Silverpoint formerly Resort Properties and now also known as Signallia Marketing Distribution SL is no stranger to these pages, or to many of those readers who have in the past purchased timeshares from them.
Many of these purchasers have also been taken in with the promise of “investment packs”, these are packs of weeks and apartments which were sold with the promise of a substantial return after two years. This return was supposed to have happened with the resale of those weeks, but these never happened, leaving many with huge maintenance fees and even bigger Barclays Partner Finance loans.
The story was always the same, the weeks and apartments that the clients purchased could not be sold as they were not sought after, in order to secure the initial “investment” the clients needed to “upgrade” to better quality apartments which were being sought. This “upgrade” would also be financed with a BPF loan arranged by firstly Resort Properties and then Silverpoint.
At the helm of this enterprise was the Chief Executive Officer Mark Cushway, who is still at the helm, although they insist they no longer sell “timeshare”.
A few years ago these “investment” packs were changed to “The Company Participation Scheme”. This is where the clients are then sold “participations” (not shares), in “registered” companies. These are actually apartments that are registered as companies with names like Palm Beach 112, using the names of the resorts along with a number, (possibly the apartment).
Once again like the “investment” weeks the whole point is to dodge the strict timeshare laws, which at first Silverpoint were successful in doing so. They actually fooled the courts in the early days that the purchasers were not buying timeshare but were investing in property. Eventually the Supreme Court ruled that these clients were buying timeshare and were not investors, therefore they had the full protection of the timeshare laws.
Since that first ruling Silverpoint has been on the receiving end of many court cases, almost on a daily basis, with the court’s finding for the clients. This is costing Silverpoint hundreds of thousands of pounds, in the past few weeks alone the courts have ordered they repay around half a million pounds.
One of the continuing themes from our readers emails is how has Cushway got away with this timeshare “scam” for so long?
The simple answer is, he has others in the front line doing his bidding, according to his profiles on the internet, he paints a picture of total respectability.
In Tenerife another associate of Mark Cushway being linked to Silverpoint & Signallia Marketing is called Lee Burton.
Apparently he is well known in timeshare circles, mainly as a bit of a henchman. He is closely associated with Mark Cushway, as well as others in the industry.
Inside Timeshare has also been informed that this individual is also under investigation for lying to the court under oath, which is known as perjury. A Criminal Denuncia (official police complaint) has also been filed against him on this very matter. He is a person of significant interest to the Guardia Civil, this is a police force that you do not want to get on the wrong side of.
It is believed from our sources that his role is ensure the smooth running of the operation and dealing with any “problems”. Judging by his reputation, a role he is well suited for.
As we were getting this article ready for publication, Inside Timeshare received an email from a very concerned daughter whose 91 year old Mother has these “Company Paticipations”.
It tuns out that she wanted to hand back her membership with Palm Beach Club several years ago, she did not expect any payment, just to hand it back and be free of the burden of the maintenance fees. Well it didn’t quite work out like that. She was told that the only way was to “invest” nearly £30,000 (at the age of 85) in the “Company Participation Scheme”.
It now turns out that she is unable to get back her “investment” as promised, the only way is to sell her “participations” to another holder. All well and good, the only problem is she is unable to find out who the other “participants” are!
She is now trapped in this scheme and is obviously getting very worried that she has now lost all her money. It would appear from this and other emails Inside Timeshare has received on this subject, that it is the elderly that are being targeted. All are retired, all are being coerced into this scheme and to finance it by going for equity release. Is this they way to conduct business? Inside Timeshare thinks not!
If you have been “sold an Investment” in this scheme, or have had any dealings with Silverpoint and want to know where you stand legally, then get in touch with Inside Timeshare. We will be able to point you in the right direction to get the best advice possible.
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