How free is a free holiday?
My wife got a phone call today (from 01268 555095), saying that because she had answered a questionnaire in Bolton, she had won first prize in a draw – a seven night luxury 5-star holiday to a European resort (Costa del Sol, Canary Islands, Portugal or the Balearics) in a ‘luxury’ self-catering apartment, flights included, but insurance would be required and there was also a GBP 34.50 admin fee payable per person on booking. The vouchers would also be valid for 18 months. Hmmm… since when does a 5-star holiday involve self-catering?
Being skeptical, she asked what the catch was, but was told “no catch”. “Isn’t this timeshare?”, “No it’s not timeshare”, a point that while truthful is not actually good – see later. All she had to do was ring GVC Travel on 0871 222 8028 quoting a reference number.
On calling this number (which according to saynoto0870.com routes through to another 01268 number – are we getting the picture yet?), she was told that we would both have to collect the documents in person from their ‘Manchester Exhibition Centre’ and bring ID, because they could not send them out in the post. At this exhibition centre there would be a presentation on what is available. Hang on, doesn’t this sound like timeshare?
Now the last time I booked a holiday, the tickets were posted to me. It wasn’t a problem, yet this company are claiming it’s not safe to post a voucher! Methinks the ID is required for signing a contract. And why do we both have to go to collect the voucher? Is it really that heavy, or is it to get us both there to be sold something else?
Also, if we’ve won first prize, surely we’re the only one to win first prize, but a presentation suggests several people would be there. They can’t all have won first prize!
I decided to do some digging on the internet (these companies must hate the internet) and found that although it isn’t technically a timeshare, it is a holiday membership club sold through pressure-selling presentations. It also appears that if you do sit through the hard sell and get your vouchers, then the accommodation is far from 5-star, the dates are restricted unless you pay for the flights which are then more expensive than you could arrange yourself.
Take a look at holidaywatchdog.com, Crimeshare.net, this post on scoobynet and an interesting post from someone claiming to be an employee of GVC (username secretagent):
…we phone people who take part in family lifestyle surveys in town centres, some of which date back to 2000. They don’t take no for an answer either which means calling the same person over and over. I actually was told myself today by a “customer” that it was a con and that she had looked it up, so i did some searching myself and have found out that it is conning people into timeshare!!! I work there and they never even told me and when i asked them they said “no!” So be careful people as they don’t even tell there [sic] staff that it is just one big con.
You can also see that the 01268 555095 number belongs to GVC, meaning that the original call came from GVC themselves – clearly a bid to create the illusion that the original caller was separate to GVC.
We’re not into beach holidays anyway. I don’t think we’ll bother going to collect our ‘prize’.
There is an interesting article on the Citizens’ Advice Bureau site, calling on the DTI to get tough on Holiday Clubs. Some interesting extracts:
People are ending up with holidays that cost far more than they would on the high street, that’s if they can book anything at all.
Companies offer prizes to get people to attend presentations, where pressure-selling techniques are used to push them in to buying holiday club membership. People are assured that it is not timeshare – it isn’t and this leaves them with less legal protection.
A CAB in south London gave advice to a couple who joined a holiday club and wanted to cancel after 24 hours. They had received phone calls and letters from a company saying they had won a ‘free’ holiday and inviting them to a presentation at a hotel in Croydon. They eventually decided to go, after being assured by the company that it was not about timeshare. They were pushed in to joining for £750 and paying a £100 deposit on the spot. As soon as they got home they wanted to cancel, because of the death of a family member abroad. The holiday club said it was not possible, as they had no cooling off period or cancellation rights.
They also offer some good advice:
If you win a prize or holiday which you need to attend a presentation to collect, be wary. Don’t try to claim it unless you want to spend several hours at a high pressure sales pitch for holiday clubs
Don’t be reassured by sales reps promising that it is not timeshare. You have far less legal protection if you are buying holiday club membership
Find out about extra costs before claiming your ‘free’ holiday – they often cost more than a high-street holiday, but offer less choice over dates and destinations.
I have also found a leaflet on the Office of Fair Trading Website entitled: Congratulations, you have not won a free luxury holiday”
I think one of the most important points from both of these consumer sites is this: Because of the timeshare scams a few years ago, the law was tightened to give more protection, but punters have a long memory and for most people timeshare still equates to scam. GVC proudly state that this is not timeshare and although they appear to be telling the truth, what they fail to point out is that you are therefore not protected by these timeshare regulations.
I have also found an excellent article on The Guardian’s website by a couple of journalists who went along to one of these presentations. This is well worth a read.
