CLUB LA COSTA

[AMBERLILY]

My partner was recently informed that he had won a holiday with the above, we were asked to attend a Promotional Evening in Leeds last night and so "tongue in cheek" we went. We were informed that the free holiday what was they called a "package holiday and it was passed off as something we may not like as it wasnt at one of their Resorts, so how could we see what it was like. We were then shown a film which showed us absolutely nothing of the inside of the resorts. We were then taken through the usual questions and various figures were written down haphazardly by the guy which we couldnt really read. About 45 mins later the lights went off and another film was put on showing us how we could exchange our time with RCI! in case we wanted to go to places they didnt have resorts. At various times another person from the selling team was brought in to talk to us and give him the information at where to pitch! We were only shown a brochure of their resorts, nothing else other than the "film" and we then had to push them to get to the point. We were offered to upgrade the "free holiday" to a 3 year trial of one of their resorts in Southern Spain for a figure of almost �4,000 after which time we could either buy the rest of the timeshare up to the given value of �11,990 or not do anything at all. We spent about five minutes asking a few questions about payments etc and then we told them that it was not for us and we woul not be taking them up on their offer. Within seconds the seller got up, told us she would arrange for our voucher and holiday papers to be brought to us and then left to go to another table. Our guy returned and we then spent about fifteen minutes talking about precisely nothing in particular, and then when I had turned round several times to see if anyone was bringing us this paperwork, a girl from the rear of the room arrived to take us out of the room to get them. When we got into the Reception this paperwork was still not there and she had to go and get it from another room. We arrived for our appt at 7pm and left the building at 10.45 - almost four hours later.
We had decided on visiting this Promotional Evening that we would not be taking them up on their offer as we already own a holiday ownership in Florida, although at no time did we inform them of this, but we referred to good friends of ours who also have a holiday ownership in Tenerife. It was a very interesting evening and if you want a laugh, cold coffee and lots of grinning smiles, do it if only for the �25.00 M&S Voucher and the somewhat odd - free holiday which we shall take them up on if we can get them to at least give us information on which hotel we may end up in, if its crap then I wont go and just spend the �25.00 voucher with relish.

[15]

After reading these fantastic comments I have decided not to go to lakeside today - I was very suspicious - Last year I was lucky enough to win an all-inclusive holiday to Barbados with Virgin Atlantic and it was simple - you've won, here is your ticket and off you go - fantastic. So to go through a load of hassle, pay money, listen to bull just for a cheap break in Spain is not worth it - If you are that desperate for a holiday save your money and look around for the best deal - atleast this way you get to choose when and where you are going and you will be able to sleep at night!! I know what it feels like to win a dream holiday and this is not it! x

[world traveller]

Hi Mayor of Bramley

I've got 1501 points which I paid �13,000 for. I had the 3 year trial membership which quite honestly I should have stuck with, but needless to say I was taken in by their very slick sales people on the prelude holiday and foolishly signed up for the full membership.

The CLC resorts I've to have been very good along with the service from resort staff, but member services are a whole different ball game, they're like a bunch of rotweilers! I am currently having a dispute about the late payment of the annual fee. It's only late because I have not received their invoice which they say was sent in November. I have now been issued with a 25% late penalty payment amounting to �230 on top of the annual fee of �924. They hide behind all sorts of terms and conditions crap and say that as I've been a member with them for 3 years, I should know when the invoices arrive and that I OUGHT TO HAVE CHASED THEM when I didn't receive it. I've never heard such rubbish!

I'm so tempted to let them cancel my membership which of course they won't have a problem with because they've already had my money up front plus 2 years membership fees on top.

I can't emphasise enough to anyone thinking of going to one of their presentations just because you like the sound of a free holiday - DON'T GO!!!!! You will get the free holiday, although its not entirely free as you still pay an admin fee per person. You'll get better value for money searching around on the internet for a package holiday. If you're really desperate to own a timeshare, contact one of the timeshare resale companies, you can buy points for a fraction of the price.

At the presentations CLC show you a number of resorts which look amazing but if like me you sign up as a gold member with 1501 points, you'll find out when you try to book one of them that you don't have nearly enough points and so you have to make do with the older and less luxurious resorts. You'll need a diamond membership which is a flaming fortune to go to any of the top resorts.

My annual membership fee for the amount of points I own works out around to nearly �1000 a year which would go a pretty long way towards a package deal. Don't forget with CLC all you're getting is the accommodation, you still have to pay for flights and food.

Unless you are able to say no and really mean it, have absolutely nothing to do with CLC. I fail to understand how with consumer trading standards they manage to continue conning the public in this way. Having learned the hard way, take my advice and give them a HUGE SWERVE!!

[statusquo44]

Hi all,

I found this site while searching the options of buying and selling Club La Costa points.

