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A message from the Chairman
I have had a lot of e-mails regarding this offer. The committee received it in the same way as everyone else, without prior consultation.
This is my reading of the situation and may not be exactly accurate. They do have a different system of paying the fees, for a start they are due in March, but you can use direct debit and you can pay in installments, but I'm not sure if there are any interest charges. You will need to contact Seasons for the up to date arrangements.
David Clark and I discussed this idea about the time last year. What is contained in the letter is more or less the idea that we concocted and David put it to Barry Hearley. At that time Barry Hearly would have nothing to do with the idea as he was content to pick up the defaulting weeks year on year.
For Points/Floating and those Fixed members that routinely exchange it seemed to us to be an excellent opportunity, but I was also particularly concerned about those Dylan owner who wanted to keep their unit and week. The letter does seem to guarantees that those members can keep the current occupancy provided the request is made early enough, but not necessarily in the same unit (I am in discussion with David Clark to try and get this agreed in some form), but does the added security of being part of a bigger organization justify paying the transfer fee? For those aging members that live well away from Laugharne and are looking to leave the club because they no longer feel able to travel such a distance, the Seasons group may have a resort closer to them and there should be no reason why with forward planning they couldn't use that one instead.
However it was still a surprise to me when the letter came.
I have contacted David to get more details and to discuss what should be done about the AGM as it is more than likely that we will take up the offer. The committee will be meeting with him very soon.
The club is contracting with another 100+ defaulting this year. I know that Seasons intend to build some sell to rent units where the Tencos are now and they will have to upgrade the site if they are to attract buyers and of course the site will have more visitors as they sell. But I think this is part of a general move and other clubs in the Seasons camp will have had similar letters. Should find out when I meet with David.
Personally I think this is a genuine offer which will suit both parties. I know that Seasons charge a higher maintenance charge for their members but this does include utility charges and allows members to exchange within the group, which continues to expand, free of charges. Provided a like for like as is promised is given then it has to be a good deal. The difference when you take out utility charge is about £60, which is cheaper than using II or RCI for exchanging weeks, even after adding £20 for using Seasons affiliated resorts, but it is more expensive if you only wish to visit Laugharne each year.
If you are keen to remain a member of LPOC, as far as I understand the situation and in a previous meeting David Clark agreed, Seasons are legally bound to recognize and deal fairly with the remaining membership even if it is just 1 certificate! Of course the smaller the club the more responsibility and liability rests on the remaining members. If as I expect that Glenn, Diane and myself move over to Seasons then others will have to step forward to run the committee. But the suggestion that fees will have to rise dramatically would mean that Seasons members fees- that part that relates to the Park would have to go up by the same, because technically they are still ordinary members of the club under the constitution, which can only change after the club is lawfully terminated. I know that David Clark works extremely hard to keep costs down and where there is a need for major investment he phases it to minimize the impact- they don't want to loose members either! I suspect that that inference was made by way of inducement. David was not party to the letter.
Seasons does have 6 resorts in the UK 2 in Europe and 1 in the Canaries. They do not necessarily own all the stock in these resorts, just as at Laugharne. The vast majority held by them are however in this country.
As far as availability is concerned, booking well in advance is always the way. They have by law to hold as many certificates of weeks owned to actual members and provided they stick to the seasonal bandings correctly then you should get your choice, if not the exact week. They cannot take your maintenance fee and then not accommodate you. The issue might be one of availability within the correct season, but there are bodies out there, one of which, OTE they are a member of that protect the interests of owners. So any shortcomings can be reported to them.
I don't have any direct contact with any members of Seasons, so I cannot be certain of how well they run their affairs with respect to their members, but I do believe that they try to run their business in accordance with the rules.
Finally I would suggest that you do nothing for the moment, except to find out as much as you can about the Seasons organization- you have their website address to start with. We will be meeting soon and there are ideas on the table and I am looking to move the deadline forward to just after our AGM.
Since producing this letter that I have used to respond to all inquiries I have spoken with David. He has promised to press those points that I raised with him, but he has not got back to me since, which is a bit worrying. However I have found out that this idea actually came from the Whitbarrow Village members club. They are now very small, about 200 and the committee put this proposal forward with a view to winding up the club completely. We are still about 800, at least up to the point of this offer, but I had considered, if we could postpone the deadline until after the AGM in October, offering this option to our members- the constitution requires a 75% yes vote to legally do this. I am worried that we still owe some money for the refurbishment, which we have funds to cover at this time, with a little left over, which could be used to help pay for the transfer for all. In the future however, with a small remaining membership, any liabilities would be equally shared and could force the club into liquidation as has happened elsewhere.
So hold on for a little while longer, but if you hear nothing new from me then make sure you do not miss the July deadline if you intend to transfer.
Hope this helps. I will put more information on the web site when I have it. Feel free to come back to me at any time. E-MAIL LINK
Clive
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