Lifestyle Credits

Lifestyle and Leisure Credits

Instead of customers joining a standard membership scheme or paying for individual events, products and services, leisure credits (also called lifestyle credits) have been introduced.

When you buy leisure credits, can use them a number of times a year to get certain goods or services. Leisure credits seem similar to timeshare points, but they have no real value. They are available for a wide variety of services but are commonly used for sports, spas and beauticians.

Having the choice to use these credits differently each year can seem like a good idea to many. Salespeople will promise you that you will always have access to the best locations or that you will save money in the long run. Both of these things are often not true or can be misleading.

Timeshare credits schemes are often oversubscribed, poorly organised or designed to make you continuously spend more.

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Mis-selling of leisure credits
Leisure and timeshare companies often target timeshare owners and ex-timeshare owners into buying their leisure credits. These leisure credits are similar to timeshare points and have less credibility. They are not even tied to specific resorts or products, leaving customers in the dark about what they have bought.

Customers had reported that when the products or services they thought they would get weren’t available, the company tried to convince them to buy more credits. After not very long, the prices of these things increased again, and they would need to buy more.

This endless cycle of increased costs means that some leisure credit schemes don’t save consumers money. If the company misled you about saving money with their scheme, or what you could get from it, then you might have a claim for mis-selling.

Read more below about mis-sold leisure credits and how to get compensation.

What are the pros and cons of leisure credit programmes?
Timeshare resorts which use credit, or point, schemes are always looking to make more money from customers.

The benefit on the face of it is flexibility and choice. The idea is that you would be able to book from a brochure of different locations each year, but many people find out this is easier said than done.

Most of the popular resorts and the best hotels are booked out for months or years in advance. This can leave customers with timeshare credits they can only use for sub-standard holidays or ones they do not want.

Many companies who sell leisure or timeshare credits can be guilty of mis-selling them if they were deliberately misleading or lied about the nature of the product.

How are leisure credits mis-sold?
There are only a few companies which sell leisure credits. Across Europe, there is just a handful, and from what we hear, there are some dirty sales tactics.
We have heard complaints from customers who were ex-timeshare owners, and even current ones, who were cold called by a leisure credit company. Their details, we can only assume, were sold to the leisure credits company by employees of timeshare companies. This is not just unethical, but it can also be a breach of privacy laws – but sadly this is how much of the timeshare industry operates.

Usually, the companies selling credits will contact people by surprise with an offer of a ‘fly by.’ These are where they give the potential customer a trip to a nice hotel or complex in the UK or abroad in return for attending a sales talk.

In the sales talk, many tactics will be used to convince attendees that they need to buy leisure credits. If they were happy ex-timeshare owners, the angle of these being the modern alternative is used.

If they are unhappy current timeshare owners then the leisure credit company might offer to buy their timeshare or terminate the contract for them. While there are undoubtedly cases where the leisure company buys timeshares for a good price, to our knowledge we haven’t dealt with a case where someone received any money for their timeshare.

What do leisure credits offer?
It is true that leisure credit companies can offer discount travel, accommodation savings and other deals for customers across a whole range of lifestyle and leisure goods and services. Each one will be different and will offer various leisure products for years to come.

The concept is similar to timeshares, but instead of staying at a property or holiday resort complex, you receive other goods and services. Because the credits are vague in what they offer and the leisure credit companies do not run the services they are providing, there is an enormous risk for the customer.

The customer should be aware that EU and UK laws still do not regulate this cut-throat industry, and timeshare laws will not protect buyers.

Many people buying leisure credits do so knowing that they will pay a large sum initially, and risk losing it if the leisure credit company doesn’t deliver what was promised.

Claiming Compensation for Mis-Sold Leisure Credits
Like the related industry of timeshares, leisure credits are also often mis-sold to consumers who want to save money in the long run. Having the chance to save money can be enticing, and pushy or forceful salespeople can make people feel rushed into buying when they haven’t had the opportunity to think things through thoroughly.

There are many different reasons for a leisure credit being mis-sold to a consumer, so every claim is unique. While each case is unique, our specialist team have seen almost everything there is to see when it comes to mis-selling of products like these. Here are some of the common reasons for mis-sold leisure credit:

  • You felt forced into buying before you had the chance to think through it properly. If the salesperson pushed you into buying on short notice, it might have been mis-sold to you.
  • You were misled about what the leisure credits were. You might be owed compensation if they were confusing, misleading or dishonest about the leisure credits before you bought them.
  • You had fees or other charges that you didn’t expect. If they didn’t explain to you that there are additional fees you didn’t expect, you might be able to make a claim.
  • You were told you would save money, but you didn’t. If the company said that you would save money with their scheme, but you lost lots, you might be due compensation.

If any of these reasons apply to you or someone you know, you should act today. The longer you wait, the harder it can be to claim a leisure credits or timeshare points company.

Contact us today for advice and guidance on the best ways forward to claim an unethical leisure credits company who you think might have mis-sold their products to you

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