Special legislation demanded to protect holiday park customers from consumer abuse, similar to timeshare laws
Timeshare crimewave
No matter how successful a business, there is always a percentage of companies who skate close to the lines of legality and morality.
Then there are those who ignore the lines altogether. In the 1960s timeshare was launched as a genuine solution to real world travel problems. People could basically pay a premium to guarantee themselves five star accommodation in exclusive resorts.
In the decades that followed, the industry descended into hyper aggressive, unfair sales practices and other abuses which resulted in a raft of laws being enacted.
Consumers were afforded powerful protection. The overwhelming majority of timeshare companies unwisely chose to almost universally ignore the laws for the next 25 years, before justice caught up with them.
The ‘end’ of timeshare
Claims experts have been successfully suing rogue timeshare companies since 2016, to the point where the major offenders are no longer able to operate. Many of them are going through various stages of administration and liquidation. Hundreds of millions of pounds have been awarded in legal compensation to mis-sold consumers.
Timeshare has not, strictly speaking ‘ended’ in Europe, but the once-raging torrent of new member sales has slowed down to a drip. Timeshare simply no longer presents value to the modern holidaymaker. When resorts are no longer able to employ high pressure, underhand tactics the sales no longer happen.
New hunting grounds
Where do thousands of high-pressure timeshare salespeople go when their livelihoods evaporate?
Many of them moved back to the UK. Some of them are selling solar panel schemes, some are signing up pensioners for questionable loft insulation or conservatories.
There will always be a niche for a convincing salesman with only a nodding acquaintance to morality.
A number of ex-timeshare salespeople have ended up in the holiday park sales business. To a timeshare sales veteran, much about the holiday park business would have seemed familiar. Even inviting.
Selling a more expensive holiday dream, but with less restrictions? “Bring it on…”
Holiday park sales
Holiday products are an emotive sale. Ex timeshare salespeople know how to sell holidays. If you can attach the positive emotions of those holidays to your product, you are halfway there.
With timeshare, it became illegal to take a deposit on the day, as a safeguard against people making rash decisions while caught up in the emotion of the moment. With holiday park sales, no such law exists. And any timeshare salesperson worth his salt strives to capitalise on precisely this emotional decision making.
Higher prices and costs
Timeshares can be bought for upwards of £10,000. Holiday park caravans, lodges or chalets are sold for many times that figure. Sometimes well over £100,000. More potential loss for a buyer, more potential commission for the salesman.
Holiday park annual costs are also proportionally higher than timeshare fees, with an average £3000 for ground rent in 2025, and a further £600 for utilities (which owners are required to obtain at a premium via the park). There are also elevated charges for other services which you are also contractually required to obtain through the park, such as cleaning, maintenance and linin changes.
“The sales person does not benefit from these fees of course, but they are only one cog in the machine.” says Greg Wilson, CEO of European Consumer Claims (ECC). “The parks are the ultimate beneficiaries of all this income. Timeshare companies were notorious for milking their customers after the sale. But compared to modern holiday parks, they were amateurs.”
Shocking resale conditions
Case after case is reported to ECC where somebody had bought a lodge, caravan or chalet and needed to sell. Sometimes for personal reasons, sometimes because of ‘unfair’ treatment by the park such as huge fee increases.
However, most parks have a rule that you offer the sale to them before selling privately. And they charge a steep commission of sometimes 20% or more for private sales.
“The reality is that second hand caravans are very difficult to sell privately,” explains Greg. “Many people end up having to sell back to the park at a huge loss. Sometimes 70% or more in just a few months.
Lack of protective legislation
The Consumer Rights Act was not considered flexible or muscular enough to cope with the wide-ranging abuses prevalent in the timeshare industry, and many countries created their own specialist timeshare legislation. For example the UK Timeshare Act of 1992, or Spain’s 42/1998 timeshare protection.
After the UK holiday park industry began to gain a similar reputation for consumer exploitation, multiple petitions have been launched asking the UK government to ramp up legal protection for consumers.
Tens of thousands of people signed the petitions but the conservative government rejected the idea. People seeking redress are told instead to rely on the Consumer Rights Act, thereby generally necessitating the help of legal professionals in order to achieve justice.
What to do if you have been treated unfairly
There are different routes available when looking at options to claim compensation from rogue holiday parks. However not every avenue is suitable for every mistreated consumer.
Get in touch with our team today for a free, no-obligation, confidential consultation. We will let you know your options so that you can make an informed choice.
