Claiming timeshare compensation: It's more straightforward than you think

Have you been putting off claiming compensation for a mis-sold timeshare? Maybe you agree that claiming is the right thing to do, but are wary of the potential hassle involved.

If so, read on. The landscape has changed.

What hassle?

Concerns that discourage some would be claimants have traditionally been:

• The potential amount of time the process may take
• Not knowing who to trust with their claim
• Being unsure of the realistic chances of success
• The potential amount of input that may be required

Muddy waters

The first thing to understand is that the above 4 concerns have always been greatly exaggerated by timeshare lobby groups/spokespeople like RDO and KwikChex. The timeshare industry would like to influence you against claiming altogether of course. Every successful award outcome costs them money. So much money that the timeshare industry in Europe has been brought to its knees.

Timeshare operators consistently broke the law for decades to make huge profits at their customers' expense, and now they are being made to pay that money back.

The financially besieged remaining resorts don't need to convince you that claiming against them is wrong, they just need to sow doubt in your mind.

People who are unsure about a potential new course of action will generally opt to stay as they are, even if their current situation is harmful to them. They stick with 'the devil they know.'

The good news is that the claims process, never particularly difficult (with professional help), is getting easier all the time.

Speeding up

A capable and transparent timeshare claims firm will warn you that a compensation case can sometimes take 12 to 18 months to process.

Most of this time is due to legal delay tactics that used to be the standard playbook for timeshare companies. However, since the appearance of dedicated claims firms like European Consumer Claims (ECC) and their associated legal partners at M1 Legal, those tactics are being used less and less.

At one time, when individuals were attempting to claim compensation by themselves the timeshare companies knew that if they dragged the process out long enough, even the most determined claimant would throw in the towel.

Experienced claims lawyers like those at M1 Legal do not capitulate. They stay the course, knowing the weakness of the timeshare companies' position, and that eventually the other side will run out of excuses.

Because of the shift in the commitment of their opposition, it now makes more sense for the timeshare legal teams to avoid the drawn out and expensive challenges.

Cases are being settled in shorter and shorter time frames. These Marriott Clients received €85,000 and €40,000 awards in a matter of weeks.

Finding an honest firm

Just research, right?

Well yes.... and no. The timeshare industry pays a lot of money to the lobby groups listed above to poison your search results and steer you away from claiming, so you can't trust every site you come across.

The most reliable indicators to identify a trustworthy claims firm are:

• What are their customer reviews like on the biggest public review sites? (Google these for ECC. There are several.)
• Do they encourage and post video reviews from clients? These allow you to watch and judge the authenticity of the people speaking. Here is ECC's video review page.
• Do they post referenceable victories on website? Here is ECC's victory page.
• Do they have physical offices and are they happy for you to visit them, either in person or on a videocall? ECC's office locations
• What security measures are in place for doing business with them? Do they have a trading address in your country and do they allow you the protection of paying by credit card? ECC ticks both boxes ✓.
• What do independent timeshare consumer associations say about them? There are several such organisations who will give you free, unbiased advice.

There are independent, third party websites to dedicated to helping guide you through assessing trustworthy companies. One excellent site is here.

Chances of success

Given certain criteria, the chances are high. Very high.

For those people that pass the initial consultation interview, the official success rate is 98.6%. Bear in mind that the tiny amount of failed cases happened years ago, when the claims industry was in its infancy.

ECC assess your claim for free via a no-obligation, confidential consultation. If you don't have a claim they will tell you (saving you from being scammed by fraudulent operators in the future). If you do have a claim, and only if it is rock solid, they will pass your case to M1 Legal provided you want to move forward.

"At ECC our profit comes from winning cases," says Andrew Cooper, CEO of ECC. "If our team are confident enough to take your case, you can be confident in the outcome."

Everything handled by the experts

ECC and M1 Legal will manage the entire process themselves on your behalf. That way you know it will be done quickly, efficiently and with the avoidance of errors.

What ECC does need from each successful applicant is certain information about your membership. There is a special team who help you locate and identify this information. They have been doing it for 7 years, and are extremely efficient and resourceful.

After that, M1's lawyers do the rest. You will be updated at every stage, and can check on your case progress via a private online 'client portal' to which you are given your password when your case is accepted.

At this point, all you have left to do is sit back and wait for the award.

Get started

The crucial part of any claim is finding out if you qualify. For a free consultation, get in touch with our team to arrange an assessment consultation.