Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Alex Norris (Labour) on Friday, 16 February 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 20 February 2024. It was answered by Bim Afolami (Conservative) on Monday, 26 February 2024 on behalf of the Treasury.

Timesharing: Misrepresentation

Question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has taken steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure compensation payments to consumers who were missold timeshares are delivered in a timely manner.

Answer

The regulations surrounding the sale of timeshares and credit agreements relating to timeshares provide routes of redress where consumers have been misled.

Firstly, it is an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 for traders to mislead consumers, and it is punishable by a fine up to the statutory maximum enforced by local authority Trading Standards. The regulations provide for the consumer to seek redress through the courts where they have been misled.

Regarding the timeshare market specifically, the Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Regulations 2010 provide protections for consumers buying and selling timeshares and other long-term “holiday club” memberships, including provision for consumers to withdraw from their contract.

In cases where a consumer took out a regulated financial product to purchase the timeshare, they may be able to make a compensation claim to the loan provider and may have recourse to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook, which sets out the rules on how the FOS should handle complaints, states that ‘the ombudsman will attempt to resolve complaints at the earliest possible stage’. Ensuring timely outcomes is one of the FOS’s main priorities for 2024-25 and it has set itself the target of resolving 90 per cent of cases within 5 months.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
14271
Session
2023-24
Subjects
Compensation Misrepresentation Timesharing
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk