How Covert Filming Exposed a £28 Million Holiday Ownership Fraud

It has been described as one of the largest scams of its kind in the United Kingdom.

A total of 14 individuals have been found guilty for their part in a multi-million pound conspiracy to cheat more than 3,500 timeshare owners.

The victims were desperate to get out of long-standing holiday ownership agreements and tried to find support.

A large number were in the age range of 60 and 80. Over 500 of them parted with more than £10,000, and one transferred in excess of £80,000.

Those targeted were subjected to intense consultations extending for six hours. They were financially worse off, possessing valueless fake "points" and still locked into costly vacation property deals they frequently were unable to use.

The Firm Behind the Deception

The company at the heart of the scam was Sell My Timeshare (SMT). They took customers' funds to support the proprietors' luxurious way of life of prestigious schooling, millionaire mansions and private jets.

The man at the helm of the firm, the main defendant, was handed a 90-month jail time in January for conspiracy to defraud.

Recently, his partner one of the co-defendants was part of the concluding cases to hear their sentences.

She received a two-year long suspended jail sentence at Southwark Crown Court after admitting illegal fund handling.

This has been a lengthy process and marks a major victory for the victims who came forward, the authorities and the Crown.

How the Inquiry Started

The initial awareness of SMT was in the mid-2016. I was working in the investigations unit of a media outlet, producing documentary shows.

A friend noted that his mother had taken over the use of a vacation unit in the Spanish coast and, after years of holidays, had begun looking to terminate the deal.

It should be noted how popular vacation properties had become with UK travelers in the eighties and nineties.

Vacation properties enabled families to use the identical property every year, or trade their time slots with fellow investors who had units in other resorts. Approximately 600,000 sun-lovers accepted that opportunity.

The initial boom was linked to a many reports about dishonest operators fraudulently marketing properties. They were regularly featured on consumer shows.

The standard timeshare contract bound owners for decades.

At that time, those holders who had experienced their regular accommodation in the sun for decades were advancing in years, and a large proportion were looking to say farewell to their timeshares.

Some had health issues and couldn't get to their apartments. Others just believed they'd enjoyed sufficient use from them. And a portion had passed away, in numerous instances passing on their heirs to take over the contracts - including their regular contributions and service charges.

The Undercover Operation Progresses

It was at this point the family member had found herself. She searched the web for solutions and came across the organization, a business whose online presence assured to get her out of her agreement.

Yet, having made a payment and booked a meeting with them, her family had doubts.

Further research showed many victims claiming they had handed over cash and got nothing in return. Actually, they had lost money. Significant sums.

The reporting group commenced probing what was happening. It was rapidly apparent that there were questionable operators working within the vacation property industry.

An attorney had many grievance cases aiming to litigate against the organization.

We spoke to clients who had engaged the company and they each reported similar experiences. They assumed the company would buy their property away from them but when they participated in a session (for which they paid up front) they were told there was no re-sale value.

Instead, they were pushed - in fact coerced - to commit further cash purchasing "the company's points system", named after the business's umbrella group, the parent organization.

The precise definition was somewhat vague. They seemed similar to a kind of currency, providing discount travel and benefits and shopping deals.

And they were reportedly "exchangeable with other owners, eventually.

Paying cash at the time would produce an future return that would cover SMT's fees and allow the timeshare holder in profit, liberated eventually from their burdensome agreement.

Too good to be true? Well, yes.

A 'Bait-and-Switch Scam'

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

This is known as a "bait-and-switch."

An operator - specifically SMT - "attracts the customer by advertising a specific service only to then state it cannot be provided, directing the customer towards another, inferior option.

This is against the law. Possessing all the accounts we had gathered, we argued to covertly record one of the organization's sessions.

The process requires dedication, work, and compelling reasons for why this is the exclusive approach to obtain the evidence necessary to prove wrongdoing.

Once authorized, our compact group arranged a consultation with one of the organization's staff in Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Pretending to be a ordinary individual aiming to assist his parent out of her timeshare contract|holiday ownership agreement