Adriana Stoyanova announced as Partner at M1 Law
Adriana Stoyanova is proud to announce the conclusion of an integration agreement with London based firm of solicitor, M1 Law.
Respected international lawyer, Adriana Stoyanova, will join M1 Law as Partner and will conduct all future work through M1 Law.
This announcement coincides with the publication of judgment in the Fractional timeshare product judicial review Shawbrook Bank v FOS which confirms that fractional timeshare products which were sold as an investment are unlawful.
Adriana comments,
"We expect the volume of timeshare claims to increase as a result of this decision and the integration with M1 Law will benefit our clients by allowing us to work with the M1 Law team. This will enable us to continue to provide and to improve our exceptional service to clients."
The Shawbrook decision is a game changing one for disgruntled timeshare owners. The Court was asked to review two decisions taken by the Financial Ombudsmen Service which ruled that fractional ownership products sold by Diamond Resorts and Club la Costa were unlawful for two key reasons:
- Both products were marketed and sold as investments, with the potential to receive proceeds in the sale of the property once the contract expired. This was ruled to be a clear breach of the Timeshare Regulations.
- The Club la Costa contract was also ruled to be so complex that it was not written in "plain and intelligible language" as required by the UCCTA.
The banks that provided the loans which financed the purchase were held responsible to compensate the consumers. Section 56 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes the lender responsible for the acts of the supplier and sections 140A and 140B mean that the unlawfulness creates and unfair relationship between the supplier and the lender, entitling the consumer to compensation.
"The features examined by the Court are present in many Club la Costa and Diamond Resorts fractional contracts. This will open the floodgates for thousands of new claims. M1 Law will give us the infrastructure to handle an increased volume of claims", adds Adriana.