The groundwork done over the years by the FF Plus to expose irregularities in the holiday club industry has finally paid off with the news that a comprehensive investigation, which included countrywide public hearings, has been finalised and that a final report will be issued soon.
In response to a query by the FF Plus, the National Consumer Commission (NCC) confirmed that there may finally be a remedy for the thousands of members of holiday clubs who have experienced problems with the point system in particular.
The news is encouraging, and this hopefully marks the end of what has been one of the country's biggest consumer issues over the last few decades.
The NCC's complete answer to the FF Plus's questions regarding the investigation follow below.
The FF Plus once again wants to encourage people who are experiencing problems to contact Mr Neels Hattingh of the FF Plus at neels@vfplus.org.za. He can also be reached on 012-772 4410. The FF Plus made this service available to help the public by lodging their complaints with the NCC.
The FF Plus has already lodged nearly 2012 complaints with the parliamentary portfolio committee for Trade and Industry as well as the Consumer Commission after the party received numerous allegations of irregularities and unethical conduct in the industry.
Thousands of unhappy club members came to the FF Plus for help and all their complaints formed part of the investigation. From the complaints it could be gleaned that consumers experienced serious problems with the following things in particular:
NCC's answer:
The National Consumer Commission (NCC/ Commission) would like to tender its sincere apology for the unforeseen, delayed release of the Timeshare Inquiry Report. We had projected that this would be done during the First Quarter of this Financial Year. However, given the fact that the project was the first of its kind for the Commission, and the magnitude thereof, it was not to be.
Subsequent to wrapping up the public hearings involving various stakeholders in the Timeshare / Vacation Ownership industry, the Inquiry Panel conducted elaborate research on several technical issues, some of which were either legal, economic and/or financial as well as regulatory in nature. This was to respond to the Terms of Reference, specific issues raised by various stakeholders at the hearings, issues extracted from hundreds of complaints that the NCC had handed over to the Timeshare Inquiry Panel, and also those issues relating to the Report which came up during subsequent engagements between the NCC Technical Support Team and the Panel.
The last phase of quality assuring, editing and printing the Report is underway and the NCC has sourced the services of an independent, external entity to perform this function. Whilst that is unfolding, we are engaging with interested, critical stakeholders such as the Department of Trade & Industry, several regulators and representatives of the Timeshare Industry in order to give effect to the recommendations highlighted in the Report. This is done with a view that, when the Report is ultimately made public, the NCC should simultaneously provide an update in terms of giving effect to the recommendations.
The Report will have two versions, given its voluminous size, with Version 1 intended to be a complete, comprehensive one, and Version 2 being an abridged, shorter one. Once this is done, we will proceed to release the Report publicly at a press/media event as indicated above.
Once again, our apologies for the unforeseen delay in the release of the Report. It is in the best interests of the timeshare consumers that the Report adequately addresses their plight.
Regards
Designation:VM Mabuza (Senior Investigator:Enforcement & Investigations)| Tel: 0124287789| Cell: 0823133835| Email: v.mabuza@thencc.org.za| Address: SABS Building C, No.1 Dr Lategan Street, Groenkloof, Pretoria
Contact numbers: 082 391 3117 / 065 801 7216