When and how to start a procedure before the Litigation Commission?

1. You are a member of one of the five consumer associations involved in the scheme and the timeshare firm or sales representative is member of the OTE

2. It is possible to distinguish three different categories of complaints:

- cases of a contractual nature (purchase, exchange, management, resale) concerning a timeshare: in theory the Litigation Commission is competent to handle the case;

- cases concerning aggressive sale practices, misleading advertising or relating to other noncontractual problems: in theory the Litigation Commission is not qualified to handle the case but it can be informed about it in order to consider what adequate measure could be taken (for example publication, warning, inclusion on a black list, injunction action, bringing the matter to the attention of the public authorities);

- cases concerning penal law offences (fraud, failure to respect a law which entails penal sanctions): the Litigation Commission is not qualified   to handle the case but it can be informed about it in order to possibly consider an adequate response, for example a complaint before the Directorate General for Mediation and Supervision of the SPF Economie XXXX (previously the Economic Inspectorate of the Ministry of Economic Affairs), before the office of the public prosecutor, inclusion on a black list, publication, etc.

3. Always try first to reach a friendly solution with the sales representative and/or companies concerned, perhaps using for instance the European Commission's standard complaint form.

4. If you do not arrive at a rapid resolution of the problem, in so far as you are a member of one of five participating consumer associations contact the personal assistance helpdesk in your country and ask for legal and practical information. At this stage, if the sales representative or the timesharing company is a member of the OTE, the helpdesk will be able to contact the OTE so that it is able to intervene to obtain an amicable solution, in particular if one of the companies concerned is located abroad. In order to accelerate and to facilitate any such intervention, it is desirable that you add an English summary to your file. For translations and any questions in connection with the applicable foreign legislation, you may be able to contact one of the European consumer centres

5. In the event of a negative result, you will be able to ask the helpdesk to initiate, together with the central secretariat of the Litigation Commission in Brussels (before the OIPC, the independent organisation for the protection of consumers), a mediation-conciliation procedure. In theory, this procedure is accessible only to members from the participating consumer associations.

6. If the result is still negative, you will be able to ask the helpdesk to examine whether, together with the central secretariat, an arbitration procedure could be started (procedure reserved for members).