M1 Legal lead the fight for timeshare justice

Who are M1 Legal?

M1 Legal (M1) is Europe’s most experienced, successful and pioneering firm of timeshare lawyers. Working alongside European Consumer Claims (ECC) they have won millions in compensation awards for victims of timeshare mis-selling since 2016.

With 14 associated lawyers working full time, and around 1750 current clients, M1 Legal are the preferred firm for timeshare victims whose cases are accepted by claims management firm ECC.

“It’s a process,”explains M1 Legal Managing Director Fernando Sansegundo. “The biggest hub for timeshare activity in Europe since the 1980s has been Spain, and the biggest customers were the British. Because of widespread, unscrupulous behaviour by developers, the Spanish government passed laws to protect consumers in 1999. The laws are wide ranging, but the 3 most significant changes were that it became illegal to take any payment during the Cooling Off Period; it became illegal to sell Points or Floating Weeks; and finally contracts of over 50 years were outlawed.

“The major timeshare companies universally ignored these laws for decades and wrote huge volumes of illegal business, believing themselves protected by the slow moving, expensive Spanish court system.

“At M1 Legal we are specialists in navigating the legal system and claiming compensation for people who were sold under illegal conditions.

“There are so many victims of the timeshare ‘crazy years’ that M1 would struggle to service them all. So we work together with a claims firm called European Consumer Claims (ECC). ECC filters the applicants to make sure we only deal with cases where the claim is rock solid,” explains Sansegundo

“The symbiosis is perfect and together both firms help a great deal of illegally sold timeshare members achieve financial justice. The average compensation award is over £20,000.”

Recent activity

In all aspects, M1 has had a high energy 2021 as the timeshare industry in Europe struggled to stay afloat. Major timeshare players like Diamond Europe, Club La Costa, Azure, Silverpoint and Anfi have closed their doors or even filed for administration.

“In times of turbulent movement like 2021, consumers get lost in the maelstrom,” says Fernando. “The people who lose out are usually the little guys, the end users. Never the wealthy corporations.”

M1 has changed that balance of power, and consumers are being awarded compensation in record amounts. So much so, that many of the above companies can attribute their downfall to M1’s fight for justice.

Record year for M1 success

So what is M1’s take on 2021? And what is on the horizon for 2022?

2021 was a record year which saw 351 awards for M1 clients totalling £5.9 million pounds, and 2022 has also started with a slew of major Spanish courts victories.

So far in 2022 M1 has reported 73 awards where the judge declared the contracts declared null and void, awarding compensation totalling £1202,157

The majority of victories (47 in total) were against Anfi and Club la Costa World and valued at £788,802; with the remaining 26 victories (valued at £411,355) spread over 10 other resorts. Highlighted victories include a £38,982 award against Onagrup and a £37,866 appeal award against Diamond Resorts.

2022 and beyond

“2022 is shaping up to be our busiest year ever,” predicts Fernando Sansegundo. “This past week alone we have won 18 compensation victories worth just under a third of a million pounds. One of those awards was for £56,000 against Marriott Vacation Club.

“We have also been busy providing services in the CLC administration and assisting the official administrators. We spent over £100,000 to have the existing administrators (BDO) replaced with FRP, the creditor’s choice. There is a lot of work for M1 to do, helping the administrators investigate the hidden finances of CLC. So far this year we have brought 76 separate cases, worth around £4 million pounds to FRP.

“It seems like every week that a new major timeshare company declares insolvency. M1 is always there to protect the interests of the members involved. It is exhausting work, but gives great satisfaction whenever we are able to tell a client: ‘you won. You have been awarded X thousand pounds.’

“Together with ECC we are also moving into the US market, helping owners over there in the same way we do in Europe. The timeshare customer base is 10 times as big over there and we are going to team up with the leading timeshare law firm in America for this expansion.

“Timeshare is a dated, expensive and restrictive concept. Timeshare companies are collapsing everywhere and we expect more big names to fall in 2022.”

Whatever the outcomes of these turbulent times, M1 Legal is here to make sure timeshare owners are treated fairly, to help rectify injustices of the past, and those of the future. With all the changes, the future could be sooner than you think

If you would like to free yourself from a timeshare contract, or claim compensation for being mis-sold/illegally sold then get in touch with our associate claims firm ECC to find out about how M1 Legal can help you.