holiday membership

[conkarin]

Has anyone been approached by touts(peeps who sell stuff - mostly timeshare- on holiday) by COSMOS who are selling holiday memberships.. I went to one of their gatherings and guess what .. I won a holiday (surprise surprise). It all looks cocha as they are saying they are covered by ABTA - which COSMOS is, but this leaflet I got has SUNSET HOLIDAYS on it. tried to do some sherlock holmes on this but found nothing. Thay are asking to sent �49.50 each for travel arrangements etc.. Am I being niave..... Just wondering if anyone else has come across this.. By the way I was in tenerife..

[Hawkwalk]

If they are asking you to pay some money then I would not trust this to be that honest. There is probably a catch somewhere. Make sure you read every bit of small print.

[Neutron]

conkarin, don't get involved with them, its bound to be a con to get money from you.
Real competition wins don't require the winner to pay anything. I have won many prizes (one a luxury holiday in St. Lucia for two) and have never been asked to pay a penny for so-called 'travel arrangements' or anything else.

Take care.

[conkarin]

thanks to you both... I have taken the chance.. will let you know the outcome..

[Alibobs]

Do you have to attend a further meeting as part of the prize?

[Toureman]

How much did you get ripped off?

[glenis]

not necessarily a con ,but the way these things work is they fly you out to wherever the time share is situated ,show you around and then subject you to the hard sell and i mean really hard sell - you have to be really strong to resist the hype that they come out with

[Chasingcars]

Hi Conkarin
I think I can answer your question as a very good friend of mine used to work for a company that administered the kind of 'holiday prize' you have got.
Basically, you dont get anything in this life for free, everybody knows that....the idea is the company fly you to Spain/ Canary Islands etc, and one of the conditions of the 'prize' is that you look around a Timeshare/ Holiday owndership proprty while you are there and attend a sales meeting.
Yes typically Timeshare is very hard sell however nobody can make you buy anything if you dont want to. Legislation is a lot tougher now on the way this product is sold.
Just be aware that the holiday 'prize' will not necessary be your first choice of dates, and should you want to take additional people then extra flights are not the cheapest.
Therefore although this is not a 'prize', you have got a pretty cheap holiday for just �49.50 each..and just for taking a look around a timeshare
Dont forget should this holiday not be forthcoming then of course you have usual consumer rights and should contact trading standards
Also, refer to the T&C's on the back of the form, usually there are quite a few...!
Good Luck...let me know how you get on and hope this helps!