We are members originally at the Gold standard and then upgraded last week to Platinum. I have no direct affiliation with Club La Costa other than the points I own with the club.

It is an expensive product, but I am actually pleased with what I have. When we went to the original presentation in Lakeside, Essex on the promise of a free holiday, my wife and I went with me up for the deal and her the ever sceptic. By the end of the presentation CLC had converted her and I was one against it because of the initial outlay involved.

The thing that swung it for me in the end was the fact that these points are fully transferable. Once you've paid for the points, they are yours for life if you want them and those of your childrens lives too.

We have two boys and when we've finished paying for them, they boys will have guaranteed holidays for the rest of their lives or an investment to sell at a greatly increased profit than what my wife and I bought them for.

We originally paid about �18 a point, they're �26 now, they're going up to �31 in January and up again in 2010 to �36 in an effort to recoup the �75,000,000 they are investing in building new complexes and upgrading existing ones to their 'Premier Plus' standard.

Yeah you're right its a huge outlay and not everyone is lucky enough to be in the position that we are to be able to afford them, but look at what you get for your money! The year prior to our investment in CLC we went to Holland with Eurocamp for two weeks staying in what can only be described as tin shed in comparison with the properties you get with CLC. For this we paid Eurocamp �1888 for the ferry and the accommodation for two weeks. So if I pay that or around that for the next twenty years I'll have paid out 38 grand for twenty years of holidays and nothing other than memories to show for it.

With CLC its a lifetime investment or for as long as you want to remain members and i know that my children and their children and theirs after that will all get the benefit of what my wife and I are paying for now! What can be wrong with that? No company will ever please all the people all the time and I'm sure there will always be someone with a nightmare story about Club La Costa, but as things stand at the moment - I can't fault them!

Spongebod - I'll buy your points at �2 more than you paid for them - hows that?

[Mikey D]

Just returned from a Mon-Fri promotional stay at CLC Duchally (the cost was �49 per adult) and with six of us staying we were given a three bed lodge. First impressions of the lodge were that is was well equipped, modern and very spacious with three ensuite rooms. However, the lodge was vey dusty, certainly not five star cleaning...

Arriving pretty late check was quick and very smooth and CLC had provided complimentary milk, bread, butter, jam, oj and a bottle of wine in the fidge. A nice touch.

The leisure facilities that we used at the end of each day were OK (not five star by any means) the pool was very small (quite chilly) and if there were more than 12 people in felt quite crowded.

Having already had a CLC meeting last year, which took 3.5hrs we were not looking forward to the welcome meeting whilst there. This was booked over breakfast and lasted another 2 hours. The sales rep Steve made us feel at ease after we explained our first encounter with CLC last summer.

He recapped over the main points, showed us the Jenny Bond dvd and offered us the trial membership = 6 weeks accomodation @ �3.8k for 34 months. His manager then went through the various finance options and left us to decide.

When the returned we declined the offer based on the additional �150 booking fee per holiday and the fact that you need to book soooooo far in advance to stand a chance of getting what you want. In fairness to Steve he seemed pretty geninue and when asked how far in advance would we need to book (to get school holiday dates) he said 10 months minimum with no guarantees. We would be given priority as trial members (to secure full membership) - I assume priority over existing full members!!!!!!!!!

We were not pushed any further nor made to feel uncomfortable for the decision we had made. We were wished a pleasent stay and that was the last we heard from hem for the rest of our stay.

My wife spoke to several CLC full members who had to book over 12 months in advance to get what they want (with flights being issued only 330 days in advance) I assume they take a chance with flights matching their dates/ location.

After we checked out on Friday we have booked breakfast at the hotel. What a mistake, a waitress was left to manage breakfast by herself as most of the staff were off to a funeral of a CLC sales rep who had died the week before. The could still afford to have three reception staff chatting whilst this poor girl ran herself into the ground. The food took ages, was cold and the beans were a congelled mess. We returned the breakfasts and left - definately not five star.

The place is out in the sticks you will need transport to make the most of your stay.

[Steve2]

The Mayor of Bramley,

As an apparently happy member of Club la Costa since 1999, why are you so shy about telling us how much you paid for your 1600 CLC points?

[Steve2]

Statusquo44,

I hope that you work for CLC because if you don't you need to prepare yourself for a major shock.

CLC points regularly sell on ebay for between 50p and �1 a point. There's someone selling 2,700 points at the moment and the vendor has set a minimum price of 50p per point. This has attracted no bids.

The price CLC charge depends on how much they think that they can extract from you. I'm afraid that if you really paid �18 per point then you have probably lost a lot of money. You don't mention how many points you have but let's assume that you have 3,000 points (if you are at the platinum level you will have between 2,501 and 4,000 points). Assuming that you could re-sell these for, say, a very optimistic �5 per point then I'm afraid you're down by almost �40,000.

