Timeshare Task Force activities commenced in 2013, after KwikChex was approached by the Resort Development Organisation (RDO), which is the representative organisation for many of the timeshare companies within Europe.
After a lengthy evaluation, KwikChex agreed to provide free services that would help owners and assist in gathering evidence against scammers. KwikChex made clear from the outset that this assistance must be transparent –showing that it was funded by RDO – and that KwikChex would also have autonomy in the management of the resources, including assisting owners who wished to relinquish their timeshares. or who had concerns or complaints about their timeshares.
Since that time, the free Task Force resources have helped thousands of timeshare owners and the initiative has been accredited by Trading Standards under the Buy with Confidence scheme. The Task Force assistance to consumers and law enforcement was recognised within the citation of the CTSI Business Hero Award 2019.
RDO is the trade association for vacation ownership across Europe, RDO members represent the best in European vacation ownership and are committed to high service standards and integrity. They are bound by a code of conduct and an independent arbitration scheme, providing levels of protection beyond those required by law.
RDO is one of the instigators of the Timeshare Task Force and plays a pivotal part in funding and in driving initiatives designed to ensure consumers enjoy timeshare ownership and are protected to the highest degree possible.
RDO is a supporter of the Task Force and funds the Timeshare Business Check resources.
The network of European Consumer Centres (ECC-Net) serves EU consumers shopping for goods and services on the European market, providing them with advice on their EU consumer rights and helping them with their disputes with traders in other EU countries.
The Timeshare Task Force is working with the ECC in intelligence gathering and sharing, legal opinion and in providing consumers with advice on specific threats.
When intelligence is gathered which indicates a strong likelihood of fraud or conspiracy to commit fraud, the Task Force will connect with the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
Law enforcement connections are being built and coordinated across Europe, with the Timeshare Task Force assisting with the identification of those involved in criminal activity. In many cases, such activities are carried out in several countries – and the Timeshare Task Force will assist in providing information which will help the coordination of information and actions across Europe.
Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime where you should report fraud if you have been scammed, defrauded or experienced cyber crime.
The service is run by the City of London Police working alongside the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) who are responsible for assessment of the reports and to ensure that the fraud reports reach the right place. The City of London Police is the national policing lead for economic crime.
