posted 9th March 2025
Prior to 2005, consumers relied on using their own funds to purchase timeshares, as high street banks had already stopped lending for timeshare purchases and blacklisted the industry in the process. At the time, point-of-sale financing was non-existent. In 2005, Ron Howell of HMC Funding in Bristol struck a deal between Clydesdale Finance Services, a subsidiary of Barclays Partner Finance, and the timeshare industry to provide consumer loans for timeshare products. This deal facilitated millions of pounds of consumer debt and detriment that still affects victims today.
After the dust has settled, Barclays is expected to have reimbursed over £500 million to timeshare victims. Additionally, Shawbrook Bank, Hitachi, Honeycomb Finance, and First Holiday Finance will also have settled claims totalling more than £500 million.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that hundreds of thousands of timeshare owners were mis-sold timeshares and timeshare financing for at least two decades. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) took no action and has remained silent, seemingly choosing to protect the banks' reputations rather than consumers' rights.
The primary beneficiaries of this situation were the timeshare resort owners and sales representatives, many of whom became millionaires during this boom. The banks and lenders retained more funds than they refunded, profiting from high interest rates and undisclosed commissions.
Like undisclosed car commission claims, where dealers sold vehicles to make money from finance deals, timeshare sellers did the same—profiting from huge undisclosed commissions hidden in consumer loans.
The finance industry seized the opportunity to generate hundreds of millions by offering dubious timeshare loans to an unregulated industry with a track record of misleading consumers about the nature of their purchases and the benefits they would supposedly enjoy.
The timeshare sector utilised its financial muscle to create its own protection society, which lobbied parliament and launched extensive propaganda campaigns to suppress complaints about consumer harm. This, in general, turned the media's attention away from the route cause and onto the companies that were trying to take down their golden goose.
We have and continue to be highly successful in claiming compensation for victims of timeshare misselling who took out loans with finance companies to fund the purchase of their timeshares. Due to the nature of the individual situation and the type of claim that we submit, not all timeshare finance claims are limited to a six-year limitation. If you are unsure if you qualify for timeshare finance compensation, get in touch. We will run all the necessary checks, and if you qualify, we will take on your case without you having to pay any upfront fees. This means that you only pay us if we win.