TAC reminder: Clocks 'spring forward' this weekend

Daylight Savings

Every year since 1916 Britain (along with many other countries) has adopted Daylight Savings Time (DST) for the summer. In Britain Daylight savings is known as British Summer Time (BST).

On the last Sunday in March (this year also the last day of the month - the 31st) at 1:00am, an hour will disappear and the time will spring forward to 2:00am.

Most of our devices are digital and will adjust themselves. All analogue clocks and watches plus devices not connected to the internet, including in your car and on your microwave and will need to be manually adjusted. You probably won't lose any sleep as its a Sunday and most people can just lie in later.

This 'missing hour' gets paid back on the last Sunday of October. This year that is the 27th, and at 2:00am the time will fall back to 1:00am.

Hot debate

BST was originally adopted after a petition by a Surrey builder called William Willett - who incidentally happened to be the great, great grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.

The reasons given were that farmers would be able to make more use of the daylight, and people would consume less fuel. 1916 was right in the middle of World War One and resources were scarce, which helped push the bill through parliament.

However, there were dark mutterings among those who knew Willett personally that his motivation for the change was, in fact, his annoyance at having to cut his golf games short in the summer evenings. Sadly for Willet, he died before BST was implemented.

Opponents of BST, and Daylight Savings in general liken the idea to 'cutting off the bottom of a blanket, sewing it to the top and convincing yourself you have a bigger blanket. There are also well proven arguments that productivity and health are affected for several days following each time change.

Time for a change?

Whichever position you take on the BST debate, we can all agree that time is precious. If you feel that your timeshare ownership is not currently meeting your holiday needs, then why waste another year paying expensive fees?

Getting out of the contract is generally possible with expert help. And if certain criteria are met, some timeshare owners can qualify for significant financial compensation.

To find out more, get in touch with our team at Timeshare Advice Centre.

Timeshare Advice Centre is the marketing arm of European Consumer Claims (ECC)