enterprises Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with
company number 1234567″).
Then,
beware of a company that cold calls you and does not meet with these
requirements.
Customer
Care – Mindtimeshare
