The joy of being timeshare free. But is it really possible?

Millions of people are stuck in expensive, barely usable timeshare contracts. The rest of the travel industry is now light years ahead of the holiday ownership model, and timeshare owners are keen to enjoy the flexibility of regular booking sites too

Why leave?

Timeshare owner's main complaints are:

• being forced to pay maintenance fees whether they holiday or not
• having paid a fortune to join a resort that is no longer exclusive, and can be booked on Booking.com
• not having the flexibility to go where they want, or when they want (clunky exchange systems just don't deliver that freedom)
• they don't want to pass the burden of the membership on to their estate when they pass away
• timeshare contracts typically allow the resort to increase the fee amounts by whatever they want, and members have no way to challenge unfair price hikes

Is it really possible to escape?

The short answer is yes.

Timeshare contracts are deliberately ironclad. Resorts don't care if people want to leave and will bring heavy legal artillery to bear on owners trying to escape. Resorts desperately need the money from the annual fees.

Timeshare companies are way ahead of members when it comes to their legal position and they generally win when someone without the required experience or legal knowledge tries to challenge the contract. Ignoring the fees is not an option, as it exposes the member to court action and debt enforcement

To escape, most people need expert help.

How difficult is it?

This depends on a number of factors including where you own (resort and country of ownership), the product you own, when you bought, and the type of contract you signed, however, if you have the right team in your corner a contract relinquishment can be achieved efficiently and effectively.

How long does it take?

With the expert team at European Consumer Claims (ECC), relinquishment can sometimes take a matter of days. At the other end of the scale, there are resorts which can take up to 18 months to escape from.

In general, the average time for this process is 12 weeks. Every resort has its own challenges and you will be given an estimate on timescales before deciding whether or not to go ahead.

What you can be certain of is that however long the time estimate is from ECC, that timeframe is quicker than anyone else can achieve.

Who should I trust?

Naturally, we would say ourselves. But don't take our word for it. There are many fraudulent companies in this space, so due diligence is required.

Timeshare Consumer Association wrote this excellent article on how to effectively research claims companies.

What do other people say about ECC?

There are many online review forums, and ECC has close to 5 stars on most of them. Below are a couple of examples from ECC's TrustPilot page:

ECC also encourages existing clients to leave video reviews, which are audited by KFP Consulting. KFP are former UK Trading Standards officers headed up by Leon Livermore (former Chief Executive of Trading Standards UK)

KFP verify the reviews to ensure that:

• These are genuine ECC clients
• They have not been offered incentives for their review

Click here to see ECC client's video and written reviews

What should I do now?

"Get in touch with our team," invites Andrew Cooper, CEO of ECC. "A consultation with one of our experts is free, confidential and without obligation. If we can help you, we will. If we can't then you will have gained an accurate overview of your situation.

"Our experts are waiting for your call."