Timelinx, Designer Way & Carpe Diem Holiday Club warnings

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

The links will take you to articles in a major UK newspaper warning about involvement with these companies.

Mirror.co.uk - News - Investigates - EXPOSED: THE HOLIDAY CLUB ROGUES

Mirror.co.uk - News - Investigates - A DEAL.. OR TOUT OF ORDER?

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

It is amazing the amount of crooks there are in the timeshare and 'holiday' industries and that people keep falling for this stuff. Thanks for the update and warnings. Too bad more people aren't informed before they lose money and receive a lot of grief.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

That is good information to get out.

I do see one major flaw in the article, however. Timelinx was NOT organized by these slugs. On the contrary, they bought it from its founders and completely altered its business plan.

Timelinx was originally established by a group of Business grad students in Sweden as an independent exchange company, and was the first exchange company to heavily use the internet in its operations. While owned by the Swedes, it also developed a timeshare resort at a chateau in Normandy that only traded through Timelinx.

The present owners bought it from the Swedes, and immediately diverted its activities into things other than exchanging. If one searches the current Timelinx website, it is hard to find information about exchanging, but there is a brief notation that they still do exchanges for members of ''the old company''.

Timelinx is not the only honorable exchange company to be hijacked and its operations diverted to other purposes. Cendant hijacked RCI and diverted it to some extent to other operations such as rentals to the general public. Cendant and its successors have not moved as far with RCI as this crowd did with Timelinx, at least not yet, but I wonder how long it will be before it is hard to find a reference to exchanging on RCI's website.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

Carolinian,

Timelinx etc are out and out scams and deliver nothing to their 'customers'. Whatever real or perceived faults RCI may have, I do not believe they should be compared to these scammers and crooks.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

I quite agree with you about the current masters at Timelinx, and I feel sorry for those still using it as an exchange company, especially those at the Timelinx-developed resort in Normandy, who I am told are barred from using any other company to exchange, even other independents.

My point is that the article incorrectly suggested that Timelinx has always been a scam company, when in fact it was not one until these slugs bought it. I really feel sorry for its Swedish founders who ran an honorable and honest company. Now their association with Timelinx will not be viewed so favorably by others even though it was a different company when they ran it.
The slugs have definitely created a bad smell around the name.

The mutations at RCI are different, admitted, and not as far down the path, but they are also shortchanging exchangers, particularly weeks-based exchangers, in their transformation. According to some recent official reports, RCI almost has as much revenue from rentals as from exchanges, and I think that clearly shows the direction they are going.

Carolinian,

Timelinx etc are out and out scams and deliver nothing to their 'customers'. Whatever real or perceived faults RCI may have, I do not believe they should be compared to these scammers and crooks.