TONY HETHERINGTON: My hell of being in a timeshare trap, even when I die

Mrs EC writes: I am 71 years old and feel that I have trapped myself and my descendants in a perpetual hell. Since 1999 I have owned a one-week timeshare property at Cameron House on Loch Lomond. I am responsible for paying skyrocketing and unaffordable annual administration fees, currently £988 plus TUBThe electricity charges for my six day stay were £484 and when I asked about it I was told that some timeshare owners were charged £650.

Even when I die, management or their debt collectors will make their demands on my family.

Tony Hetherington answers: When timeshares were popular, their main appeal was that owners didn’t have to pay a fortune to take the whole family on holiday. Instead, they would have to pay a modest annual fee for the upkeep of their apartment or – as Cameron House calls it – their accommodation. They could even rent out their weeks or sell them to a new owner.

How times have changed. Nowadays, owners can hardly give up their timeshare, let alone sell it. And if they do find a buyer, the timeshare company can veto any transfer of ownership if it suspects that the new owner cannot pay his or her annual dues.

Cameron House’s timeshare business is controlled by Americans, but the boss on the ground is Allan Reich, whose experience in Scotland’s hotel industry goes back some 40 years, so I asked him to explain his company’s “perpetuity” contracts.

Timeshare buyers may have interpreted this to mean that they owned their timeshare forever, rather than for a set number of years. But it seems the company interprets it to mean that even when an owner dies, annual fees can continue to be required, year after year, preventing executors from paying out bequests to family, friends or charities, until the estate is completely depleted. The only option is to hope that the company will agree to an immediate lump sum, reducing bequests rather than eliminating them altogether.

Reich did not respond, nor did the public relations firm I had hired to respond to me. I asked whether the company had sued owners who could no longer afford to pay the high annual fees, and if so, how many owners had ended up in court.

I was told that this had been explained to the owners in a document that I had not seen, at a meeting to which I was of course not invited. In other words, it was a response, but not a reply.

I repeatedly asked if it was true that owners who wanted to leave the business were told they had to hand over a lump sum equivalent to four years’ fees to buy their way out. Again, there was no answer. I pressed on in an attempt to find out if timeshare owners were free to sell to whomever they wanted. This time I got two answers. I was told: “Owners can sell their week privately or through a timeshare resale agent if they wish, without any restrictions from us on the price they can accept.”

Unfortunately, I was also told that buyers are vetted, with Cameron House admitting that “we conduct checks before finalising any sale.” This contradicts the original timeshare sales material which assures buyers: “Like any other property, you can rent it, sell it, gift it or bequeath it to your heirs.” There is no mention of a 100 per cent veto power giving the company complete control. Perhaps a fraudulent sale?

Now, as for the electricity bill, after your recent visit you were told that the meter had been read and £484 had been charged to your credit card. You protested and the bill was reduced to £333 and the difference refunded to you. You were simply told that the meter had been read wrong. Perhaps that was the case, but £333 for a week’s electricity is still an exorbitant figure.

Thirty or forty years ago, timeshare scandals were commonplace. Today, most people wouldn’t touch a timeshare with a stick. But unfortunately, “perpetuity” owners are stuck. Do our politicians understand this?

Two years ago, the House of Commons library produced a research paper for MPs on timeshares. It highlighted that perpetual contracts mean that “after the timeshare owner dies, his or her estate remains responsible for the management costs”.

Since then, silence. When will MPs put an end to the unfair Cameron House timeshare schemes, with their potentially tragic consequences for families? I will not hold my breath.

My husband died with £93 credit on his Amazon account. Can I transfer the money to myself?

Mrs CC writes: My husband has passed away. He used to buy Kindle books from Amazon and his account has a balance of £93. I asked if I could use this to buy a gift card but Amazon says I have to buy products I don’t actually need. I’ve been talking to customer service for hours with no results. How come Amazon has no way of transferring the money to my account or allowing the purchase of a gift card?

Tony Hetherington answers: I think the problem may have been that you originally asked for the £93 to be transferred to a gift card. Because of the risk of online scams or false claims acting on behalf of a deceased heir, Amazon may be cautious about transferring gift card balances. It is also aware that demanding a lot of paperwork from family at a difficult time can be unpleasant.

That said, my contact at Amazon couldn’t have been more helpful. The balance from her husband’s account has now been transferred in full to her own Amazon account, for her to spend as she wishes. The company told me, “We are so sorry for Mrs. C’s loss. When a loved one or close family member passes away, our grief support team is here to help, and we have made an exception in this case to transfer the gift card funds without additional documentation.”

• If you believe you have been a victim of financial crime, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the high volume of enquiries, it is not possible to provide a personal reply. Please only send copies of the original documents, which unfortunately cannot be returned.