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What a difference a year makes………..

RDO / The Chief Executive blog  / What a difference a year makes………..
18 Oct 2013

What a difference a year makes………..

With apologies to Jamie Cullum who wrote the lyrics for the song “What a difference a day makes”. This song title came into my head after Chris Emmins (Kwikchex) and I had made a presentation to the staff of the UK and Scandinavian European Consumer Centres Network[i] (ECC-Net) on who RDO represented  (the best in timeshare in Europe) and what we were doing to combat the fraudsters in Europe (through RDO Enforcement and the Timeshare Task Force).

The reason I thought about this is that it is barely a year since RDO embarked on its strategy of meeting consumer issues head-on by dealing with exit strategies in deserving cases, including death and bankruptcy.  There is no doubt that the RDO’s Mission Statement has added to the organisation’s reputation as a trade association intent on meeting consumer needs and offering the best products available on the market.

Undoubtedly the UK ECC-Net has picked this up, and there is a mutual recognition that the 2 organisations are marching in the same direction in trying to protect consumers from these rogue organisations that so damage the legitimate industry. Back to the meeting itself, after our presentation, there was a lively discussion as to how the ECC-Net and RDO could work together and what information RDO could provide to the ECC-Net to help them advise consumers

We made reference to the new verification site that is being developed (more information will follow shortly on this) and it looks likely that it will be of great help to the ECC-Net once it is up and running.

2 days after our meeting, Alberto Garcia and Maria Jesus Rodriguez met with the Spanish ECC-Net in Madrid to discuss closer co-operation and help with the issues Enforcement currently has with the on-going cases in Gran Canaria.

There remains a lot to be accomplished and we agreed to set out a plan of action with the ECCs  – hard to believe that 12 months ago we would be in this position  – what a difference a year’s hard work makes!

Just a postscript, we are spending the weekend at Marriott’s resort at Marne la Vallee outside Paris  (otherwise known as Euro Disney). Having trouble connecting my laptop to Marriott’s WiFi, I ring their internet helpline and within minutes the problem is sorted, I enquire where the helpful young lady is located and it turns out she is based in Bucharest, Romania – what an inter-connected world we live in!



[i]  The European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) is an EU-wide network co-sponsored by the European Commission, the Member States, Norway and Iceland. It is made up of 29 centres, at least one in each of the 27 EU Member States and also in Iceland and Norway. They work together to provide consumers with information on cross-border purchase of goods and services. Furthermore they provide assistance in the amicable resolution of cross-border complaints and out of court procedures.

 

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