Consumer Commission targets time-share industry
The National Consumer Commission is taking aim at the time-share vacation ownership industry after numerous consumer complaints were not able to be resolved. File Picture The National Consumer Commission is taking aim at the time-share vacation ownership industry after numerous consumer complaints were not able to be resolved. File Picture
Cape Town - If you've got a gripe about your time-sharing package, you'd do well to attend the public hearings by the National Consumer Commission (NCC) this week.
Apparent systematic noncompliance with the Consumer Protection Act has prompted the NCC to listen to consumer submissions about the vacation ownership industry.
The hearings in Cape Town take place at the Cape Town Lodge, 101 Buitengracht Street, between Tuesday July 11 and Thursday July 13 from 10am to 5pm.
NCC Commissioner Ebrahim Mohamed has appealed to consumers to make oral submissions to the panel. Written submissions will be received in exceptional circumstances.
The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) Ombudsman Magauta Mphahlele said while the CGSO handled day-to-day complaints, she hoped the outcome of the NCC’s inquiry resulted in “better protection and redress for consumers in line with the purpose and principles of the Consumer Protection Act”.
Between January 2016 and February 2017, the CGSO noted the "worrying trend" that 127 vacation ownership complaints had been lodged. An addition 45 complaints had been received since March 2017. These had been submitted to the NCC in a report.
Spokesperson for the CGSO Ouma Ramaru said: "Of the 127 cases, 71% related to contracts and cancellations, unfair terms, failure to disclose contract terms and breach of contract. The remaining 29% related to quality of service, bait marketing, misleading advertising, overselling and unreasonable service delays."
The majority of the complaints had been resolved by the CGSO - in 110 of the cases concluded, 55% had a positive outcome for the consumer.
In 16.3% of the cases, the suppliers were unwilling to cooperate and the complaints were not resolved, said Ramaru.
Mphahlele said some of the complaints CGSO received included: when a consumer tried to cancel an agreement within the five-day cooling off period, the supplier would be unavailable and then would refuse to cancel or deny receiving a request for cancellation; or long time members who could no longer afford the annual fees would not be able to cancel their agreements.
Other complaints included: consumers being pressurised into signing agreements; consumers being misled during presentations; and not being able to find available dates for bookings.
Mphahlele said she hoped the hearings would result in the Department of Trade and Industry developing regulations for the vacation ownership industry with prescribed standards of conduct, contracting and marketing.