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VOASA responds to commissioner's address on vacation ownership inquiry

23 May 2017

Following the address made by Commissioner Ebrahim Mohamed at the launch of the public inquiry into the vacation ownership industry, the Vacation Ownership Association of Southern Africa (VOASA) has responded saying that it will continue to offer its full support has met with the deputy commissioner on 11 April to discuss its role and participation. VOASA, however, has expressed its dismay at the statement that the industry captains have turned a blind eye to the plight of consumers for such a long time.

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Every effort made

“We would like to place on record that in 2008, VOASA representatives met with the NCC, then called the Unfair Business Practices Committee, on numerous occasions to propose amendments to the legislation in order to assist consumers. However, despite these meetings and proposals, no progress was made to amend the legislation.

“Furthermore, in 2014 VOASA cautioned the NCC that the investigation into three major holiday clubs was being handled incorrectly and would ultimately lead to a waste of the consumer’s time and taxpayer’s money.

“During July 2015, VOASA submitted an amended Code of Conduct for the industry to the NCC for review and approval. This Code of Conduct addressed various issues as raised in the aforesaid investigation. To date, the NCC has not acknowledged nor commented on this document.

“We believe that every effort has been made by VOASA and its industry captains to remedying any challenges faced by consumers and the vacation ownership industry,” said VOASA spokesperson, Alex Bosch.

"Thousands of complaints" inaccurate

VOASA is further dismayed by the inaccurate account of “thousands” of complaints, as no such record has been produced to support this. In December 2016, VOASA challenged a newspaper report stating this same statement by the NCC. This led to a correction of the article being published as the NCC had given the newspaper the total number of consumer complaints across all industries amounting to thousands and not specific to the vacation ownership industry.

“Despite these comments, we remain optimistic that the inquiry will provide a positive platform to assist consumers and ultimately provide a better understanding of the vacation ownership industry. VOASA will continue to make itself available to engage with the Inquiry Panel and help wherever needed,” concluded Bosch.

VOASA