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How holiday clubs work

A holiday club is where you pay a yearly membership charge. This gives you the chance to book holidays through the club for less money than you would pay if you went through other holiday companies.

You will still need to pay for the holiday on top of the yearly charge.

You may find after you sign up to a holiday club that you don't get the discounts offered or the holidays you want to book are not available.

Joining a holiday club – your rights

If you join a holiday club in the European Economic Area (EEA) or sign the contract in the UK, you have the right to:

• cancel for any reason within 14 days of signing your contract – it's illegal for sellers to take a deposit from you within this time
• get key information before you sign the contract, including a description of the property, the contract start date, price and charges like administration fees
• get a copy of your contract – if you don't get a copy, the seller can't hold you to anything in the contract
• get a cancellation form with your contract
• have the contract written in a European language of your choice

The EEA includes all the countries in the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

If you sign the contract outside of the EEA, your rights will depend on:

• the law of the country where the holiday club is based (see link below)
• the terms and conditions in your contract

• Buying overseas – your rights

How to cancel your holiday club contract

For contracts signed in the UK and for schemes in the EEA, write to the seller within the 14 days and say you wish to ‘withdraw’ from your contract.

If you arranged with the seller to borrow money to join the scheme, they must also cancel this credit agreement (loan).

If you signed your contract more than 14 days ago, you can't usually cancel unless the seller failed to give you:

• key information before you signed the contract (also known as 'pre-contract information')
• a cancellation form when you signed your contract

If this happens, the time you can cancel extends up to:

• three months and 14 days if you don't get a written copy of the key information
• one year and 14 days if you don't get a cancellation form with your contract

As soon as you receive the missing information, the cancellation period reduces to 14 days.

Sales presentations

Some holiday clubs try to pressure you to sign a contract. They will often approach you when you are on holiday and will offer you a prize or gift if you attend a presentation.

Before you sign up to any offer:

• ask to take the contract away with you – get legal advice on the sale
• check flight and holiday prices to the same destination if you didn't book through the holiday club
• make sure everything that was promised to you at the presentation is confirmed in writing

Some bogus holiday clubs will try to get you to sign up because they want your money. You will later find the offers you were promised don't exist and you won't get anything in return for your money.

If you think the holiday club you've joined is bogus, you can report it to Action Fraud and the police.

• Report a bogus holiday club to Action Fraud Opens new window

Complaints about holiday clubs

If you have a complaint about your holiday club, you should contact the seller first.

If you don't agree with their response, contact Consumer Direct, the government funded consumer advice service.

• Disputes about goods and services – ways to resolve a complaint

• Contact Consumer Direct

More useful links

• Foreign travel (travel and transport section)

• Consumer rights - an introduction

• Buying a service - your consumer rights

• How to find a reliable business