I own a timeshare at Elmers Court in Lymington, Hampshire, run by Macdonald Resorts.
My husband died six years ago and I can no longer afford the annual maintenance fees. I am very concerned that the debt will pass to my children. They would also be unable to make the payments. I did approach the company, explaining my position and asking to hand back the timeshare.
Macdonalds said this was not possible, but the company would resell it for 1p. It has not contacted me since, and I still receive maintenance demands. Surely there must be a legal way to end this timeshare agreement?
Macdonald Resorts, based at Aviemore in the Highlands, is no stranger to this page. Since 2008, I have reported more than half a dozen times on the plight of the increasingly elderly owners who mostly bought their timeshare in the 1980s, believing they were buying an asset that could be sold on or bequeathed to their family.
Instead they found nobody will purchase their timeshare with its ever increasing fees, nor can their children afford such a financial millstone. The worst feature of this timeshare trap is that the company’s contracts are ‘in perpetuity’. Death does not end the demands.
Even if a deceased owner’s family refuse to accept the timeshare, Macdonald Resorts threatens to charge executors, so anything the late owner leaves goes to Macdonalds until the estate is drained.
I have a fat file full of sad letters from elderly owners who see a big slice of their pension disappearing to Macdonalds, while they can no longer afford to use the timeshare or are not fit to travel.
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