Dozens of would-be holiday-makers in Gloucestershire are to launch a legal battle against two firms they claim mis-sold them timeshare schemes.

The couples, along with hundreds of other people across the South West, have found themselves out of pocket after forking out for holidays with companies that have now gone into liquidation.

Many claim the problem has been compounded because they signed up for 'misleading' loans if they could not afford the initial outlay, and are now struggling to pay them back.

The schemes were advertised to work like club-cards or air miles, with credits accrued from brochure holidays being convertible into stays at timeshare resorts across the world.

The holidays were marketed by Easy Save Finance Ltd, which traded as Leisure Time Promotions, and St Frances Marketing Ltd, trading as Buena Viva and Classic Cruisers, after being invited by phone to marketing days at Exeter.

Most claim they only agreed because they were promised the points could be bought back if they wanted out – which they later found was not the case.

Many complain they had felt intimidated by the hard-selling routine of the marketing agency and felt they had been misled during the sales presentations.

Buyers claim it was only when they got home and read the small print that they realised what they had signed up to was merely an expensive timeshare.

Many are now facing hefty debts and court proceedings from financial companies that provided them with loans to pay for the holiday schemes.

Hundreds of complaints have since been made against the companies and hundreds of people have joined an action group set up to try to quash the loans.

Leading the group is David Schneider, an accountant with law qualifications from Middlesex.

"Everyone I've spoken to has been sold a timeshare together with a loan and they say they were attracted because they don't need to pay anything for a year," he said.

"But I believe people are misled by these companies' selling tactics and high-pressure selling pitch and they don't twig until later, by which time the company refuses to release them from the contract.

"We believe there are around 2,500 people out there who have signed up to these and similar schemes.

"Some of them include senior police officers, a number of solicitors and even a judge. They are educated, professional people."

Mr Schneider added that because people were signing up to loans, they were actually protected by the Consumer Credit Act.

The group is in the process of taking High Court action against the two finance companies that have financed the loans to pay for the holiday deals – Barclays Partner Finance, which is part of Barclays Bank, and GE Money.

Both have said they will address people's concerns on a "case-by-case basis" but refused to comment on whether they would consider wiping out the debts.

A GE Money spokesman said: "We are aware a number of complaints have been made about the way in which St Frances Marketing sold their holiday products.

"We no longer accept business from St Frances Marketing, or Easy Save Finance, but we take all such customer complaints very seriously."

A spokesman for Barclays Partner Finance said: "BPF is aware of the concerns relating to these firms and we will continue to review cases relating to these firms on an individual basis."

Easy Save and St Frances operated from premises which were raided by trading standards staff earlier this year. Easy Save went into voluntary liquidation in November, 2007 and St Frances in June this year.

One couple from Stroud cancelled the moment they got home but were told their cancellation letter was a day late. But when their lawyer asked Buena Viva to provide a photocopy of the dated envelope of that letter, it couldn't.

The couple went on to be threatened by bailiffs claiming they owe Barclays £15,000.

Devon County Council's trading standards department has confirmed that inquiries into the companies and several individuals associated with them are ongoing.

Mr Schneider, who leads the action group, can be emailed at time sharesteeringgroup@gmail.com or by calling 0208 958 3372.

Case Study

Martin and Sarah Taylor from Cranham signed up to a Petchey Leisure holiday points scheme with St Frances in February 2008.

"We had a phone call saying we had won a free holiday but we had to come to a presentation in Exe- ter to claim it," said Mr Taylor.

"We guessed it was something to do with a timeshare or holiday points, but we had been thinking about doing something like that for a while.

"The sales people told us it would spread the cost of the holidays over a 10-year period and we could get five-star accommo- dation and would have access to worldwide destinations.

"We told them we thought the cost of the loan was steep and they said, 'Try it for two years and if you don't like it we'll buy it back'."

The couple thought they would be repaying a loan of £2,500 and if they didn't decide to use the points they wouldn't pay anything, so they signed up.

"We were also told there was an option to pay nothing for 12 months and if we paid before that it was only an APR of four per cent. They would also pay £100 into our account every month, so we would only be paying £80 for first year and in the second it would only be about six per cent APR."

But when he read the small print, Mr Taylor realised he had signed into a financial agreement with Barclays for 24.5 per cent APR for a loan of up to £20,000.

"Once we realised we wrote a letter saying we wanted to cancel. After 12 months I noticed Barclays was withdrawing £500 from my account each month, so I cancelled the standing order."

The couple sought legal advice and were told they were better off sending a cheque for the full amount and sending a letter saying they had paid under duress. Mr Taylor made the difficult decision of withdrawing it from his pension pot to get the creditors off his back.

