Yes, you can still claim compensation from Club La Costa. Even while they are in administration
Many mis-sold Club La Costa (CLC) owners are confused as to whether they are still able to claim compensation from the giant timeshare company. CLC are quoting mercantile court statements and telling people that the insolvency means they won’t get any money. What is the real story?
Club La Costa are telling members they can’t claim
CLC have been sending out newsletters and telling members that there is no point in making claims against them. If you contact CLC and ask them, they will tell you that the companies in administration have no money to pay you, and that your best option is to remain in their club; that your holidays will continue as before if you remain.
Of course they want you to stay in their club. If you claim against them it costs them money:
- They would have to pay the compensation award itself. This is generally over £20,000 for a Club La Costa member
- CLC would lose the expensive maintenance fees you pay every year, because you would cease to pay these once your case is won
Actually you CAN still claim
Of course you can still claim. CLC is huge and across their many companies they are worth hundreds of millions of pounds. They have vast swathes of real estate. They have an income of maintenance fees worth tens of millions a year.
The court appointed bankruptcy administrators (BDO) were replaced by the creditors’ choice (FRP) in July 2021. FRP will be investigating the company in administration its assets (declared and undeclared) and it will be their job to determine whether there are significant financial links with other solvent CLC companies and whether these associated companies may also be liable. They will actively be looking to recover the money owed to creditors
Even in other timeshare cases without the huge financial resources of CLC, there are still other options. In the Azure bankruptcy, for example, the creditors had another option to go after the money from the banks depending on whether finance was involved or any part of the payments were made by credit card.
Claiming compensation is the right thing to do
The other argument CLC are using, and one which seems to appeal at first to many owners is a supposedly moral one: You had plenty of great holidays with CLC, so surely you had your money’s worth.
Therefore on some level isn’t it unfair to claim compensation from CLC?
Actually no. If you were sold in a way that contravenes the laws enacted to protect consumers, then they absolutely should be made to pay compensation.
CLC didn’t ‘accidentally’ disregard those laws. They made a deliberate, conscious, business decision to ignore the legislation. They believed that by doing so they would make more money, and that money was made at the expense of consumers.
Ok, perhaps you personally had nice holidays and could afford what you spent. But many people made life changing financial decisions that they would not have committed to if CLC had afforded them the protections they were entitled to by law.
Lives were ruined; CLC should be held to account
CLC are trying to confuse you
CLC have sent multiple emails to their members, and had allies like the RDO and KwikChex publish stories designed to stop you from claiming against them.
They want you to believe that it is pointless to claim against them for the reasons already mentioned (that you wouldn’t get any money — which is demonstrably false)
They also cite Spanish court findings saying that ‘no more cases against CLC will be accepted. In fact, a Spanish mercantile court did say that no more claims would be accepted against CLC. But it clarified that those claims would only not be accepted in Spain.
The claims can and will instead be heard in the UK, where the main administration process is taking place.
In a nutshell:
CLC can still be claimed against
- There is a vast amount of money across the CLC group
- CLC claims are being accepted in the UK rather than Spain, and this makes no difference to the claimant. It just means a different set of forms for the claims company to fill in on your behalf
- If you are entitled to claim against CLC, it is the right thing to do
But do it now
If you are entitled to compensation against CLC, the earlier you start the claim process the better.
Significantly, the earlier you claim the sooner you will be free of the annual maintenance fee obligation. Remember: you can still stay in CLC accommodation whenever you want. You can book into any CLC resort via regular booking sites like Expedia and Booking.com.
The sooner you start your claim, the sooner you get your money.
Advice?
Like any article on this subject, this one is sure to have raised questions even as it answered others. There are two great ways to get free, expert advice:
- You can approach one of the independent, volunteer timeshare advice organisations, who will usually take all the time you need to discuss your situation
- You can get in touch with our team for a no obligation, confidential chat, again in as much detail as you need to make your decision
Related links
- Club la Costa Members’ anxiety as Spanish CLC companies file for bankruptcy
- Can timeshare owners in Spain really claim compensation?
- Observers bemused as RDO attempts to claim ‘major Club La Costa victory’ during insolvency struggles
- Club La Costa boast of TripAdvisor ‘2021 Travellers’ Choice Award’. Cynics wonder: what travellers?
- European Consumer Claims contact details
- Do you qualify for timeshare compensation? A quick guide:
- Club La Costa desperate to lure back timeshare owners with ‘free’ accommodation week
- Successful High Court application as administrator BDO replaced, in timeshare giant Club La Costa’s ongoing administration scandal
- Barclays/Azure loan cancellations open floodgates for other timeshare loan claims
- Huge win for consumers ‘mis-sold’ Barclays Partner Finance loans by disgraced timeshare company
- Your moral obligation to claim timeshare compensation
- Time to make your mind up on that timeshare compensation claim
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ECC provides timeshare claims services, expert advice and help
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First published on MyNewsDesk September 2021
