No such thing as a free ride with club scammers
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On reading last week's Smart Consumer about Holiday Clubs, Pat got in touch saying: "Your outline of the facts was exactly as we experienced".
While on holiday in Gran Canaria, Pat and his wife were approached by a man and given a scratch card. His wife "won" one of three items: €600, a holiday or a camcorder. Pat writes that "the seller organised a taxi for us to go to a place for a presentation where we would collect our prize.
"We opted for the cash as recommended by the rep. When we arrived at the new location we were taken upstairs and told we would have to wait 90 minutes for a presentation and then we could complete the transaction. We were dubious all through the occasion but went along as it was not costing us anything to this point.
"When the rep told us we could only opt for the holiday and not the cash we put an end to things and asked that we be returned to where we had been. A taxi was organised for us and paid for and we actually were returned to our hotel on request."
Pat says that they were considering the offer and would appreciate Smart Consumer's opinion.
Tina replies:
Pat, I think you and your wife were very wise to leave the presentation when you did as rest assured you would not have got anything for free and could potentially have spent a lot of money on very little. Scratch cards are used to lure you to a presentation where you realise you must in fact pay for part of your "free" holiday, with onerous terms and conditions.
You also sent in a brochure you were given and this made for interesting reading. The most obvious thing is that the information says this is only open to UK residents!
It appears that the offer is for one week's accommodation plus flight vouchers to the value of £140 per couple for flights leaving UK airports only. You have to pay a "processing fee" of £70 and then you will be sent a form that you have to return within 14 days.
Then, they say that within 18 months you will receive notification of a date, UK departure airport and the resort between 60 to 15 days prior to the departure date. You then have just 36 hours to confirm.
If that isn't complicated enough, a closer look at the terms and conditions reveal that you must be a home-owner, married or co-habiting for at least three years, with a stated minimum income and a credit card. Why you need to have all of this becomes clear when the terms say on arrival at your holiday destination you are "required to take a hospitality tour" but that you do not have to buy anything.
If you ever finally got to go on the holiday offered, the hospitality tour is what all this rigmarole was for. This is when you would be subject to the hard sell to join a Holiday Club or a Timeshare scheme.
Q Ann got in touch with Smart Consumer about a very different issue. She recently underwent hypnosis in an effort to stop smoking but it didn't work. She writes "the hypnotist offers a life-time guarantee but the guarantee is only to return to be hypnotised again and not a refund of my money.
"Can you please advise me of my rights concerning this situation? Can I demand a refund?"
A Firstly, well done in your efforts to quit smoking and I am sorry the hypnosis didn't work.
I'm afraid this isn't a straightforward situation though. The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 merely says that the supplier of the service should have the necessary skill and states that services have to be provided with due skill, care and diligence, but that's that.
However, the Consumer Protection Act 2007 goes a little bit further when referring to false, misleading or deceptive information, and in particular to the existence or nature of a service, its benefits or fitness for the purpose, the results to be expected from it and also the extent of the trader's commitments. In other words, what claims did the hypnotist make to you? Did he guarantee that you would give up smoking and if so how did he back up this claim?
I suggest you contact the National Consumer Agency (1890 432 432 / 01 402 5555) with detailed information and ask for advice on whether they think you were misled and can seek a refund. You could also try taking a small claims action against the hypnotist for the non-refundable fee of €15.
- Tina Leonard
