Do timeshares deserve their reputation?

Twenty one years ago Barratt started the first scheme to sell part shares in holiday property in this country. Since then it's not been all bad news.

They pounced on us within hours. A tell-tale shade of pale betrayed us as new arrivals in southern Spain and we became the timeshare touts' first victims of the day. A bottle of champagne and a free holiday for an hour of our time.

Three hours later Ted was still going through his routine. We had packed in a lunch, some pool time and admired the crockery in at least two apartments. The sell was becoming less subtle. We learnt about investment, capital appreciation, holiday exchanges and how we could bequeath it all to our children. Ted then moved over for the money man and the pressure selling began. No prices before we committed ourselves and the decision had to be made here and now. It would be more expensive the next day. We left, reflecting on the sales methods that clearly bring timeshare into disrepute.

Certainly, if anything was going to sell the notion of timeshare to the British it was the line about it being the next best thing to owning your own holiday home. If we love a place, whether Cornwall or Corfu, we dream of buying a bit of it. And a few weeks is better than not at all.

Timeshare is a way of staking a claim to holiday accommodation: in effect, buying a holiday in advance. In Europe there are more than 800,000 timeshare owners, with Britain alone accounting for 300,000 - a surprising figure given that this country offers some of the cheapest holiday package deals in the world and that, according to the Office of Fair Trading, the protection offered by them is far greater than to buyers of timeshare, even from highly respectable companies. It would seem that the added attraction is the ownership factor - and the distinction between holiday and property is sometimes blurred.

Early timeshare developers certainly sold their product as property as much as holidays. At exhibitions the sales pitch would be that for the allotted weeks the property was yours. "Dismantle it brick by brick if you want, as long as it is completely restored when you leave", I heard one salesman say a few years ago. This is the sort of nonsense that lingers in people's minds.

Indeed, it was Britain's leading housebuilders who first introduced the concept into the country. Barratt, which now has six resorts in the UK and three in Spain, used their reputation as builders: "When you buy with us, you're building on a very firm foundation", went their timeshare advertising. Likewise Wimpey, whose early ads used the phrase "paying a fraction of the cost of your holiday home", stressing the point that they were "the largest house-building and construction group in the UK, Europe and the Commonwealth".

The Timeshare Council, the official voice of the industry in the UK, is clear on this point: a timeshare is purely an investment in future holidays. Also, exaggerated claims about the investment potential of timeshare has led people to think that most of their money would be invested directly in property. In fact for every pounds 1,000 spent on a timeshare, about pounds 400 will go on marketing costs.

Nor is timeshare likely to show much capital growth as resale of weeks is expensive - 23 per cent commission in some Mediterranean resorts - and often slow. But there are exceptions and they are generally found in British resorts such as converted manor houses, estates with fishing and shooting rights, and developments with a golf course.

Those who bought into the most successful resorts about 15 to 20 years ago will have seen a sharp increase in their investment. However, for many owners the fun is in the flexibility of the exchange system which gives them world-wide access to holiday accommodation. And, rightly, champions of timeshare point to the numerous high-quality, well-run resorts in the UK and abroad. Some 85 per cent of owners everywhere are happy with their lot, although rising annual service charges can cause problems.

But it has proved a lucrative business and the sharks know it. Diana Hanks, of the Timeshare Council, is particularly worried about the business ethics of some resale agents. She says that three companies in London alone are under investigation. She is also aware of an increasing number of complaints this summer about the Costa cowboys.

"They have 10 months left of unregulated activity. New legislation is due to bite by 1 May," she says. Consumers will then be protected from many of the scams by a cooling off period when deposits can be cancelled (already in operation in the UK ) and by full brochures in the language of the buyer. It is always important to check the credentials of the developer, she adds. How right she is.

The money man who took over from Ted on our timeshare tour looked very familiar. When I told him in which part of London I worked he brightened: "I used to run the video hire shop there. You probably know it." I did. We made our excuses and left.

Timeshare Council: 0171 821 8845; Timeshare Helpline: 0181 296 0900