Recently we posted an article on the blog about a Fly Buy company called Sky Breaks.
This company is actively cold calling timeshare owners and offers different Accommodation packages at various prices.
One of these offers is for example two weeks accommodation at any of the resorts listed in their brochure within two years for £459 and an additional offer of £120 for a further two weeks within 3 years. The agent from Sky Breaks goes as far as reconfirming that they are ABTA bonded, something that certainly cannot be confirmed with ABTA, as they do not know them.
Great is the surprise though to the consumers who actually fall for this offer, when they receive the confirmation of their purchase.
Nowhere on the confirmation the company Sky Breaks is mentioned and all of the sudden it is The All Inclusive Club and the ETOL Travel Desk (Extra time Online).
So how does this add up and where does this leave the consumer? When the agent calls and claims to be from Sky Breaks, they refer the consumer to their website. But if then it turns out the payment is for The All Inclusive Club…do they expect the consumer to check their website as well to see if all is the same as Sky Breaks?
Why does the agent from Sky Breaks not make the consumer aware they are calling from The All Inclusive Club?
Why would any company anyway pretend to be something else than what they are?
Cold calls, payments on the day for accommodation offers where the terms and conditions are not explained properly and confirmations from other companies after payment…it doesn’t really get any better.
Please be careful when receiving cold calls in general!
If you have been speaking to Sky Breaks we would like to have your feedback. You can email customercare@mindtimeshare.com or place a comment on this blog
Mindtimeshare 
I just received a cold call from a female who said she was from Dreamland Breaks and had noticed I had been showing interest in holidays offered by one of their companies, Secret Escapes. I asked her if she meant Secret Escapes the scam company and she said yes, although she probably didn’t mean to agree that it was a scam company. I did a 1471 and got the number 01212 729573. This number is known on the internet but only for ringing people who then found there was nobody on the line. I don’t know if you have already linked Dreamland Breaks with Secret Escapes but they seem to one and the same. It seems worrying that the people at Dreamland Breaks are aware that I had visited the secret Escapes website, although I cannot remember how long ago that was.
Peter says,
Martin,
Thanks for feed back . I suspected this was a problem organisation and will not proceed.
extratimeonline, all inclusive club and signature havens are all linked with bonus weeks and offer all sorts of packages, deals, flights, so-called incentives and hotel breaks, which can buy oneself cheaper.Also a peculiar set of terms and conditions. . They really try aggressively to sell timeshare or points or roll over alleged weeks you own or take a timeshare off your hands if you buy points or joina club that may or may not be genuine. The whole operation is Spanish based (without an address) in Calpe and clients are pestered regularly about concierge charges,roll over etc. Don’t touch them.
Just had Sky breaks on the phone, they phoned me last Friday and I told them I would not make a decision as my husband was not at home (he was). They said they would ring me next day so I was ready to tell them my husband said no (he didn’t because I didn’t tell him) . No call until today Tues. they said they had it in their diary to ring today! Asked had I read the email they sent (no email was sent to me) told me to go on their web site to have a look at the resorts. Asked for my card details which I said I would not do, so they said they would ring back tomorrow when I could speak to my husband. Needless to say no more me being polite, will just have to leave them in no doubt No means No.
Don’t touch them with a barge pole. Are having dreadful problems with them. Pushy sales people giving half truths. Differing stories depending on who you talk to. No mention of timeshare except that they picked us as we had ticked a box at Radisson in Malta so they(we wrongly thought Radisson) could keep us informed of special offers. We cancelled our timeshare within cooling off period due to redundancy so seemed OK.
Now this lot have picked up and run with it. We had many phone conversations with them as we were getting increasingly concerned about their sales tactics. Got no paperwork or confirmation of any kind. Promised the earth.
We received a very pushy and belligerent Phonecall over Easter pushing us to complete the paperwork so they can process vouchers.,! tHEN yesterday we found that they had taken over 700 euros (apparently rather than sterling…!) from our credit card on 9 March (hadn’t been shown on card statement yet). We phoned. And sent email saying we have had no paperwork and have signed nothing so will be cancelling any interest in this “package”.
They now claim they sent documents to gmail address (and have delivery receipt) and yet now agree they made clerical error . Read receipt my … Asked for copy of receipt but none forthcoming.
They also claim they sent paperwork to our home address … Again we truly hadn’t received it … Again they had spelt our road wrong……
Having heard nothing for a couple of weeks we were relieved as had told them we wanted to cancel.
