another mug

[Jenny Trevatt]

I have just sat through a long winded presentation with Holiday VIPS. We were enticed there with the promise of a holiday for �35 each if we wrote a report on the holiday. They tried to extract �4,950 out of us as a subscription for 15 years of discounted holidays and an annual fee of �75. The sign up fee did include 3 x freeish holidays although you had to pay for flights to America to join a cruise ship.

The rep (a thoroughly nice chap) called one of the others over who after a while of talking to us turned to him and said we were a 'total waste of space'. I said that we never agree to sign on the night, it smacks of double glazing sales.

If you like being on the receiving end of a hard sell then go to one of these.

We then asked for our free holiday for coming to the presentation. We sat and waited for a fax to come through and as we had been there since 4.30pm and it was now after 7pm we had to go home. I wonder if there really was a free holiday or whether the expectation was that if you kept them waiting long enough they would give up and go home.

[ollybeak]

I have posted a reply to Sandy & what I have sugested that those of us who are worried or have complaints contact "BBC WATCHDOG

http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/contact/index.shtml

" Programme. I did this a couple of weeks ago through their web site. Hopefully if they have enough peopl who are concrned with this company the may well investigate them.
Ollybeak

[elljak]

Hi
We went for a holiday at Club la Costa a couple of weeks ago and despite the warnings, got caught too. We had Six hours of hard sell:( We paid out �500 to dwvc, but talked afterwards to Club la Costa who were extremely good. They said we had a 7 day cooling off period whatever the Contract said. We cancelled immediately. Since coming home we have refused delivery of all their materials, and telephone threats have now gone to written threats. However, there is more information on the TCA site where DWVC are specifically mentioned. You are also invited to make a complaint to the office of fair trading if you are not offered the cooling off period and you don't get ALL your money back. There is also information on the office of fair trading site.

[dizzydi]

Hi elljak

We got cought exactly the same way, except we paid the remaining balance on returning home. I never thought of checking it out on the website first, I WISH I DID, but i was new on internet full stop, and did not know a whole lot about it. Since being a full member we found the membership a total waist of time and money. But i did write to the credit card company to claim under section 75, beach of contract. I was given very good advise and hope, but unfortunatly mine is slightly more complicated because i had already used to membership and took my first holiday, Purley just to get back to spain to speak directly to the people who sold it to us. Although they did give us more benifits. I am not using any of them yet nor any more of the membership, untill i have took it as far as i can with the credit card company, im not giving up. So please I would advise you to do the same.

For further interesting reading please read http://www.euroconsumer.org.uk/index/pu ... s/designer.

Beause DWVC have broke their own agreement with the OFT with their promise for all marketers to abide by a revised code of conduct which includes :-

a)TO PROVIDE a 7 day cooling off period, AND

b)Not to make any misleading or inaccurate represenatations about the benifits of the DWVC membership services.

Please write to them, and help get this company stoped and help other people. They were very interested to here from me and sent me out a form to fill in.

There address is:- Office OF Fair Trading, Fleetbank House 2-6 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8JX....

Keep posting and let us know how you get on.

Dizzy di xx :thumleft:

[geotaff]

Are there any current DWVC members out there with any reviews of holidays?

We have just paid the deposit for the membership in Costa del sol, and after reading many posts, mostly relating to 'unable to cancel' and 'cooling off period' stories I'm fairly concerned.

I'm interested to know whether there are good or bad reviews about the holidays supplied by this organisation, before I either commit to them or start a legal battle to prevent me outlaying my membership balance.

We weren't sold the product on any �300 pound holiday stories, simply good quality holidays at nett costs.

[taddyman]

Hi all
Just returned from Tenerife,we signed up with Gold Crown last year and have not been impressed, we where given a promotional holiday ( which we have just had). We had transfers to the apartment from the airport but nothing for the return journey, so basicly we had been dumped. At the reception we had a note saying that we would be contacted by an agent for us to go to a presentation as this was a promotional week, ok you get nothing for nothing these days.
We where collected and taken to one of the apartment/studio rooms that this company had, sat and talked for a while then went to the presentaion. I would like to point out at no time did we feel presurised, they was polite and friendly explained every detail we needed to know and aswered all questions we asked, over all we felt comfortable with them. This cimpany turned out to be DWVC a part of Timelinx, DWVC organised our return transfere which Gold Crown had missed out treated us to a 3 course meal to meet other members both new and old and organised for us to go to a local show, as a result we have transfered our Gold Crown membership to DWVC.

[tom,s]

I SMELL A RAT.!!!!!

[Fred 2]

It would seem so. Let's give him the benefit of the considerable doubt and see if this is answered.

Taddyman - exactly how could they "transfer" the membership out of Gold Crown? This implies firstly that DWVC were able to magic the recovery of the money which you had paid to GC and secondly that they have absolutely guaranteed that you have no ongoing liablility to GC for annual fees. This does seem less than likely. What did it cost you to join DWVC and was any kind of "CashBack" deal involved?

[upset]

Hi, we got conned by dwvc in the last few days. I spoke to a really helpful man at tca who told me what to write in a letter to cancel, which I've sent off today. This evening though, before they have got the letter, they have rung every 5 minutes in two hours, I haven't answered the phone apart from once when i put the phone down, but is this what they normally do? I'm starting to get scared

[Fred 2]

They are trying to speak to you to persuade you to change your mind. They are good at it. Do not under any circumstances enter into a discussion with them as this could be dangerous. If you do speak to them just say that they must put anything that they have to say in writing - then put the phone down. Otherwise (or if they persist) send a further very brief letter by recorded delivery saying that you will deal only in writing and that any further calls will be considered as harassment and the telephone authorities will be contacted - and if they continue do it.