§ Mr. McCrindleTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received about timeshare mail shots; if he has any plans to seek to make them illegal; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthI receive a number of complaints about the use of prize-draw mail shots by certain timeshare companies and the Department's leaflet—"Your Place in the Sun"—warns consumers to be particularly wary of such offers.
I have no plans to legislate. The Timeshare Developers Association lays down standards for the kind of 641W promotions undertaken by its members in its code of ethics. The Advertising Standards Authority considers complaints about promotional material which does not comply with the British Code of Sales Promotion Practice and the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988, administered by the Director General of Fair Trading, apply to misleading advertising.
§ Mr. McCrindleTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has received any representations concerning the introduction of a cooling-off period for timeshare buyers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthI do receive complaints about some timeshare companies not providing a cooling-off period. It is an important safeguard for consumers, and an increasing number of timeshare companies recognise this. The Timeshare Developers Association's code of ethics requires its members to provide a minimum cooling-off period of five days. The Department's leaflet—"Your Place in the Sun"—advises those interested in timeshare not to sign anything unless a cooling-off period is allowed.