Consumers warned over holiday club scams

BOGUS holiday clubs are operating out of Ireland promising free holidays over the phone in a bid to con people out of money, a consumer watchdog has warned.

The European Consumers Centre issued the warning after a number of people attended presentations in Dublin during the last number of weeks by companies promising them luxury holidays in exotic locations if they signed up immediately for a fee of up to €7,000.

According to ECC Dublin manager Tina Leonard, all holiday clubs should be avoided as they never deliver on their promises and end up conning people out of a lot of money.

In one such scam operating in Ireland, the holiday club phones up someone’s house, asks them to take part in a holiday survey and then tells them they have won a luxury holiday for two. The only snag is they have to come to Dublin to collect it and attend a presentation.

While the person on the phone promises there will be no pressure to buy any of the goods on offer, once at the presentation aggressive and highly persuasive selling techniques are employed. One couple who attended a presentation said the company is planning to give them in every major urban centre in Ireland.

The couple became suspicious when they went home and told their son. They looked the company up on the internet and then contacted the ECC. They are hoping the credit card company will return the €2,000 sign-up fee they paid out but there is no guarantee because the couple authorised the initial transaction.

Ms Leonard said: “We warn consumers to avoid holiday clubs. Police are conducting ongoing criminal investigations into many of these companies.

“Holiday clubs are similar to timeshare but while timeshares are covered by EU legislation, holiday clubs are not regulated and therefore offer no protection to their members. “If you don’t want to waste your money think very carefully before becoming a member of any holiday club.”

Many Irish consumers have already been conned into joining holiday clubs while on holidays mainly in Spain and Portugal, but this is one of the first times the fraudsters have directly operated out of Ireland.

The ECC has received more than 400 queries about holiday clubs this year and is actively pursing in excess of 100 cases. Conservative estimates put the total losses this year to Irish consumers at more than €500,000.

Complaints made against these clubs range from not getting what was promised, to intimidation during presentations. On average, members lose €7,000 each with one couple getting stung this year for more than €30,000. Ms Leonard said there is usually little chance of getting compensation.

Some 40 people in Spain have been jailed this year and their offices raided in an international bid to clamp down on these fraudsters. More than 40,000 contracts were retrieved from their computers.

Holiday clubs are being investigated in Europe for assault, fraud, extortion, blackmail, grievous bodily harm, bribery of police officials and money laundering. The full list of companies under investigation is on the ECC website at www.eccdublin.ie.

The European Consumer Centre can be contacted at 01 8090600 or [e-mail]