Beware scratchcard touts on the Med, warns Holiday Which?
| Published: 27th February 2008 15:24 |
Scratchcard touts operating abroad are using the promise of a 'star prize' to snare tourists into buying holiday club* membership and timeshare trials, a new report by Holiday Which? warns.
Undercover research carried out by Holiday Which? has found that scratchcard touts in popular Mediterranean resorts are luring British tourists into sales presentations with the promise of 'star prizes'. To get the prizes, 'winners' often have to attend lengthy presentations where they are sold membership to holiday clubs** or timeshare trials.
Holiday Which? researchers, posing as an engaged couple, were approached by touts and enticed to two presentations, where they were relentlessly bombarded with baffling information for up to five hours.
The sales staff would not reveal the cost of membership until near the end of the presentations. At both sessions the'couple' was pressured to sign up and pay money on the spot without the chance to think it over.
People in the UK are also being targeted via a letter or a phone call informing them that they have won a holiday prize.
New legislation coming into force in April 2008 aims to outlaw misleading and aggressive sales practices***. Holiday Which? hopes this will put an end to the use of pressure selling techniques at presentations.
Lorna Cowan, editor of Holiday Which?, says:
"Whether at home or abroad, everyone likes to win a prize, especially a holiday. But there is a catch - you may have to
attend a lengthy presentation where you are pressured into parting with thousands of pounds for something you might not
even want.
"We welcome new EU proposals****, which should prevent companies from demanding money on the spot for these types of
holiday products. In the meantime we would advise holidaymakers to avoid scratchcard touts at all costs and not
to buy into a holiday club."
Holiday Which? tips at sales presentations:
> To avoid temptation, don't take your credit or debit card with you
> Ensure you get a full written description including fees, legal rights and obligations
> Make sure you know the company's address and take notes of what is said if possible
Footnotes
* Holiday clubs are a long-term holiday product which usually differ from timeshare because they only offer the chance to
buy discounted holidays from a particular company - perhaps by a password to a website - instead of a tangible 'bricks and
mortar' product with ownership rights. They may also be called travel discount clubs, vacation or holiday ownership schemes.
** Holiday club membership can often cost thousands of pounds and the deals may be no cheaper than those available online or on the high street.
*** The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive becomes law in April 2008 to guard against misleading and aggressive sales
practices. This law has yet to be tested.
**** The 1994 Timeshare Directive prohibits operators from taking deposits from consumers during the cooling-off period
of at least 10 days. New proposals by the European Commission aim to extend this law to include long-term holiday products
and timeshare trials of less than three years.
