If you are contacted by someone offering to buy or sell your timeshare week for you, alarm bells should ring immediately. No one should legitimately know that you are a Barnsdale timeshare owner and have your contact details, other than Barnsdale, our Trustees or the Exchange Company of which you are a Member. Anyone else will have already broken the law by obtaining this information safeguarded under the Data Protection Act.
So are you going to trust them with your bank account details or Credit Card number?
Hang Up!
Timeshare resale companies claiming to have a buyer waiting for your timeshare week may contact you. As a lure they offer a sum well above market value. If you show any interest, this is usually followed by a request for an ‘up-front’ payment for legal or administration fees. Have a look at this website for some of the most common scams: www.timeshare.org.uk/scams.html
No reputable re-sales company will ever ask for any payment before a sale has been completed. DO NOT GET INVOLVED
Many of these companies change their name weekly to hide their true identity and avoid the refund claims which usually follow any transaction. A useful web site, www.scambusters.gb.com gives much information on some of these companies, many of which are based in Spain.
Also, please heed the warning in the July 2007 BOA News about part-exchanging your timeshare week for another elsewhere.