TIME-SHARING AND UNFAIR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES

Abstract

Since the adoption of Directive 94/47/EC on the protection of purchasers in respect of certain aspects of contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis, timeshare has evolved and new holiday products similar to it have appeared on the market. Practice has proved that the Directive 94/47/EC did not prevent the appearance of timeshare-like products, aiming to circumvent the provisions of the Directive. That way, rogue traders were avoiding any responsibility, knowing that timesharelike products fall out of the scope of the Directive. It was therefore necessary to adopt regulations to prevent unfair commercial practices and protect the consumers rights. This was done by adopting Directive 2005/29/EC, 2006/114/EC and 2008/122/EC. This paper will deal with unfair commercial practices with regard to time-sharing and the legal analysis of the solutions contained in each of these EU directives.