TONY HETHERINGTON: My Hell of Being in a Timeshare Trap – Even If I Die

Mrs EC writes: I am 71 years old and feel that I have trapped myself and my descendants in an eternal hell. Since 1999 I have owned a one week timeshare at Cameron House on Loch Lomond. I am responsible for paying the exorbitant annual unaffordable management fees, currently £988 plus VATThe electricity cost for my six day stay was £484. When I asked about this I was told that some timeshare owners charged £650.

Even if I die, management or their collection agencies will make their demands on my family.

Tony Hetherington responds: When timeshares were popular, their big selling point was that owners didn’t have to pay a fortune to take the whole family on vacation. Instead, there would be a modest annual fee to maintain their apartment or, as Cameron House calls it, their lodge. They could even rent out their weeks or sell them to a new owner.

How times change. These days, owners can barely give away their timeshare, let alone sell it. And if they do find a buyer, the timeshare company can veto any transfer of ownership if they suspect the new owner can’t afford the annual fees.

The timeshare company Cameron House is owned by the Americans, but the boss on the ground is Allan Reich, who has some 40 years of experience in the Scottish hotel sector. I asked him to explain his company’s ‘perpetuity’ contracts.

Timeshare buyers may have interpreted this to mean that they owned their timeshare forever, rather than for a set number of years. But it appears that the company understands this to mean that even when an owner dies, annual fees can still be claimed, year after year, which means that executors can never pay out legacies to families, friends or charities until the estate is fully depleted. The only option is to hope that the company will accept an immediate lump sum, thus reducing legacies rather than erasing them entirely.

Reich didn’t respond, and neither did the PR firm he hired to respond to me. I asked if the company had sued owners who could no longer afford the high annual fees, and if so, how many owners had ended up in court.

I was told that this had been explained to the owners in a document that I had not seen, at a meeting to which I was of course not invited. In other words, it was an answer, but not an answer.

I repeatedly asked if it was true that owners who wanted to quit were told they had to pay a lump sum equal to four years of fees to buy their way out. Again, no answer. I kept pressing to find out if timeshare owners were free to sell to whomever they wanted. This time I got two answers. I was told, “Owners can sell their week privately or through a timeshare resale agent if they wish, with no restrictions from us on the price they can accept.”

Unfortunately, I also received confirmation that buyers are screened, with Cameron House admitting that ‘we carry out checks before we complete a sale’. This is contrary to the original timeshare sales material which assures buyers: ‘Like any other property, you can rent it, sell it, give it away or leave it to your heirs.’ There is no mention of a 100 per cent veto power giving the company complete control. Mis-selling perhaps?

Now the electricity bill. After your recent visit you were told that the meter had been read and that £484 had been debited from your credit card. You protested and the bill was reduced to £333, with the difference refunded. All you were told was that the meter had been ‘misread’. Perhaps it was, but £333 for a week’s electricity is still staggering!

Timeshare scandals were common 30 or 40 years ago. Most people wouldn’t touch a timeshare with a bargepole today. But unfortunately, owners are trapped ‘forever’. Do our politicians understand this?

Well, two years ago the House of Commons Library produced a research paper for MPs on timeshares. It highlighted that perpetual contracts mean that ‘after the death of the timeshare owner, their estate remains liable for the management costs’.

Since then, it has been quiet. When will MPs put an end to Cameron House’s unjust timeshares, with their potential for tragic consequences for families? I won’t hold my breath.

My husband passed away and had £93 left on his Amazon account. Can the money be transferred to me?

Mrs CC writes: My husband has passed away. He bought Kindle books on Amazon and his account has £93 in credit. I asked if I could use this to buy a gift card but Amazon says I have to buy goods I don’t actually need. Hours of chatting to customer service has yielded nothing. How is it possible that Amazon has no way of transferring the money to my account or allowing the purchase of a gift card?

Tony Hetherington responds: I think the problem was that you originally asked for the £93 to be transferred to a gift card. Due to the risk of online scams or false claims on behalf of a deceased estate, Amazon may be reluctant to transfer gift card funds. They also know that it can be inconvenient to ask the family to do a lot of paperwork at a difficult time.

That said, my contact at Amazon could not have been more helpful. Your husband’s account balance has now been fully transferred to your own Amazon account, ready for you to spend as you wish. The company told me, “We are deeply sorry for Mrs. C. When a loved one or immediate family member passes away, our Bereavement Support team is here to help, and in this case we have made an exception to transfer gift card funds without additional documentation.”

• If you believe you have been a victim of financial misconduct, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the volume of enquiries, we are unable to provide personal responses. Please only send copies of original documents, which we regret we cannot return.