And on top of this initial loss there are the annual membership and maintenance fees. In 2008 the annual membership fee is �170 and for someone with 3,000 points the annual maintenance fee is 39.5p per point. So even before you pick up the phone and try to book anything, your membership and maintenance fees this year will be setting you back �1,355. And the membership and maintenance fees go up by a lot more than inflation every year (see http://www.clcmembers.co.uk/clcincreases.html for details of fee increases over the past few years). And of course you have to pay these fees, year after year after year, or you'll lose your points.

Only a CLC salesman or someone seriously misinformed would describe the purchase of CLC points as an �investment'. They lose virtually all of their value as soon as you leave the CLC office and you are locked into paying ever increasing annual maintenance fees for as long as you want to keep them.

[greebo]

In response to MikeyD.... I am really stunned that you have the cheek to complain about your promotional stay! You only paid �49 per head! For those who think that's expensive, take a look at the equivalent standard through hoseasons or similar - for easter breaks you'd be talking the best part of �600!! And it wouldn't have been even close to the standard at Duchally. Also, you say you reckon there would be a problem getting what you wanted, yet you were there during school holidays,and you haven't even paid a membership, so what does that tell you about availability??

It's out 'in the sticks' for a reason, - some of us love the fact that the scottish resorts are quiet, peaceful, tranquil and free from idiots! (apart from the gift-hunting tightwads that take the mikey) If you don't want to do the timeshare thing, don't take up valuable space at well loved resorts.

[allibaba]

Hello
I have just come back from Tenerife where Club le Costa, is based, i too went for the Presentation, not may i add naievley, as i have been on many a timeshare presentation, normally when its not too nice a day as you can get free goods, i got 35 euro towards an excursion, which i used, 2 bottles of champagne, (not the best, but for free) some sandwiches, etc etc, i had a lovely guy show us around the places on offer, read all the documentation etc, we were there for about 4 hours, but that was my husband and myself's fault, making sure we asked every question possible??? i think they wanted us to leave in the end..we did buy the 3 year trial, as the offer to us was a good one, the rooms themselves no matter where you go in the first 3 years are �150.00 for a 2 bedroomed apartment, for 6 people..you can use the holiday or sell it to friends and make a few quid, you can use there flights, or if you can find cheaper..use somebody else, like any business they want to sell the whole package so yes they are going to bug you, and some salesman can put more pressure on you than others, but we had none, at all, every question was answered, we were also took out on there regular wed night feast for members, and wined and dined, not to mention next day breakfast at another resort we said we would like to look at, you can say yes!! or play the system, its up to you, i wont buy anything unless i have seen the goods first, and there offices were lovely, not a back street shop, with pictures put up for the day by someone, there are hidden costs with every firm you go to..its true, i.e maintenance charges etc, have you seen what it costs to go away these days and what extra costs there are?? but as long as you ask for them up front, or just pay what you want to pay, What's the problem.. if the trial proves no good, (though i no it will be as they want you to buy full mebership), what have you lost..nothing you have still got your 6 holidays in 3 years, my first holiday there doing for �69.00 for a family of 6 for a week in a 4/5 star room, i will find my own cheapest flights if theres aren't as good, my advice would be to book your flights well in advance.. you can say no at the end and have no more to pay..????the saving on a holiday to florida alone at there prices would almost cover the cost of the trial price..My Advice is Try it first..if they were up for ripping everybody Off they would Shoot Themselves in the Foot and they certainly wouldn't let you pay monthly D/D if they were plannning to close soon Would They..Good Luck and Happy Holidaying!!!

[Twigletto]

Hi all!
We appear to have had much the same experience as others. we never did get our M and S vouchers. We threw the holiday vouchers away, and then were called about eighteen months later( in accordance with the law, I gather they can't keep hassling you once you have turned them down for that amount of time).
The sell was hard and bullying, and at the end when most of our sensible questions were not answered, having informed them we would not be buying in any event, the rep said, so you just came for the freeby eh, rather scornfully, like DURR you told me free holiday, no catches!!
The holiday was great, a bit too many whingeing children, and awful sound proofing, so I was woken up twice by people apparently marauding about like wilderbeast in other appartments.
It has been interesting, but I can't say I am any better informed, the whole selling thing was confusing and off key. Maybe if they hard given us more useful info, instead of cheap rubbish garbled nonsense, we would have considered it more seriously.
I think the funniest part of the sell for me was when he said if you want a mercedes, blah blah, and I said yes but I can only afford a fiesta.... and he claimed that he had been a financial adviser, as my mortgage has just increased and am being shafted by northern rock, causing me to move mortgages at great hassle and expense, I am not feeling like lining anyone else's pockets thanks.
We would rather buy the rough guide, and go online. If you have any sense of adventure, this is not for you.
Cheers!