Report due on SA timeshare industry as complaints soar
A report by the National Consumer Commission (NCC) on the timeshare industry is expected to be finalised by the end of March, commissioner Ebrahim Mohamed told Parliament on Friday.
“My intention is to sign off on the final inquiry report by March 31‚ 2018,” he said.
It comes after an inquiry panel was appointed a year ago amid numerous complaints from consumers who felt they could not escape their contracts, among other things.
Trudie Broekmann, an attorney at Trudie Broekmann Attorneys, told City Press that her client numbers for timeshare related complaints has swelled to 156.
Broekmann told the paper that her letters to timeshare companies had met with relative success.
“In certain cases, there had been written confirmation that the company accepted the cancellation. Some did not respond to the cancellation letter and adopted a strategy of stonewalling,” City Press reported.
“But this doesn’t matter. If you have proper legal grounds for cancellation, then the effect of the cancellation letter is that the contract is cancelled, whether or not that is accepted,” Broekmann said.
“What is miserable for my clients though, in certain cases, is that despite the cancellation, the time share company keeps the debit orders in place, or has got debt collectors to harass them.
“But then I send them a letter which highlights section 68 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) which says a supplier may not victimise a consumer who exercises his or her rights under the law,” she said.
The legal expert said that contracts in this sector are often structured to be in perpetuity.
“With a contract like that you need legal grounds to cancel. Instead, the consumer needs to demonstrate that there has been breach of contract by the other party or a defect in the contract. I am relying on a variety of legal grounds that are based on statutory rights as well as contractual principles.”
According to Broekmann, more than 750,000 South Africans have time share.
Timeshare industry body Vacation Ownership Association of Southern Africa (Voasa) declined to comment to City Press.
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