Many aspects in a timeshare purchase can go wrong for the consumer, and the four-year-old Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act is too blunt a tool with which to regulate the industry, said the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).

Elaborating, Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said the Act does not cover the nitty-gritty of timeshare ownership, marketing, purchase and resale.

'It is such a major consumer problem that it deserves more attention,' he said in reference to the shared ownership of a vacation home by a group of buyers who take turns to use the property at specific periods each year.

Timeshare companies have consistently topped the charts among consumer complaints here. Last year, 2,093 complaints were filed with Case. Of these, a fifth of the complainants were seeking redress or compensation.

Besides Case, Group RCI - the world's largest timeshare exchange company - also wants the industry here regulated. It wants, for example, such companies to be compelled to disclose financial information as well as issue title deeds to those who buy their properties.

RCI, which has 60 per cent of the world's timeshare resorts under its umbrella, allows buyers of timeshare vacations to make swops of vacation sites as long as these resorts are its members.

Mr Seah, picking up on the point about disclosing financial information, said it would give the consumer an idea of the companies' stability and how likely they are to close shop suddenly.

Referring to the issuing of title deeds, he said it would give consumers some reassurance against timeshare developers going bust and leaving them high and dry.

Both Case and Group RCI also want tighter rules on the sale and marketing of timeshare holidays.

For example, the 'cooling-off' period following a sale should be longer to give the buyer time to mull over his purchase; laws should also limit the length of time that timeshare companies can subject a buyer to their sales pitches.

Group RCI's vice-president of legal and government relations in the Asia-Pacific region, MsEdena Low, said the bad reputation of the industry, worth US$15 billion (S$20.4billion) globally, is cramping its growth in Singapore.

Group RCI submitted a 40-page White Paper to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) last August, listing its recommendations for new timeshare legislation.

An MTI spokesman confirmed it had received the document, but said legislation was 'not a panacea' for consumers' woes.

Falling in line with laws will add to companies' operating costs which are usually passed on to consumers, she said.

She added that while the Act will be beefed up to extend the cooling-off period from three to five days, consumers also have to exercise judgment in their purchases.

weichean@sph.com.sg