How Undercover Recording Revealed a Multi-Million Pound Timeshare Scam

Prosecutors have labeled it as among the biggest frauds of its type in the United Kingdom.

Altogether 14 defendants have been found guilty for their involvement in a multi-million pound plot to defraud over 3,500 timeshare owners.

The victims were eager to terminate age-old holiday ownership agreements and went looking for help.

The majority were from 60 and 80. In excess of 500 of them parted with more than £10,000, and one transferred more than £80,000.

Those victimized were exposed to intense consultations continuing for six hours. They were financially worse off, owning worthless fake "points" and continued to be locked into costly holiday ownership agreements they often use.

The Company Central to the Fraud

The firm at the core of the scam was Sell My Timeshare (SMT). They accepted people's money to finance the directors' luxurious lifestyle of exclusive education, high-end properties and personal aircraft.

The individual at the head of the organization, Mark Rowe, was given a 90-month jail time in January for conspiracy to defraud.

In the latest development, his spouse one of the co-defendants was one of the final three to receive sentencing.

She received a 24-month deferred imprisonment at the London court after admitting illegal fund handling.

This has been a long time coming and signifies a major victory for the individuals who testified, the police and the Crown.

The Way the Investigation Was Initiated

The first knowledge of SMT was in the that particular year. I was working in the research department of a news organization, making documentary features.

A acquaintance pointed out that his mum had assumed the ownership of a timeshare apartment in a European resort and, after years of holidays, had begun looking to terminate the contract.

It's worth mentioning how widespread timeshares had become with English tourists in the last decades of the 20th century.

Timeshares permitted families to access the same accommodation each season, or trade their time slots with fellow investors who had apartments in alternative destinations. Roughly 600,000 vacation seekers took up that opportunity.

The early surge was linked to a lot of stories about rip-off merchants fraudulently marketing units. They appeared frequently on investigative broadcasts.

The typical timeshare contract locked buyers for decades.

At that time, those owners who had enjoyed their guaranteed place in the sunshine for a long time were ageing, and many were hoping to end their association to their timeshares.

Some had reduced ability to travel and couldn't get to their units. A few just thought they'd got all they wanted from them. And a portion had died, in frequent situations bequeathing their heirs to take over the contracts - along with their annual payments and maintenance fees.

The Covert Probe Unfolds

It was at this point the family member had found herself. She searched the web for answers and came across SMT, a firm whose website promised to terminate her agreement.

However, having submitted funds and scheduled a consultation with them, her family smelled a rat.

Further research showed hundreds of people saying they had submitted funds and achieved no result in return. Actually, they had been left out of pocket. Substantial amounts.

The investigative unit commenced probing what was going on. It soon emerged that there were questionable operators working within the timeshare resale sector.

One lawyer had numerous client reports waiting to sue SMT.

The team interviewed individuals who had dealt with the organization and they each reported similar experiences. They believed the firm would purchase their timeshare away from them but when they participated in a session (for which they made an advance payment) they were advised there was no re-sale value.

In place of that, they were persuaded - indeed coerced - to spend more money acquiring "Monster Rewards", linked to the organization's holding firm, the parent organization.

What exactly these were was somewhat vague. They appeared to be a form of credit, giving access to discount travel and amenities and shopping deals.

And they were apparently "transferable with fellow investors, at a future date.

Committing funds immediately would lead to an eventual payoff that would offset the firm's costs and result in the property owner with a gain, liberated eventually from their burdensome contract.

Too good to be true? Indeed, it was.

A 'Deceptive Tactic'

Assuming these reports were accurate, this was a massive scam.

This is known as a "deceptive marketing."

Someone - in this case the organization - "lures the consumer by marketing a particular product and then state it cannot be provided, directing the individual to another, inferior option.

That's illegal. Possessing all the accounts we had collected, we presented the rationale to secretly film one of the firm's consultations.

The process requires dedication, work, and clear arguments for why this is the exclusive approach to collect the data necessary to confirm deceptive practices.

With approval secured, our small team set up a meeting with one of the firm's agents in the location.

Acting as a ordinary individual hoping to get his mum free from her timeshare contract|holiday ownership agreement