On 28 October the English High Court found that Alexander (Sandy) Grey, Chairman of the Timeshare Consumers Association (TCA), was responsible for publishing a website which contained serious allegations about many of the big players in the timeshare industry. The website, which was published under the name “Crimeshare – Timeshare Frauds and Scams” on at least 12 different internet domain names over the last five years, is believed to have been relied on by over 1.5 million individuals.

Following years of denial and having signed court documents to verify his false denials, Sandy Grey – who has positioned himself in the media as the leading expert and consumer advocate in the timeshare industry – was found by Mr Justice Eady to have published the “crimeshare” website on all five of the domain names which formed the basis of the High Court claim. Mr Grey was ordered to pay the substantial costs involved in proving his responsibility for publication, including £25,000 within 21 days.

A regular media commentator, the previously-trusted Chairman of the TCA – which, he says, is regarded as an expert on the complexities of timeshare and the related sectors and deals with approximately 10,000 consumers every year – Mr Grey has now been exposed as secretly publishing highly damaging allegations against numerous individuals and companies operating in the timeshare industry across the world.

Said a former TCA committee member; “Sandy Grey pretends he is talking on behalf of the consumer and an association, but all of the views he promotes are simply his own”. More concerning, said the same former TCA committee member, “Mr Grey appears on television and radio painting a very dull and bleak picture of timeshare and throwing out figures that are completely made up”.

More than 200 companies were ‘blacklisted’ by Mr Grey, including large publicly traded companies such as R.C.I, the timeshare vacation exchange company which allows timeshare owners to trade their weeks to more than 3000 resorts across the world. Other entities listed included the European timeshare trade body itself, the Organisation of Timeshare in Europe (which was set up to improve representation for reputable companies in the timeshare sector and promote fair trading, quality and growth of the timeshare industry), as well as ARDA, the American Resort Developers Association.

One of the subjects of these defamatory allegations, Mr Robert T. Trotta of Resort Properties Group, appointed London law firm Mishcon de Reya and brought proceedings for libel to vindicate his reputation. Mr Justice Eady last week acknowledged that Mr Trotta had undertaken a “painstaking exercise” collating substantial witness and expert evidence to demonstrate that Mr Grey was the author of the “crimeshare” websites. This evidence showed that Mr Grey had used a number of false identities and deceitful tactics, including identity theft, to conceal his involvement.

Having signed false “statements of truth” on Court documents, it is clear that Mr Grey lied and showed contempt for the court and for due process.

Robert Trotta said:

“Over the years, Sandy Grey has gone to great lengths to hide his involvement with the “crimeshare” website, which has been the main source of false and scaremongering allegations about the timeshare industry and the number one source of customers to his own business, the Timeshare Consumers Association. He has finally been proved to be responsible for this website by the High Court and exposed for the liar that he is.

Having now proved Grey guilty of publication I have made the principled decision to discontinue my libel action against him, thereby denying him the publicity it was clear he craved through the action.”

Peter Van der Mark Secretary General of the Organisation for Timeshare in Europe said of the judgment and the impact on consumers:

“The OTE is very concerned about the legitimacy of several private organizations dedicated to providing ‘consumer advice’. These companies have absolutely no link to the industry. We would advise people to exercise caution in dealing with any company that refers to the Crimeshare blacklist, Alexander (Sandy) Grey or the TCA.”

“Consumers who have questions about timeshare, should contact OTE for advice.” http://www.ote-info.com

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