Timeshare space bank change smacks of robbery

ARE you still dealing with timeshare queries? If so, here is my complaint.

We have had timeshare for 20 to 25 years. Until recently we have been relatively happy with the concept.

We did not buy a specific week but a “flexi week” out of peak periods. Until this year we could book for when we wanted, or space bank our week.

This year we have had endless problems. We paid our levy in full by the end of January as normal. At the end of June we tried to book our week for the end of November. We were told there was no available accommodation for the rest of the year and we could not now space bank our week either.

Their new policy is you have to book six months in advance to secure your week.

So does this mean if you pay in January you can’t book until June? Who then can book between January and June? What normal person can know exactly six months in advance what their needs are going to be? (My son was seriously ill in the UK and in a medically induced coma and we had to fly to the UK unexpectedly. In July I ended up in hospital myself.)

That means the resort has taken our money, denied us our week and we cannot space bank it.

Is this not robbery? Where else do you pay for something then get told you can’t have it?

To add insult to injury, the resort sent me numerous e-mails saying I could get any week up until the end of the year for 20% discount, as well as added perks such as spa treatment. This means there is accommodation, but not for levy-paying customers.

Could we demand that the levy we paid for this year for this unusable week be used to pay for next year’s levy? Do we have any recourse?