Keep up to date with news & views about timeshare termination, mis-selling claims and compensation payable to consumers throughout the UK. Follow us here.

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Carphone Warehouse Fined £29 million

Dixons Carphone Warehouse has been handed a £29.1 million fine from the Financial Conduct Authority for mis-selling its Geek Squad service. The FCA said Carphone Warehouse trained its staff in ‘spin selling’ its Geek Squad policy to customers who already had insurance policies in place and didn’t need it.

The FCA started its investigation after whistleblowers reported the company were forcing staff to push the insurance and technical support product onto customers. They were trained to recommend Geek Squad to customers who already had phone cover. The FCA said staff were also trained in ‘Objection Handling’ of focusing on customer … Read more

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Animal Lovers Warned Over Fraud Scheme

Future pet owners are being warned about a new online fraud that has scammed victims out of £3 Million.

Action Fraud has issued a warning that between March 2012 and April 2018, 5066 reports were made to the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre. Victims reported losing £3,129,273 during this time, an average of £40,640 per month.

Director of Action Fraud, Pauline Smith said: “Fraudsters are taking advantage of people looking for pets online, often to bring into their family. When a person falls victim to this fraud, the upset and financial loss caused can be huge and … Read more

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More Timeshare Scams From The U.S.

The Better Business Bureau in the U.S. is warning consumers about yet another timeshare scam. A woman from Texas reported to the consumer watchdog about a call she received from a timeshare resale agent based in Chicago.

The cold-caller said he was from the Continental Group, and they could sell her Mexican timeshare as they had received an offer of $53,700, however, before they could do so, they needed her to transfer funds for capital gains tax and other necessary fees to sell her timeshare. He even sent her what seemed like legitimate confirmation documents, everything was stamped and … Read more

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Notorious Timeshare Scammer Sentenced

The leader of a timeshare resale fraud scam which targeted elderly and vulnerable people, has been sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay back $3.37 million in damages. The Notorious Florida Based scammer was sentenced to 63 months in Federal prison, for defrauding more than 1,000 victims, many of whom were elderly, out of over $3.3 million.

Daniel Boyar from Orlando, Florida, ran an elaborate timeshare scam between October 2010 to April 2012. He and 20 co defendants devised and carried out a telemarketing scam to defraud more than 1,000 timeshare owners out of more than $3.3 … Read more

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New Rules For Rent To Own Shops

The Financial Conduct Authority has announced it will limit the interest that customers pay on rent-to-own products. The FCA says that all goods purchased after 1 April will be included in the price cap. Meaning the interest charged will only be as much as the cost of the product, this includes the cost of credit.

Rent-to-own shops offer people the chance to buy items they need for their home through smaller regular payments. However, once interest charges have been added, some rent-to-own consumers have ended paying more than four times the retail price they would have paid in a non … Read more

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Fraudsters Plead Guilty To Telemarketing Timeshare Scam

Two men from Florida have pleaded guilty in a telemarketing scam that cost 40 victims more than $1.5 Million. Following an investigation by the FBI, Troy Carter and David Bell have both plead guilty to a huge money laundering conspiracy, that saw victims being targeted twice. Both men face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

From 2015 to 2018, Carter and Bell concocted a ruthless scam to target timeshare owners throughout the U.S. and steal their money. They instructed staff to cold-call timeshare owners and pose as real estate agents claiming to have buyers ready to purchase … Read more

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Courts Shut Down Timeshare Scammers

Two rogue timeshare claims companies run by the same person, have been shut down by the courts for failing to deliver advertised services.

Meredith Pritchard Claims Consultants Ltd and First Law Solutions have been wound up in the public interest at the High Court in Manchester. The Official Receiver has been appointed liquidator for both companies.

The two companies, based in Chester, offered timeshare claims management services which helped clients get out of their existing timeshare contracts and pursue compensation claims against resorts.

The court heard that Meredith Pritchard Claims Consultants traded between October 2016 and August 2017, before First … Read more

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Men sentenced for selling customer data

An AXA insurance employee has been convicted of stealing customer data and selling it to a claims management company.

Shane Jerman was taking photographs of customer data and sending them via WhatsApp to his co-defendant Stuart McGill. Investigators found that Jerman was sending McGill roughly 100 lines of data to him each week. In Return, McGill was sending payments of up to £650 to Jerman.

According to The City Of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), which worked closely with AXA during the investigation, Jerman and McGill made approximately £18,250 between them.

IFED investigated McGill’s accounts and found payments… Read more

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Action Fraud Warning To Instagram Users

Fraudulent investments are being advertised on social media and Action Fraud, the reporting watchdog, says a shocking £3,168,464 was lost to scammers between October 2018 and February 2019. On average, each victim lost a total of £8,900 per person.

Action Fraud want to warn the public about investments being used on social media, especially Instagram. They say young people, aged between 20 and 30 are most likely to be targeted and fall victim. Fraudsters are advertising ‘Get Rich Quick’ investment schemes, promising a high return within 24 hours. They have been asking victims for a initial £600 investment, which they … Read more

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Australian Timeshare Industry Could Face Huge Shakeup

The Australian government is looking into whether timeshare companies should be allowed to continue paying sales agents’ commissions on their sales.

The government want to review the quality of advice given to consumers during timeshare presentations. They also want to eliminate bad practice in the timeshare industry, including lengthy, poor value contracts, high pressure sales tactics which end in consumers taking out unaffordable loans.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority receives over 170 complaints a year from timeshare owners. They say complaints are centred around the mis-selling of timeshare, where sales staff have failed to disclose cooling off rights, failure to … Read more

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