The Webs They Weave

Well, that didn’t last long.

The latest version of the timeshare/holiday club/call it what you want outfit in Puerto Alcúdia has closed. Or at least the office is closed at the moment. That office is what was the AIC and Casabonaire estate agencies near to the Magic roundabout. It goes under the name of Sun & Sea Resorts. Go try googling that and see where it gets you, just like the previous incarnation – To Holiday – would have produced thousands, millions of possibilities. You have to ask why the choice of name is so vague.

I am only guessing, but something that happened on Thursday may have to do with this apparent closure. Tourism was in town, as in the tourism ministry inspectors. They were checking on registrations and documents. Whatever the outcome may or may not be if one is unlucky to be taken in by the scratch-cardists, the basis of the business is meant to be the sale of holidays. This being the case, as far as I understand it, there has to be a licence to act as a travel agency, one that is issued by the government. But I am only guessing. Maybe just a coincidence. Don’t be surprised if the operation re-emerges, with the “consultants” hanging around on street corners with their cards inside Burger King literature. One trusts that Burger King is suitably impressed, and one has to ask another question – why try and disguise what you’re doing?

While the signs on the doors to the office say Sun & Sea, peer inside and you can see the name Interval. It’s very difficult to know, but the Timeshare Council includes a couple of Intervals on its black list. And this highlights one, just one, of the problems with these operations; you really don’t know who you are ultimately dealing with. The web is very tangled.

And also tangled would appear to be the web surrounding a multi-million pound racket that has been the subject of police action. Based in Mallorca, the swindle has been investigated in a joint operation by the Spanish national police and Scotland Yard, and offices in the south of the island were raided on Thursday. With links to Switzerland, the fraudulent operation promised returns of 30 per cent. In the report from the “Diario” it says that fictitious companies were created related to gold, fuel or travel.

A general strike is still on the cards. Originally it was planned for 20 May, then 2 June was mentioned. It is still not clear when it might be staged. 8 June is now a possibility, but whenever it takes place, assuming it actually does, some businesses are expressing their concerns. A general strike of public sector workers would include the police. There is talk, apparently, of security firms being hired for the day or of closing for the day. This may all be an over-reaction, but some are obviously taking the potential threat of no police on duty seriously.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

Scratch, Scratch: The holiday club allergy

Well, well, well. There we were thinking that the mid-season flight of the scratch-cardists last year was the last that Alcúdia had seen of them. Wrong. Or so it would appear. There is an office near to the Magic Roundabout that looks very much like the same sort of operation. Just a different location. I’m not sure I’m bothered any longer. If the tourism ministry, town hall, police or whoever can’t or won’t step in and prevent these operations from emerging, why should I care? I’ve got other things to worry about. Let ’em go fleece some mugs.

This said …

Whatever it might be called, the operation is always much the same. The scratch-card system works thus: It is always a couple that is approached, verification is made as to where they are from. The UK or Ireland are spot on. But the Netherlands or Scandinavia will do nicely, too, so long as the people speak English. Why is it a couple and not someone on his or her own? Because the couple each gets a card. One is always a loser, the other is always a winner. And the winner will get his or her holiday or whatever prize is in offer.

The street scratch-cardists go under differing exotic titles. Outside Promotions Consultants, for example. Consultant, my arse. They get commissions for each couple they entice to the presentation, so long, that is, if the suckers who have gone along stay for a specific length of time. Otherwise, normally, no commission. Some of those who are approached do go for a short time, just to let the “consultant” get his or her money. Very altruistic. And potentially dangerous if you let yourself get pulled in more and more. They will be like dogs with bones once you’re inside. Not the “consultants”. They’ve done their bit. Now it’s the salespeople.

So many thousands will get you a lifetime of holiday deals. This may get reduced if you refuse. There may be finance deals. There may be further reductions, just to get you to hand over your credit or debit card and start the slippery ball rolling, despite the fact that there should be “cooling-off” periods.

Timeshare, holiday clubs, call them what you will, they all amount to the same sort of thing – something that you do not want and certainly do not need. The apparent attractiveness of future holidays on the cheap has been exposed enough times as being no better than were you to book the holidays yourselves. But by now you might be in for several thousands of pounds or euros, and you might find it hard to get out of.

The consultants will often be quite pleasant, which is why you might want to go along with them in order to let them earn their commissions or why you might just be taken in – period. It’s when they are less than pleasant that some problems arise. And this was the complaint a couple of years back. Abusiveness and being hassled. Pleasant or not, don’t be taken in. Or you end up with something that you don’t want. That you had never thought about having. And yet you might find yourself being in for a four-figure sum. If you are, well, go figure.

Of course, this year’s operation may be different. The tactics have varied over the years. One that was being used last year was to approach people in the pretence of performing some sort of market research. Maybe scratch cards have been replaced with something else. Whatever, it will become known. And this knowledge will be used to tarnish the reputation not of the operators of the system but of the resort.

It is a surprise, if indeed it is the same sort of operation, that it has returned. The stories last year were that the operation closed because trading was poor (and you wouldn’t think it would be any better this year) and that the fines were mounting up. The police do actually intervene if unlicensed street “selling” is being performed. But whereas the street selling of the lookies is pretty harmless and relatively inexpensive (harmless, save for when something illicit is being offered as well), the holiday club, or whatever it is, is on a wholly different scale in terms of cost. You might just find your holiday suddenly got very much more expensive than you had budgeted for.

* I would acknowledge a comment left on the Holiday Watchdog Holiday Clubs and Timeshare forum for informing some of the above. This forum is probably the best source going for information on holiday clubs.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.