Search Engine Hits
It is interesting to note the number of hits I get on this post where people have searched for the 01268 555095 and 0871 222 8028 numbers (see table below) People obviously get the initial call, are suspicious and turn to the internet to check.
|
Month
|
01268 555095
|
0871 222 8028
|
|---|---|---|
| June |
9
|
6
|
| July |
16
|
9
|
| August |
21
|
2
|
| September |
20
|
1
|
| October |
18
|
1
|
| November |
73
|
0
|
| December |
24
|
1
|
|
Month
|
01268 555095
|
0871 222 2566
|
| January 07 |
111
|
46
|
| February |
107
|
145
|
| March |
143
|
3
|
It would also appear from comments I am receiving that GVC have changed their name to Choose Travel (or are just using a different name) and are using a new number: 0871 222 2566. I’m also getting loads of hits for ‘choose travel, 0871, holiday scam’
UPDATE: 12th February 2007
It’s almost a year since I made this post, and I was simply recounting my experience with what we were told and my research at the time. Since then I have been surprised by the response I have received, both as comments and the continuing number of search engine hits for the telephone numbers, ‘timeshare’, ‘scam’, ‘questionnaire’ etc. – an obvious measure of the general public’s suspicions when receiving such a phone call.
UPDATE: 31st May 2007
Other numbers which now seem to be quoted include: 01268 498330 and 0800 4585625. The company name also seems to have changed again, this time to CLC (Club La Costa).
‘2minutedraw.com‘ is also being quoted by the initial ‘market researcher’.
You may also like to read this article on the Guardian website.
Ah the wonders of google…….
Was bored in Fuerteventura’s airport a couple of weeks ago on the way home and was cornered by a scouser, so answered the 4q’s..
Lo and behold I won a free holiday……
Got a call from a withheld number this morning, listened to the flannel from a perfectly nice sounding lady…(I was already deeply dubious anyway i might add).
A 5* holiday worth £1500?? 5* costs more than that love…..
£29.5 admin per person? Not very free then is it….
etc
etc
etc
Immediately googled the freephone number (0800) 988 9901 08009889901 0800 9889901 and found this.
same thing happened with me ………
BUT, when i call the number 08009889904, with the ref.numb. i got from them,i didn’t qualify for the holliday because i wasn’t home owner, i wasn’t married, wasn’t full time employed and they told that they are sorry about that.
i miss the point here….. of this call i got
the phone they gave me is free of charge….????
there should be something…… if all that is a scum
and i didn’t read here anything about THEIR PROFIT FOR DOING ALL THAT
Leave a coment
Thanks for the help of this site and to all of you
Hi, to everyone corcerned about clc resorts & hotels
my name is paula and i recieved a call from clc stating that i had entered a online holiday survey/competition and that i had been awarded a 7 night luxury holiday for up to 4 people inclusive of return flights and 7 nights accomodation to either portugal, the canary islands or spain.
There was also two uk destinations for people who did not like flying which were either scotland or cornwall.
I was told that clc resorts & hotels cover the cost of the flights and accomodation for 7 nights and that there was a small booking fee of between £29.50p up to £64.50p payable four weeks prior to taking your holiday which also included all airport taxes and surcharges and that the holiday was valid for 18 months.
I was then told i had to make a date to attend a meeting to collect my holiday award and shopping vouchers and that i was under no obligation to buy, join or rent anything to recieve my holiday.
At first i was like, this cannot be serious, i had never been awarded anything like this in my life before, so i did a bit of research myself and there seemed to be good opinions about clc resorts & hotels and bad opinions too.
So in the end i made a date with clc resorts and hotels and went to the meeting, as it happened to be at my local shopping centre. When i got there i decided to leave all my money & credit cards in my car, just incase they did try to hard sell me. All i took was my i.d which i needed to collect my holiday award and shopping vouchers.
I was shown around with my partner and told about the resorts and what clc resorts & hotels offered as a company and told that they had been established for over 10 years.
The sales reps did try to convince me and my partner into buying into a timeshare but i stood firm and told them i was not interested at all and that i was hear to collect my holiday award & shopping vouchers, the meeting did go on for about 2 hours.
At the end of the meeting i was told to prove that i matched their criteria, so i showed them my i.d which they accepted and i was awarded my holiday and shopping vouchers.
I booked my holiday up and got the dates that me and my family wanted and went to spain for a week, everything went well and our accommodation was first class, the kids loved it.
I enjoyed the holiday so much that i told my friends & family to phone up and use the same reference code, so they could also expierence what i had in spain. But i must stress you do have to meet the criteria otherwise it would be pointless ringing up as they ask you for i.d when your at the meeting.
