Going through the photo archives we came across this shot taken not too long ago of Tony Rhodes (who heads up the UK side of Olympus group) with ITN Newscaster Alastair Stewart. The photo was taken at the OTE annual conference, an event sponsored in part by Club Olympus.

Alastair was awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to charity and broadcasting. Just one project that he is involved with is the 'Just a drop' campaign giving fresh water to thousands of children in areas where water is an issue.

For many years he has been the Moderator of the OTE (Organisation for Timeshare in Europe) conferences. He is a great supporter of the industry and has assisted greatly in raising the profile of timeshare.

Recently the OTE has changed its name to the RDO (Resort Development Organisation). The RDO has a brilliant website that you can visit by clicking here. They are a trade body who firmly regulate their members. Club Olympus are proud to be founder members of both the OTE and RDO.

Club Olympus owners are reporting a new wave of unsolicited phone calls. This time the caller says they are representing Club Olympus and to express gratitude for prompt maintenance fee payment and for being loyal owners they offer two free weeks holiday and/or a guaranteed resale service. As usual they sound credible and professional. Please be assured that it is not us calling and that whoever it is only wants one thing - your money!

Please do not send anyone upfront fees for reselling your timeshare weeks or give out your credit card details to these callers. They have obtained your telephone number by fraudulent or illegal means and if you send them money you will see no benefit. It upsets us that our owners are constantly bombarded with this kind of stuff. Give us a call at our UK office if you have any doubts or worries. Speak to Louise or Andrea on 01535 640050

Many owners are reporting phone calls saying that "Club Olympus have informed a re-sale organisation that the owners wish to sell their timeshare......."

Please ignore these people. We have issued many warnings about this type of scam. They will not be satisfied until you have sent them some money and then you will hear nothing from them again.

They often also use seemingly credible advertising in the press.

We do not give out your information to anybody. It is suspected that some exchange organisations have had their data bases stolen and sold illegally to people who then abuse them. These are then fraudulently used. If somebody is calling you then you should immediately treat them with great suspicion and in reality just hang up.

We understand that they often sound very plausible and credible.

Please, please, please do not give them your credit card details or send them any money. If you are in doubt give us a call in Bradford on 01535 640050 and speak to Louise, Andrea or Tony.

Follow this link to the OTE official website and scam warnings here!

The Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE) has launched a brilliant new website called GoTimeshare.

It is wide ranging and is designed to reflect the tremendously positive side of timeshare holidays. It features member testimonials and resort reviews. Our very own Cathy Anthony is featured with her beautiful article about why she enjoys holidaying at Club Olympus.

It also provides up-to-date industry news such as the recent Watchdog programs featuring the latest scams by "resale" companies and "Holiday Pack" companies that plague timeshare owners.

Indeed our owners are reporting that even now somebody is calling our members pretending to represent Club Olympus and offering 3 year holidays! When will they ever stop?! Do be aware that this is a scam everybody so just ignore them, of course give us a call if you have any worries. The Bradford office number is 01535 640050 and speak with Andrea, Louise or Tony.

Anyway, back on topic, I checked the GoTimeshare website out this morning and it really is superb. Highly informative, very forward-looking and you will find it a refreshing site to enjoy. It is certainly one to Bookmark! Click here to go the site or click at the link on the Blogroll!

Cheers

Ivan at Club Olympus

Ps. The OTE will be changing its name very shortly to the Resort Developers Organisation or RDO so watch out for news of that.

TV PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS ETOO

A prime time consumer programme, aired by BBC Television recently, has focused on complaints by consumers who alleged they had been misled by claims by the European Timeshare Owners Organisation (ETOO) to sell their timeshares.

Two couples, who featured in the programme Watchdog, said ETOO told them corporate buyers had been found for their timeshare. However, they were required to pay upfront marketing fees of £980 and £895.

Subsequently they learned they were obliged to travel to Spain at their own expense to close the deals. Once there, they were introduced to a man who showed no interest in buying their timeshare.

The man described as a corporate buyer was, in fact, a salesman for a holiday club called Club Class Concierge. They later learned that ETOO and Club Class Concierge were part of the same corporation.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has consistently warned consumers about re-sale companies like ETOO. Mike Haley, director of consumer protection, said: “If you are invited to go to Spain, if you are asked for any fee up-front, then it’s likely to be a scam.”

Any consumer with a genuine buyer for their timeshare would not have to pay up-front and you can conclude the contract while you’re at home at your leisure.

According to a statement by ETOO, clients were never told that they could receive a cash offer for their timeshares and that the company constantly monitors calls to make sure this is adhered to.

In August the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that ETOO’s TV advertisements were misleading and that only eight per cent of ETOO customers ever sold their property in any capacity.

In a separate development, one of the consumers featured in the TV programme, Barry Flint, is pursuing legal action against ETOO for mis-representation.