Memorandum by Shakespeare Classic Line Ltd
This was an interesting declaration which we found from the not too distant passed. It is a transcript from a statement which Mr David Evens submitted to the Houses of Parliament and in promotion of the timeshare industries issue with Sandy Grey TCA and consumers.
Savvy consumers will no doubt know that Mr. Evens is the same man who was later found to be a liar, a fraud and assisting in running what the court called a fraud factory
Quote:-
Andrew Stephen Harris the director of Warwickshire based Shakespeare Classic Line Ltd has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after earlier being found guilty of defrauding his customers.
Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service took the successful prosecution after receiving complaints from across the UK.
His Honour, Judge Alan Parker, presiding, said that Harris and another director David Keith Evans had been running a “fraud factory” from their base in Hatton, near Warwick, “where victims were processed in industrial quantities.”
Many customers asked whether the product was timeshare and were told it was not. This denial was described by Judge Parker as “a calculated lie”. He further commented that “Pressure and coercion was the most disturbing (aspect) of this systematically criminal conduct.”
When you read the statement he gave on behalf of the timeshare industry, you will see that he was in full support of the OTE (now the RDO) and TATOC merging into one.
No doubt he believed that they operated a closely aligned agenda (the TCA tends to agree). One has to say that if this man was their best (OTE) batter then it beggar belief that whilst standing in front of the credibility wickets he was systematically defrauding timeshare consumers.
As Mr. Evans stated:-
If TATOC were to merge with the OTE, then we would have a strong industry association in Europe. It would then be a simple matter for anybody involved in the ownership industry having to be a member of the association. Strong publicity telling everybody about the association and that heavy fines and expulsion would be levied to companies breaking the rules.
My name is David Evans. I am submitting this evidence on behalf of Shakespeare Classic Line Ltd, the company of which I am a Director. The company has been in business for 10 years as a developer, retailer, wholesaler and management company of holiday ownership.
I would like to give my evidence on the specific issues as follows:-
OVERVIEW
Many industries have strong industry associations such as ABTA. The timeshare industry has ARDA in America and TISA in South Africa. If TATOC were to merge with the OTE, then we would have a strong industry association in Europe. It would then be a simple matter for anybody involved in the ownership industry having to be a member of the association. Strong publicity telling everybody about the association and that heavy fines and expulsion would be levied to companies breaking the rules.
We feel that there is more than enough legislation covering sales of goods and services, but it is the policing of this legislation that is the problem. Therefore, adding to the legislation simply increases the problem.
Clearly he (in fact we the industry and him) was happy with the laws as they stood and he did not want the consumers to enjoy any more rights which gave him trouble.
We believe that one association should cover all of the member states, thus making it clearer for the consumer. We also believe that there is a problem of conflict between EC laws and national laws.
You see the issue they (the industry) believed is that the merging of the industry lead association should cover all member states and this happened in that the OTE changed its name to the RDO to reflect its new mission. Is it real that the best place for consumers to get information about their rights is the very industry they complain about? Is It?
The existing Directive has led to confusion and has seriously damaged the timeshare industry. The strength of the Directive is the full disclosure, but the weakness is the cancellation notice, which has led to holiday clubs and major disintegration of the timeshare industry.
The damage to the time sharing industry (I am afraid) is their own making as the governments were reacting to mass complaints. Did he really believe that we should feel sorry for the industry who perpetrated these deeds?
SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
We believe that any changes in legislation should only apply to products bought outside the country of residence.
NATIONAL PROVISIONS
We agree that written information should be provided to the consumer.
We repeat that we believe that there should be a strong industry association.
RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL
From a consumer perspective, the right of withdrawal is confusing. The consumer purchases the product believing it to be a good product, only to find that they are being invited to cancel which immediately raises alarm bells because the consumer then believes that there is something wrong with the product because they are being invited to cancel.
The belief of the consumer was right, the belief of the courts was proved to be right and the suspicions of the governments have also proven to be right. If the selling of timeshare was just, honest and there were few complaints then clearly there would be no need to legislate against them.
We believe that the legislation is using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. With approximately five people completing a purchase out of every one thousand people who are invited to a presentation, we do not understand why you are trying to protect those people from buying such an excellent product.
Eh, fraud!!!!!! One might say
ADVANCE PAYMENTS
The consumer should not be protected from making advance payments. They expect to pay a deposit as with any other product. You are starting from the premise that timeshare is a poor product and this is just not the case. You are being given completely false figures by Sandy Grey, when in reality there are very very few complaints about the actual timeshare product. Any complaints you receive about the way the product is sold will almost certainly be covered by the new Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.
Now this, with hindsight boarders on the ridicules! This man was jailed, was hailed a fraud and was adjudicated as running a fraud factory. His company has crashed and compensation claims flooded in and he submits Sandy Grey was wrong!!!! Few complaints!!!!!!
There is no problem for consumers making advance payments in the resale market so long as the consumer has not been cold called.
REDRESS
Once again we point to the OTE as the best method for out of court redress.
There you go! The advice from the fraudster is not to engage a law firm, not to seek advice from a consumer led companies, institution or organisation it’s to go to the OTE (now the RDO).
SANCTIONS, MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT
Again we point to the fact that policing the legislation is difficult and we, therefore, believe that the trade body with government funding should be able to monitor and have the powers of enforcement against any company breaking the rules. This could be very simply achieved by having a disclosure document for all sales. Providing that the client agrees to every clause and that the product does exactly what it says, then there would be no need for sanctions. However, if the product does not do exactly as written in the disclosure document, then the client should receive their money back plus interest from the company who sold them the product and this should be guaranteed by an insurance policy.
So there you have it this man in support of the industry wanted the government to fund the OTE (now the RDO) and have powers to enforce.
As already stated, we believe that the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive makes the need for any European timeshare legislation null and void.
OUTSTANDING ISSUES
The Directive is set out to ruin a once thriving industry; it is a fantastic product, used by millions of people all over the world, so the top hotel chains such as Hilton and Marriott’s are involved in the industry. The product is owned by middle income families who wish to stay in places that were previously only affordable to the rich; the product is also owned by the rich who like their accommodation guaranteed. We believe that the legislation goes too far and we do not need any more.
31 August 2007
Oh what a tangled web he wove!
Clearly the industry did not get its way and the government did not accept the submissions of this ranting fraudster.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk