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The Timeshare Act 1992 And Other Regulations

How Does The Timeshare Act Protect The Consumer?

The Timeshare Act 1992 came into force on 12th October 1992.

The Timeshare Act 1992 states that the seller must provide you with written details setting out the terms of the agreement and a notice explaining your right to cancel before you enter into the agreement. The notice must state:
  • that you have a statutory right to cancel within 14 days of entering the agreement and
  • that you have a right to claim back any deposit which you might have paid in respect of the agreement.


Failure to comply with these obligations is a criminal offence on the part of the seller. You should report the matter to your local Trading Standards office. Click here for the Trading Standards web site

1985 Directive

icclaw web site
The European Court of Justice decided that the 1985 Directive did apply to timeshare contracts, notwithstanding that the 1994 Timeshare Directive also applied. Consumers are released from any obligations under the cancelled contract if they exercise the right of annunciation under the 1985 Directive. The use of invitations to a resort, presentations, and hard-sell tactics at premises which do not appear to be business premises or sales offices may be cancelled just as easily by the consumer. Read more ...

EP QUESTION ON THE TIMESHARE DIRECTIVE

TIMESHARE REGULATIONS 1997

hmso.gov.uk

The Department of Trade and Industry (UK) website is accessed here On 29 April 1997, the Timeshare Regulations 1997 came into force. These regulations implement the requirements of the EU Timeshare Directive and amend the UK Timeshare Act 1992. The Act as amended retains the existing UK consumer protection measures where these go beyond the requirements of the Directive. At the same time, the Department of Trade and Industry published a new booklet, the Timeshare Guide, giving consumers advice about avoiding unscrupulous selling practices and setting out consumers’ rights in the EU and under UK law. Read more ...

TIMESHARE ACT 1992

The details below are taken from the website of the Trading Standards Department -
The Timeshare Act 1992 came into force on l2th October 1992. It applies to any timeshare agreement or credit agreement for the purchase of a timeshare holiday, if:
  • the agreement is covered by UK law or the law of any part of the UK; or
  • one or both of the parties to the agreement are in the UK.


This means that if you enter your agreement outside the UK and your contract is not governed by UK law, you will not be protected by the Timeshare Act. The Act provides rights to cancel certain timeshare agreements. For most timeshare contracts subject to UK law, the trader must give consumers notice that they have a right cancel the agreement within fourteen days of signing.

The complete Act comprises 10 printed pages at £2.85 pounds sterling and is published by The Stationery Office Ltd as ISBN 0 10 543592 9
Order The Timeshare Act and other timeshare publications from our bookshop.


Key Points of Timeshare Act

The Timeshare Act extends to the whole of the UK and covers timeshare in the UK, or abroad where the agreement is governed by UK law or one or more parties are in the UK when it is made.

Section 1 defines two key concepts:
  1. Timeshare agreement is an agreement under which timeshare rights are conferred or purport to be conferred on any person.
  2. Timeshare credit agreement is an agreement NOT being a timeshare agreement:
    a) Under which a person provides ar agrees to provide credit for or in respect of a person who is the offeree under a timeshare agreement, and
    b) When the credit agreement is entered into, the creditor knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the whole or part of the credit is to be used for the purpose of financing the offeree's entering into a timeshare agreement.

Any agreements cancelled by virtue of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, ie signed off trade premises, are excluded from the application of this Act. The reason is that a cooling off period for such agreements is already allowed for by section 68 of the 1974 Act.

Section 2 makes it an obligation for the offerer of a timeshare agreement to give the offeree notice of their right to cancel the agreement, ie a 14 day 'cooling off period'. Subsection 3 makes it an offence to contravene this obligation with the fine being the statutory maximum. No custodial sentence can be applied.

Section 3 is about timeshare credit agreement and concentrates on the creditor rather than the offerer.

Section 4 provides supplementary provisions to sections 3 and 4, basically that their provisions only apply to offerees who are consumers, and for the form of cancellation notices.

Section 5 is about the consumers' right to cancel timeshare agreements.

Section 6 - is about rights to cancel timeshare credit agreements. In this case the credit agreement continues and consumers are subject to section 7 for repayment of credit and interest. See also The Timeshare (Repayment of Credit on Cancellation) Order 1992.

Section 7 - is about repayment of credit and interest on cancellation under sections 5 or 6. Note that consumers will be liable for no interest payment if they repay the whole of the credit within one month.