To meet their criteria, you and your partner must be:
– between the ages of 25 – 62
– married or living with a partner
– and a uk homeowner
If you match the criteria then call them and say you’ve been awarded a 7 night luxury holiday for up to 4 people.
Use this reference code and freephone number below to claim your holiday.
REFERENCE CODE:
P.S – it would be best to call them on a weekday as i never recieved calls on the weekend, when they were calling in the past and if i remember correctly i think they are open till 8pm.
Takecare and i hope this helps everyone
Paula x
Everyone is different,everyones situation is different, only you will know if this is for you, but for us, we are looking forward to many more holidays.
All the best to you.
Some interesting comments from Paula, however, the cynic in me has one question: If you found them so good, what were you doing searching Google for “clc resorts and hotels warning“? Not something I would expect a satisfied customer to be doing.
Just come back from the presentation
instead of 2 hours it was 3.5
If you search google for CLC/club la costa
you ll find mostly negative comments
Also one guy posted the entire script prices etc etc
wish I had seen it in advance
The first question we were asked was
“What do you think about this offer?
I replied “its too good to be true so it probably is”
I was right
I work in the travel industry I can t believe I did not ask for the ABTA or ATOL number
Although it was not really a hard sell
I should have seen thru it
nothing in writing
people writing key words on writing pads
Lots of mind games used
Hope my wife gets something nice with the Argos vouchers !
cheers
My husband got the call today after he filled in the form at Snetterton Super Bikes. I made the call thinking that it was possibly a hoax, the talk got better and better as you all say just pay £29 per person and attend an exhibition in London stay at a Hotel with breakfast and evening meal in posh restuarant all free but they wont send me the letter etc until i make the date to attend the exhibition which at the mo i can’t make these dates so he won’t send anything.
Say’s i have to call later when i can.
Decided to look on the web site he gave me but saw this one underneath.
Thanks all of you for confirming that i was a numpty to even call in the first place.
the holiday is legit. but you do get a 90 minute tour of the complex where the hard sell begins again so all you have to say is NO!
I filled out the briefest of surveys a few weeks ago in Leeds as the woman was quite old and frail and I felt sorry for her! I didn’t give her ANY personal details but she did ask for a number so that someone could make sure she had done her job! I gave her my desk number.
Today I received a call at approximately 13:00, when I answered with my standard business greeting (Special Investigations, Jay speaking…) the caller paused as if trying to decide if she was going to continue or not and then eventually said she was calling from Lifestyle Europe and her name is Emma Burvill, although the contact number is EXACTLY the same as those quoted above for other companies. (01702 608928) She gave me the usual story, claiming that I had won their prize draw of a 7 night holiday for 4 people with all the accomodation and flights paid for.
She insisted there was no sell involved and I would not have to pay anything. Clearly bollocks! She was then very insistant that I give her my home address so that they could send the confirmation paperwork and book a meeting so that I could provide ID in order to claim my prize and nothing else. Again, clearly bollocks! She could not fax, or e-mail anything and again demanded my home address.
I asked her for her contact number and gave her a fake address. I then did a quick search and found this. Out of courtesy I called her back and advised that she had been rumbled and that the address I had given her was fake. She found this rather amusing and suggested I was being stupid for not claiming my FREE luzury holiday. I informed her that I was a Special Investigator and as such was far from stupid when it comes to matters such as this.
So to summarise they are now using the name:
LIFESTYLE EUROPE:
and using the contact numbers:
01702 608 928 and 01702 608 927
and they:
LIE TO PEOPLE LEFT RIGHT AND CENTRE!
Nuts, and I thought I’d won! lol, I so need a holiday.
I guess I’m eternally cynical now, so ‘google’ everything! and found this site.
no point in me reiterating everything, as I got the same spiel as everyone else! 0800 988 0335
I am tempted to go claim my free shopping vouchers, I am certainly not swayed by pushy salesmen!
Although, my phone call didn’t put a deadline on me calling the phone number, and infact I had no mention of vouchers… was this only told to you after you called the number?? I can use the office for all points of contact 😀
Scam now under 2minutedraw.com in conjunction with DiscoverGB. Phone call just received letting me know the good news re a holiday in Spain, Portugal and the Canaries, but if I don’t like to travel then also Scotland and Cornwall (ah! that reminds me I was asked when surveyed which had been my favourite holiday and I said Scotland!) and inviting me to call free phone 0800 9889904 with a ref number and promise of £50 shopping vouchers. Destinations sounded time share’ish so googled, and won’t be making a call.