ITRA – International Timeshare Refund Action wound up in the High Court
On 30th January 2019, International Timeshare Refund Action – more commonly known as ITRA, was wound up in the High Court of Justice England & Wales. This followed a petition made by a couple that had taken ITRA to court on grounds of unlawful conduct involving misrepresentations and failure to provide promised services concerning timeshare relinquishment and compensation. ITRA failed to refund monies as ordered by the court.
The original claim case against ITRA was one of several brought successfully against the business by consumers, with a number of courts repeatedly finding that ITRA had used deceptive methods and not provided services as agreed. ITRA has a long track record of being involved in such deceptions and was previously named by UK authorities as playing a pivotal part in a serious and long running scam – a ‘bait & switch’ operation where consumers were lured by supposed legal assistance and then sold fraudulent ‘concierge services’ – a form of what has also been described as ‘Leisure Credits’, about which the authorities have issued strong warnings.
Assistance for consumers affected by ITRA
KwikChex, which manages the Timeshare Task Force has assisted consumers with several successful claims against ITRA and has helped coordinate the Winding Up process. We are aware that many consumers have been affected and are providing free assistance. There is an ongoing investigation into ITRA activities and consumers that have paid monies to ITRA can make contact via the reporting page on the Timeshare Business Check website – The service is free and is approved by Trading Standards – see the following link to our accreditation and consumer feedback – https://www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk/profile/kwikchex/24358/
All consumers will be provided with advice and their cases can be passed to a specialist insolvency practitioner.
Connections to ECC – European Consumer Claims.
The owners of ITRA are also trading through a business known as ECC – European Consumer Claims. In several cases, ECC are attempting to take over cases from ITRA and in some instances are demanding fees. ECC is also the subject of consumer complaints and has worked alongside ITRA, with common ownership and the same employees and premises. ECC has been in breach of a number of laws, with failures to disclose ownership on websites and other business communications and failure to register under data protection regulations. Any consumers concerned regarding these aspects of ECC’s trading can also make contact via the Timeshare Business Check website.
