To Mr Albert Fletcher
Chairman, Club Los Claveles
Dear Albert
We were incensed to see among the AGM papers the 3 resolutions presented by two Club members supporting WimPen (Onagrup) and making allegations about the Committee’s actions to defend the Club, and us its members, against the takeover by Ona/WimPen. We are all in favour of people having a difference of opinion but the constant attempt to derail our Committee’s attempt to keep our Club, and Los Claveles under our control against a profit making company is unacceptable. Onagrup has never accepted that what it bought was only an Administration company – WimPen Leisure Management – that had at the time a contract for RUNNING Los Claveles but did not own it! Our horror was generated as much by what the resolutions failed to say, as well as what they did, and as owners who have followed the developments of this dispute closely from the day we were advised that Ivan Pengelly had sold his business to Onagrup we want to show our support for the Committee’s actions and counter the false information and accusations which appear to have given rise to these resolutions. We would like you to share our views as widely as possible with other members.
Resolution 8 – vote of no confidence
The Committee has acted in the interest of owners at every stage of the dispute, working within the Club Constitution, and with a mandate from the majority of Club owners, from legally convened meetings that have had much higher attendances and the greatest number of votes cast than in any previous Club meeting. From the outset there has not been a ‘level playing field’ with WimPen holding ‘all of the cards’. The fact that the Committee has been able to contact as many owners as they have has been down to a lot of hard work because WimPen has refused to send out Club information, or even put it on the Los Claveles notice board, or importantly hand over the member database, even when required to do so by the Arbitrator. The distress being experienced by owners has been caused by WimPen NOT the Committee that has acted within the terms of the Club Constitution throughout on our behalf. WimPen has failed to follow proper procedures by invoicing the Club for its share of the running costs of the resort, choosing instead to charge individual owners maintenance as it did when it was acting as the management company. Onagrup is the reason that Club owners, who have fulfilled their obligations as Club members to pay the Club’s administrator, have had to pay twice to use their accommodation as WimPen hold the keys, not the Committee!
As to making fraudulent claims from credit card companies, as someone who made such a claim our claim was fully investigated following us providing all the information about the history and legal rulings and our claim was upheld. This would not have happened if the company had considered it to be a fraudulent claim, and yet WimPen will not accept it and continue to accuse Committee members of fraud.
As owners who accept the Club Constitution as the legal framework for running our Club we totally support the suspensions of Club members, and the vetoing of the votes of owners, who fail to abide by the Club Constitution. The Chairman is also in order to suspend those who demonstrate their intention to undermine the work of the Committee with untruthfull statements and false information. Onagrup has acquired many weeks since it bought WimPen giving it ‘block votes’. As long time owners we have confidence in this Committee.
Resolution 9
Given the nature of the dispute, and the fact that the late Ivan Pengelly told the Club Chairman that it was Onagrup’s declared intention to run the Club out of money, we fully support the Committee in the decision not to provide financial information that would give more information to be used to weaken the Club’s case further. This decision was put to the AGM last year and was upheld by the majority of owners who had the ability to vote. The resolution quotes the Constitution but when several owners attempted to exercise this constitutional right by asking WimPen to see its accounts every request was denied. What did/does WimPen have to hide?
Resolution 10
This was the most staggering resolution of all! Why would we want to give ANY contract to a company that:
- started to make changes to Los Claveles, without consultation and in spite of owner concerns, within weeks of acquiring the management contract 4 years ago. These included renting via booking agencies on a daily basis which contravened the Constitution, providing hotel style toiletries and wine, stating on their website and elsewhere that they had purchased the resort and overturning decisions made by us at previous AGMs as a cost saving exercise.
- even though it is a large, international company insisted on conducting all of its discussions/ meetings in Spanish even though they were dealing with what is effectively a ‘British company’ making meaningful discussion more difficult from the outset
- in the past has hired heavy handed security guards and physically intimidated owners, to deny access to their accommodation
- refused to abide by the decision of the 2015 AGM, when Club members voted to terminate the contract early but then also refused to accept that the contract had expired naturally in May 2017
- refused to ‘play fair’ by allowing the Committee to contact all members and provide them with both sides of the dispute,
- refused to abide by legal rulings, including arbitration decisions as per our Constitution, and a ruling in Tenerife as recently as the end of last year
This company is not to be trusted to carry out owners’ wishes as evidenced by its behaviour to date. It is a profit making company that, we believe, has seen an opportunity to acquire a much sought after resort in a popular holiday destination. As timeshare is no longer a popular way of buying property abroad weeks are worth less on resale than they used to be and as many owners age they are happy to ‘hand back’ their weeks or receive a ‘notional sum’ to avoid the annual costs. Onagrup has taken advantage of the fact that many owners, despite loving the Los Claveles they bought into, only want to ‘have their holiday’ and don’t realise that it is the dispute that has stalled Onagrup from exerting its control and making other changes. Even if we are wrong in this belief, since the evidence shows that they are not prepared to listen to owners and act within our Constitution now why would we believe that this would change with a contract?
Onagrup has set owners against owners and constantly implies that the Committee has its own agenda but I find it impossible to see what that could be. They are all ordinary Club owners, most of whom happened to be in post when our life at Los Claveles was turned upside down by the ‘out of the blue’ news from Ivan Pengelly that he had sold his business. Our Committee members, who work tirelessly for no personal gain, unlike Onagrup, have our full support and we hope, and implore, that others will not be persuaded to vote for these resolutions, and will continue to support the Committee’s fight on our behalf even if they have chosen, for pragmatic reasons, to pay WimPen in order to have their holiday.
Thank you all for your hard work and dedication.
Ken & Sue Fitton (Villa 66 Week 4, 5 & 6) sent by email 25th March 2019