He said: "It has been extremely stressful."

Scores of residents in Gloucestershire are getting ready to take legal action against two timeshare firms after they all say, misled them into purchasing loans. The group along with hundreds more across the south west of the UK say they are now out of pocket after the companies both went into liquidation.

The scheme was meant to work as a reward package like air miles or club cards. Those involved would gain reward points for brochure holidays taken, which they could then exchange for time at a timeshare property.

The two firms invited people down to marketing days in Exeter via telephone canvassing and most of those that signed up said they either did so because of aggressive sales pitches or they had been promised that they could get their money back if they so wished. What most realised after they had signed up was that it was just an expensive timeshare.

There is now an action group that has been set up by people who were tricked into taking out the loans. The financiers behind the loans was Barclay’s Partner Finance who have said that they will look into each case individually and will not be writing off the debt as a whole.

Thanks to www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk for the above information, for more details on this story please visit their website.

A couple from Bristol are among hundreds of would-be holidaymakers launching a legal battle against two firms they claim mis-sold them timeshare schemes.

The families are trying to free themselves from costly loans they were sold at presentations in Exeter by companies that have now gone into liquidation.

Many parted with thousands of pounds after signing up to buy holiday club points or weeks on river boats which they say they were told could then be converted into stays at timeshare resorts across the world.

They bought into schemes marketed by Easy Save Finance Ltd, which traded as Leisure Time Promotions, and St Frances Marketing Ltd, trading as Buena Viva and Classic Cruisers, after being invited along to the marketing days via phone.

Many of the couples say they were lured by the prospect of a free holiday if they signed up and further access to first-class holidays anywhere in the world.


Most claim they only agreed because they were promised the points could be bought back if they wanted out – which they later found was not the case.

Paul Carter, from Ashton, and his partner Mary McCaffrey are taking their case to the High Court.

Back in May 2007 the pair decided to sign up to the scheme at a presentation by St Frances Marketing in Exeter because they already had a timeshare they were keen to cash in and understood it would be possible to swap it for two weeks of Petchey Leisure points for destinations anywhere in the world.

"We believe we were coerced into buying a timeshare by hard-selling tactics," said Mr Carter, 44, a security worker.

"We were promised holidays anywhere in the world, free passes to Disneyland, cheap car hire and flights, you name it.

"They lured us there with the offer of a free holiday but even then we had to pay for the flights to Tenerife ourselves."

The couple say they were promised two weeks in September and that they would have access to holidays promoted by RCI, which is the world's largest timeshare network – a claim that turned out to be false.

When they arrived in Tenerife, they were immediately approached by another holiday points company, Infinity, which tried to convince them to sign up to another scheme and transfer their points.

"We did sign up but cancelled the moment we got home from holiday," said Mr Carter. That was when we knew something was up and when we got back from holiday GE Money started wanting their installments of £240 a month from our account."

Hundreds of complaints have been made against the companies — including several to Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw – and hundreds more have joined an action group set up to try to quash the loans.

Mr Carter discovered the action group after Googling the company and saw hundreds of complaints from other disgruntled customers.

"I wrote to GE Money and St Frances referring them to the Consumer Credit Act and saying there was no deal. It has been really stressful, but I'm adamant that they won't get anything out of me."

The couple have three children under 10 and say they would struggle financially to make the repayments if they were forced to.

"I want to warn off people from signing up to similar schemes. This is an expensive loan and you are better off going to your local travel agent and booking a holiday through them."

The group is in the process of taking High Court action against the two finance companies who have financed the loans to pay for the holiday deals – Barclays Partner Finance, which is part of Barclays bank, and GE Money.

Both have said they will address people's concerns on a "case-by-case basis" but refused to comment on whether they would consider wiping out the debts.

Easy Save and St Frances operated from premises that were raided by trading standards staff earlier this year. Easy Save went into voluntary liquidation in November 2007, and St Frances in June this year.

In May last year, trading standards, which had received many complaints from customers unhappy with what was described in court as "pressurised sales techniques", warned two directors of Easy Save Finance, Carol Small, of Ide Lane, Alphington, Exeter, and Marc Anthony Herbert, then of Barn Owl Close, Torquay, over the company's conduct.

Ms Small and Mr Herbert gave an undertaking to trading standards that they would abide by the terms of the Misrepresentation Act 1967, and not induce customers to enter contracts by making false representations.

When contacted by our sister paper the Exeter Express and Echo, Mr Herbert, now living in Somerset, said: "I was connected with St Frances Marketing at one stage, but I'm not connected with that company any more. I am not in a position to comment."

Ms Small also declined to comment.