This report provides an assessment of the application
of Directive 2008/122/EC (the Timeshare Directive) in Member
States and evaluates its effects.
This report is based on several resources on
information:
- detailed checks of the
transposition into national legislations of Directive 2008/122/EC,
carried out by the Commission since August 2013;
- complaints received by
the Commission directly from consumers;
- an external study conducted in 2014, including an online survey,
followed by interviews with individual stakeholders, and five
regional workshops.
Results of the study:
since the application of the 2008 Directive, complaints recorded by
ECC-Net across the EU have decreased, from an average of
2150 a year in 2008-11 to an average of 1820 in 2012-13. The
decrease in number of complaints coincides with the entry into
application of the Directive, and therefore suggests that —
overall — the Timeshare Directive has had a positive
impact.
The results of the study mainly show that:
- 38.5% of consumers who experienced problems still
reported they were unable to exercise their right of
withdrawal;
- 70% of the consumers who concluded a contract after
the application of the Directive, and experienced problems, felt
they were not sufficiently informed about the
contract’s terms;
- only 7% (as opposed to 9% previously) of consumers
surveyed received pre-contractual information in a language they
did not understand;
- 80.8% of the consumers who bought timeshare or related
products in or after 2012 and experienced problems, were asked to
make payments before the end of the withdrawal
period;
- the percentage of problems faced by traditional
timeshare owners has significantly dropped since the application of
the Timeshare Directive;
- timeshare owners often face increases in
maintenance or service fees for no objective
reason;
- during the period 2007-13, 29.2% of all complaints
registered by ECC-Net on timeshare and similar products were linked
to unfair commercial practices;
- terminating the
timeshare contract is one of the most problematic issues for
consumers, since the procedures and conditions for terminating
timeshare contracts vary across Member States;
- the number of problems experienced by consumers in
relation to long-term holiday products has greatly increased
from 11.9% pre-Directive to 57.2% post-Directive;
- the percentage of problems linked to holiday
exchange schemes has significantly dropped since the
application of the Timeshare Directive, from 31% to
5.7%;
- the percentage of complaints related to resale
problems has remained stable and relatively low both prior to
and after the entry into force of the Directive (around
10%).
The research also highlights consumer detriment
associated with new products, such as short-term discount
holiday clubs (membership of less than 1 year) and leisure
credit schemes that often seem designed to circumvent the
Directive. It also noted:
- problems with the application of the Directive
depending on the country of the
consumer and the professional ;
- penalties available to
enforcement authorities in case of breaches of the Directive vary
significantly among the Member States — from administrative
fines of EUR 1500 to fines in excess of EUR 100000;
- in some Member States, investigating and
prosecuting fraudulent traders involved in consumer scams does
not seem to be a priority. The effectiveness of the measures taken
by law enforcement authorities (police, prosecution services,
courts) strongly depend on the successful functioning of the
established criminal law cooperation between the competent
authorities of Member States.
The Commission’s conclusions: based on the these findings, the Commission draws
the following conclusions concerning the application of the
Directive:
- at this stage, there seems to be no need to modify
either the scope or the provisions of the
Directive;
- regarding aspects of the timeshare, long-term holiday
product, resale and exchange contracts falling within its scope,
the Timeshare Directive appears overall to be a useful tool
in protecting consumers in this specific holiday
sector;
- regarding aspects falling outside its scope (such as
termination of contracts) problems still occur. However, the
analysis shows that these aspects can be successfully addressed
through targeted interventions at national level, efficient self
regulatory measures and a better enforcement of other relevant EU
consumer law instruments;
- specific attention must be given to legal
constructions and practices aimed at circumventing the
Directive. The Consumer
Rights Directive, Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair contract terms
and the Unfair
Commercial Practices Directive can all help to address such
circumventions;
- in order to render the Directive more effective,
national enforcement authorities should focus on certain
business practices and traders. This is particularly the case
for Spain, which is involved in half of all complaints reported to
European Consumer Centres across the EU, Iceland and
Norway;
- where conduct points towards criminal law, law
enforcement authorities should be quickly informed with a view to
launching criminal investigations;
- the cross-border dimension of fraudulent
practices could be addressed more effectively by better use of the
measures on criminal law cooperation, established between the law
enforcement authorities of the Member States. Existing EU
instruments for cooperation in criminal matters already provide a
comprehensive legal framework for this purpose;
- possible alternative ways of addressing existing
problems, e.g. awareness-raising campaigns, self-regulation and
alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, all of which could
also have a positive impact;
- more comprehensive strategies for national consumer protection authorities could
raise consumer awareness so as to ensure that citizens are more
informed about potential scams.
The Commission will also exercise its powers whenever
a Member State fails to comply with its enforcement obligations.
For this reason, the Commission services have begun a dialogue
with Spain regarding the correct enforcement of the Directive.
It will encourage Member States, where appropriate, to step up
their enforcement actions, including through the Consumer
Protection Cooperation network, and ensure the Directive’s
provisions are complied with in all Member States.