During the 0phone call yesterday with what sounded like the very same fast speaking, belligerent man, it was variously claimed that they record all calls (never mentioned before) and yet they can’t trace who it was who phoned us over Easter…..really? Must be a competitor! Oh come on now
Everything done over the phone and now …… We were told “it is not Company Policy to give refunds” Company policy…. The law is what matters.
When we looked at the very small print on their website last night is says something about them not being in uk so don’t have to give a cooling off period” .
They have our money (but sent no notification that they had done so).. They have nothing in writing from us. We have to either sign and return contract within 14 days and take holidays through a company we have no trust in or lose £689.
Apparently if we don’t sign contract and return to them within 14 days it will be cancelled with no recompense. Confirmed on phone yesterday.
So so upset Our. Credit card company will take it up but today’s email says if we go to card company they will argue that we completed all steps to completion , or words to that effect,
If anyone can give us trustworthy advice on our next step I would love to hear from you ASAP
Had a call today from Sky Breaks about the two weeks holiday entitlement they had on file for me. Told her to get lost and put the phone down.
I paid £228 in February to “Sponsored Breaks” for 6 short breaks in the uk and I had to attend a promotional talk for each. It was by the Eze company,the first one, in a hotel in Henley on Arden not far from Stratford on Avon in September where we were holidaying. NEVER AGAIN, they were like a bunch of c****** trying to get thousands out of us with a discount scheme, I just had enough and said what I thought in the end. But they kept us all day and it was distressing not to be able to get away.(Bloke drove us there! Grrrr) Later in the year, Sky Breaks rang wanting more money to upgrade, to an All Inclusive Club, saying I would not have to attend more talks.i refused. He admitted they were the same company as “Sponsored Breaks”. However the lady at Sponsored breaks was kind and she gave me an extra week to take because of the awful presentation and said others had complained. Then TONIGHT another call from Extra Time Online (I think)wanting £345 to upgrade. Crikey, I just feel they ruin it for themselves.And for us the consumer. Shalln`t dare go on another break, however I may try to go to York and see what happens next year.Hate losing money.
Sponsored breaks … Yet another company name . We tackled them on the various names we have.encountered and it was denied vehemently. Got so we didn’t know who we were dealing wit…..
I had a call from Sky Breaks about why I hadn’t used my bonus weeks which were due because I had paid maintenance. I didn’t know what the lady was talking about so she explained that I had £1062 credited for 4 weeks and I hadn’t banked them. After some confusion she assed me to the manager who wanted my postcode to confirm she was talking to the right person. She then asked for my credit card details – which I refused to give. I won’t give these over the phone neither will I pay for something I have not seen detailed in writing. Her version of seeing something in writing was to look at the website. I think not! She also mentioned some firm called Resort Direct or Resort Direct International and claimed that Sky Breaks would be able to recoup the money we had paid them! Hmm! I don’t think I believed any of this in the end.
Dont ever deal with All Inclusive Club or Extra Time on Line who will pester you about roll over of weeks and so-called upgrades, benefits and impose annual concierge charges for simple service after purchase. Also Signature Havens is another Spanish based outfit selling bonus weeks and deals ,with a dubious website and restritive terms and conditions that are never explained by the cold caller.
ew
this firm just changes its name from one to the other, I am 84 and should have known better, but I believed what they said so paid the £229 they asked for in June 2014 thinking that was it but then in July was asked for £499 making a total of £578.99 this did not include travel costs so more again to pay, I am still getting pestered by them even though I have asked them so many times to stop calling as I am not interested, I realise I cant get my money back so another lesson learnt ,just wish something could stop them doing this to people.
Just had a cold call from Sky Breaks, rep went on to me about having bonus weeks that would be lost to me if I didn’t pay £140 and that these bonus weeks were based on a sinking fund based on my maintenance fees. Seems a load of rubbish to me but people could easily be drawn in even if they have never been told about a sinking fund. Anyway when you look at your time share accounts there is no mention of this type of fund.
Based on a previous experience a further amount of questioning is necessary. By being linked to the All Inclusive Club, those words mean that. What is not obvious is that the payment(s) required only cover the accommodation. One is, though, required to pay extra for ‘all inclusive’. Once you’ve made the first payment a booking is useless unless you also pay for the ‘all inclusive’ cost. Might have changed now, but I doubt it.
Thanks for your feed back. I have just this minute got a cold call from Sky breaks, but took time out to check them out, i,m glad i did. When they called back i told them to sling their hook. They are very persuasive and tenacious. Be very wary of cold callers bearing gifts.
Ditch them before you get trapped as we have