Age 71 and I've been looking for a job to pay TIMESHARE FEES…
By Tony Hetherington – Daily Mailhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Tony+Hetherington
28th November 2009
C. R. writes: My wife and I are both retired and our funds are quickly dwindling. The maintenance charge on our timeshare apartment with Macdonald Resorts at Plas Talgarth in Gwynedd is now out of our reach.
I spoke to someone at the company who virtually told me to 'pay up or the bailiffs will be called in'. I have even tried to look for a job, but at 71 no one wants to know.
In 2007 and again last year Financial Mail reported how people who had bought timeshare apartments run by Macdonald Resorts based in Aviemore in the Highlands were finding it harder to pay mounting maintenance fees.
Owners who bought 20 years ago and have since retired were finding it particularly tough. Annual fees climbing faster than pension income, but listing their apartments with Macdonald's resale scheme produced poor results, even after years of trying.
As one owner told me:
'Even a 20-year-old car has some scrap value, but apparently a Macdonald timeshare week does not. It is an ongoing liability.' Since then, there seems to be a growing realisation that this is a serious issue that is not going to go away. The timeshare company's managing director, Simon Jackson, said recently:
'The number of people today who want to get out of the system is huge. 'For instance, grown-up children of owners don't want timeshares passed on to them, no matter how great a time they had there as youngsters, because they fear the responsibility of the management fees and the difficulty in selling, should the need arise.' And he added: 'While there are still older people who can't sell their timeshare when they need to and don't know which way to turn, is it any wonder the consumer perception of timeshare is so negative?'
Jackson is absolutely right, and you are the proof. You originally bought a timeshare apartment near the Snowdonia National Park in 1991.
In 2007, annual fees were £368. This year you have been billed for £474, with a final reminder recently warning you that interest was being added at two per cent a month.
Author