Benidorm scratch cards,are they a con?

Question

has any one been to benidorm,won on the time share scratch cards,and actually bought one of the packages on offer.my mum and dad have just come back and they paid £1000 for a ten year deal,booking cheep holls and staying in five star hotels,sounds suspect to me.

Answer 1

There was recently a programme on this subject on the BBC - not Watchdog, but something similar. I think it was about 2 months ago. It does sound a bit suspect. The gist of the programme was that there was a plant in the park or somewhere in the Canary Islands who gave the scratchcard to tourists for free. Every other one of the cards was a winning card. The winner was then led upstairs for the sales pitch. It would be worth seeing that programme to see if there are any similarities.  

Try looking at the BBC website to see if there is a link to it or maybe ask Trading Standards at your local council offices if they've ever heard of the company or what to do.

Answer 2

Sorry , but your parents just were screwed, like many before them and many to come.

When will people learn.

Answer 3

you Mum and Dad have been conned 1st depending on the weeks they have bought unless they are red weeks for the first two weeks in august you will find nobody wants to exchange.

second the maintenance will go up to double this years costs next year.

everyone wins on scratchcards.

its a con to get you infront of a salesman and i bet they had their credit cards with them at point of sale.

you have no cooling off period outside the uk so you are stuck with the problem sorry but while people like your Mum and Dad are around these people will always get away with this type of shady selling.

they would have been better investing in a holiday home on mainland spain than these apartments.

Answer 4

its something very common in spain and france.. you are a sort of co-homeowner for a defined period every year.!!

Answer 5

There is a sucker born every second.

Never give a sucker an even break.

If it looks like a one in a lifetime, it is.

Answer 6

A total con. There was a program on it a couple of months ago. You cannot fail to lose with the scratch cards and you pay a lot of money for holidays that do not exist. I can't remember the name of the company but a search on the internet should reveal more.

Answer 7

The cards are a con, everyone who plays them wins. It is just a ploy to make people think they are getting something for nothing. I have to agree that the deal sounds amazingly good, there is a catch coming at some point.

Answer 8

Had something similar in Coral Bay in Cyprus.  Sounded like a good deal and my husband and I stayed and chatted with the people 'selling' the deal for about three hours.  We were sceptical and my husband asked to see a copy of the contract.  The temperature suddenly dropped and they wouldn't show it to us - we left promptly!

Answer 9

Yup.  100%.  Don't touch 'em with a bargepole!

Answer 10

I am sorry about your parents being scammed.  Does no one watch TV or read the newspapers now?  There are so many scams abroad, not only in Spain, and still people fall for them.

If they paid by cheque, just cancel the cheque.

Unfortunately your parents are certainly not the first and they won't be the last.