Section 8 provides for a single limbed due diligence defence, ie that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence

Section 9 is about the liability of persons other than the principal offender and allows for proceedings to be taken against these 'other persons'.

Section 10 is about enforcement as described in the Schedule to the Act, which means every local weights and measures authority in Great Britain and the Department of Economic Development in Northern Ireland. There are the usual powers of entry and inspection, seizure of documents, and offences for obstruction of officers.

Section 11 stipulates the prosecution time limits:
  • No proceedings shall commence after the end of the period of three years beginning with the date of the commissioning of the offence;
  • or the end of the period of one year beginning with the date of the discovery of the offence by the prosecutor, whichever is the earlier.


Section 12 has some general provisions, such as postal service of a notice where notice of cancellation is deemed to be given at time of posting.

The Timeshare Act 1992 as amended by 'European Directive on Timeshare' ('TA92')

Introduction:
The TA92 regulates the conduct of a professional seller ("offeror") of timeshare in respect of the sale to a private purchaser ("offeree")

Summary:
TA92 only applies to a sale conducted in the British Isles or of a timeshare resort in the British Isles or to a purchase contract which expressly states that TA92 applies. Most other European countries have similar, but not identical, laws.
TA92 applies to the purchase of intermittent rights of occupancy of holiday accommodation - "timeshare" - for a period of three years or more [S1(1)]
TA92 only applies to fixed properties (and, in a few cases, to caravans).
TA92 only applies where the offeror is in business and the offeree is a private individual. It does not apply to sales between private individuals.

TA92 requires the offeror to:-
  • provide the offeree with a minimum of 14 days "cooling off" period during which the offeree can cancel the agreement without any loss or giving any reason. Day one is the date on which the agreement is signed by both parties.
  • provide similar rights to the automatic cancellation of a related credit agreement.
  • not require any payment by the offeree during the cooling off period
  • provide the offeree with:-
    • a notice stating the rights of cancellation including the address to which a cancellation notice should be sent [S2]
    • a blank cancellation notice [S4]
    • and, if a credit agreement is involved, similar notices for the credit agreement [S3 and S4]
    • specific detailed information about the timeshare purchase [S1A and Schedule 1] typically:-
    • description of the accommodation
    • the principles on which maintenance etc. of the complex is arranged
    • the services available and the conditions of their use
    • if the offeror fails to provide any of the information listed in Schedule 1 then the cooling-off period is extended to 3 months and 10 days


  • TA92 requires the purchase agreement and information to be in the language of the offeree provide that it is an EU language.
  • Enforcement of TA92 is the responsibility of the Trading Standards Officer local to the offeree. Breaches of some of the sections of the Act can result in criminal proceedings.
Click to DTI, if you prefer

Section 1: If someone tries to sell you a timeshare
Section 2: Your rights in the European Economic Area2
Section 3: Your rights under UK law - (see below)
Section 4: What to do if things go wrong
Annex: Guide to the Regulations - some questions and answers


YOUR RIGHTS UNDER UK LAW Under UK law:
  • You have a right to a 14 day cooling off period, counted from the day you sign the timeshare contract.
  • During the cooling off period, you have the right to cancel the contract at no cost and to have any associated credit agreement or credit card payment cancelled automatically.
  • The seller must not seek or accept any money from you during the cooling off period, for himself or anyone else.
  • If you ask for a brochure, the seller must give it to you. The brochure must contain the information about the timeshare property specified in Section 2. This information must be included in the contract if you buy.
  • The seller must give you a cancellation form if you sign a contract, with a note setting out your right to cancel the contract. Use of the cancellation form must also automatically cancel any associated credit agreement.
  • The seller must give you the brochure and contract in your own language, if you ask for it, providing that this is an official European Union language.
  • The seller must give you a translation of the contract in the language of the country where the timeshare is located, providing that this is an official European Union language. This will be needed if you have to go to a foreign court.
  • These rights apply to timeshare in apartments and houses etc. Some rights also apply to caravans. It is a criminal offence for the seller to try to sell you a timeshare without giving you the brochure containing the information set out in Section 2, if you ask for it. It is also a criminal offence for the seller to ask for or take any money from you during the cooling off period. Local authority trading standards departments are responsible for enforcement.


Plain English

In England, Martin Cutts, a writing consultant, redesigned and rewrote an act of Parliament, the Timeshare Act 1992. He cut it by about 25% and improved the comprehensibility. Martin Cutts, Lucid Law §§ 1.7, 1.12, 8.28 (1994).