Timeshare Industry In Spain Set To Collapse

Online, June 13, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Timeshare Industry in Spain Set To Collapse.

A new court ruling in Spain on the 27 of May 2010 is set to see an avalanche of timeshare compensation claims against developers, the ruling can now be used by European timeshare owners to seek compensation from illegal contracts signed after 1996 In Spain and its territories.

It is now thought that up to 400,000 contracts were made illegally after 1996, industry experts believe that timeshare compensation claims could reach 2,000,000,000 (Billion) Euro.

Magistrate D. Juan Carlos Socorro Marrero has ruled that a timeshare developer in Gran Canaria must pay back double the amount of the timeshare deposit taken within the cooling off period. In a case brought against Anfi Sales SL, part of the Anfi Del Mar Group in Gran Canaria the Magistrate commented" The case of paying an advance instalment is in opposition to what is dictated in the law 42/1998, article 11, the second section of this mentioned rule permits the acquirer "at any time" to get back double the stated amount."

Anfi Del Mar reportedly one of the most largest and luxurious timeshare developments in Europe is now set for up to 10,000 new claims for timeshare miss-selling under the 1994 European timeshare directive. Anfi Del Mar, built by the Ling Group in Gran Canaria in 1989 and once owned by the largest travel agent in the world "TUI" is said to be in a state of panic at this ruling. "TUI" who own and operate several of the best known UK high street tour operators including Thomson were also responsible for taking illegal timeshare deposits at Anfi from 2001 to 2004.

At present there are over 200 live claims for timeshare miss-selling against Anfi Del Mar in the Spanish court system and with fresh claims coming in at a rate of 10 a week before this ruling, it is not known what affect this will have on the stability of Anfi Del Mar.

Under Spanish law, even if a property is sold on all debts and encumberments are passed to the new owners, so even if a timeshare property has changed its ownership, the new owners will still be liable for new compensation claims.

However in Tenerife in the last two years a number of timeshare developments have already been repossessed by the unscrupulous developers by way of inflating yearly maintenance fees, once seized they split the apartments up and sell on as real estate, this then circumvents this ruling, it is widely thought within the industry up to 200 developers operating out of Spain, Canaries and the Balearics are already moving to sell off timeshare resorts that have or will have actions brought against them.

Five out of the top 10 timeshare developers in Europe including Brand name companies have taken illegal deposits during the cooling off period and some as late as 2009 were still selling illegal contracts. In contracts shown to Claims Directive this year, one developer based in Mallorca, Spain is still taking illegal deposits even after this was outlawed in a 1994 European timeshare directive, that Spain adopted in 1996. The European timeshare industry does have a regulatory body, however 4 of its paid members are developers that have broken these laws previously, and until the regulatory body in place condemns these actions committed by their own members, there will not be a fair regulatory body representing timeshare owners in Europe.

Claims Directive and its sponsor believe that this new ruling gives power back to the timeshare owner, and because this ruling can be back dated on claims to 1996, it will give timeshare compensation to owners who never before had a chance of taking on large corporate brand developers.

If you have paid a timeshare deposit on or during the cooling off period after 1996, in Spain or its islands, you are now entitled to reclaim double your deposit, even if the company you purchased from is no longer trading, as long as the timeshare development still exists.