Eze Legal Services

[Sulgravian]

We have points with Club La Costa which we would like to terminate. We were contacted, unsolicited, by Timeshare Council who said they could put us in touch with a firm that could advise us if they thought we had a good case of getting at least part of our money back. This, we understood, would be under 'misrepresentation' as Club La Costa made all sorts of promises which were not true or didn't materialise. The firm Eze Legal Services is based in Henley-in-Arden but one of the two parties - not sure who- has offered to put us up in a hotel overnight prior to our appointment as it is a fair way for us to travel.

The point that concerns us is that this is not a legal firm in itself and they do seem to have some connection with Timeshare themselves. Does anyone think we are right to think it's all a bit fishy?

[Barmaid]

I cant comment on whether it is fishy. You can check with the Solicitors Regulation Authority

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/consumers.page

But it appears you already know they are not lawyers. My view would be that if you want advice about misrep, you go to a lawyer experienced in this area.

[Sulgravian]

Thank you. I was also wondering if anyone reading my post has had any experience of either of the two firms mentioned.

[Buenchico]

Eze Legal Services is part of Eze Group. This post might be enough to tell you whether you should deal with them or not!
http://www.justanswer.com/uk-law/9dze2-i-went-meeting-eze-group-stirling-last-week.html

Further, despite all of the experience which seems to be claimed on Eze Legal Service's website, the company was only formed 9 days ago!
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10230157

Timeshare Council is not, as the name might suggest, an independent body looking after the interests of timeshare owners. It's a trade body ("Activities of professional membership organisations" being its registered activity at Companies House). Its directors all seem to be involved with time share (or similar) activities elsewhere. For example, one director (Philip Watson) is also a director of Tobago Travel & Property Ltd, Worldwide Timeshare and Exchange Ltd, Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket Ltd, Wealth Style Investments Ltd, Expectations Club Ltd and several other companies).

AVOID!!!

[Sulgravian]

Thank you Buenchico. Very enlightening!

[Mark44]

It's more than "a bit fishy" - it's a scam. We were relieved of a hefty sum in January, and have only just been told that we no longer had any liability to the timeshare lot. On checking the website, however, nothing had changed; indeed we almost immediately had a bill for unpaid maintenance plus interest. It's going to be a police matter, I think.

[KwikChex]

Buenchico - you are correct re EZE Legal Services. Consumers attending meetings with this business are normally persuaded to buy a product known as 'Leisure Credits' - sometimes also referred to as 'Lifestyle or Concierge Services', with the claim that they provide discounts on holidays and other products and now also legal services. The cost is several thousand pounds a time. Warnings about this product were made by the UK European Consumer Centre - http://www.ukecc.net/news/news.cfm/newsid/22. However, the Timeshare Council you refer to is not the one mentioned by the original poster. (OP) The one you mention is a timeshare trade body. The one the OP refers to is an unconnected online lead generator, which does not disclose its ownership. Transparency is key to trust and therefore extreme caution should be advised when proper disclosures are not made. With regard to checking timeshare-related businesses, there is an entirely free service provided to consumers - www.timesharebusinesscheck.org. This is funded by the RDO (Resort Development Organisation as part of the Timeshare Task Force and works closely with the authorities, including Trading Standards.