When Comedy gets the Point Across

Humour, we all need it, and for some reason, especially British humour as it always seems to find the funny side of things, whether it be the dry military humour of the battlefield or getting across a point we may find annoying. It does have the knack of making us think about things differently.

The butt of many an old joke was the door-to-door salesman, used in many comedy sketches and old British classic films, and not to forget the “market trader” with his “dodgy” goods, the most famous character being “Del Boy” Trotter.

There is also a great tradition of humour and politics, famous shows like “Spitting Image” made us laugh, but they also made us think about what we were seeing in the news. All too often, the “humorous view” was what we were privately thinking and it gave us the chance to voice that view.

Many of the articles we publish highlight so many things that are wrong with timeshare, the horror stories of vulnerable consumers and the greed of the timeshare developers. We explain the frauds associated with timeshare, especially the “Claims & Exits” market, giving you the telltale signs of a scam. In all this, we try to inject a little humour, but it can never get as good as our following link.

AIT was sent the YouTube link to a show called “Last Week Tonight” hosted by John Oliver, which is aired on HBO Max. In this episode the subject is “Timeshares”, so obviously, it had to be viewed and I must admit I was not disappointed.

It was not quite what I had expected, it was not the over-the-top in-your-face humour which most Brits associate with US comedies, so that was a plus to start with. The way the subject was dealt with got full marks, from start to finish it highlighted everything AIT has ever published, from the initial purchase right through to being scammed by those on the periphery.

As he introduces the subject of timeshares, the question is already being posed, “are you gonna tell that they are a scam?” The introduction is followed with some examples of how timeshare has been depicted in comedy, all very funny but sadly true.

There then follows some figures, these show just how big an industry timeshare is when it comes to making money. The way it has been branded with all the various names and club systems available, totally changed from the original concept as he explained.

This explanation of timeshare moves swiftly to the point of selling it to you the “gullible” punter, at this point the Vice President of Westgate is introduced, “Firing-up” his sales team. This can be found at 2:22 on the video link.

Have I just woken up on another planet, did somebody spike my drink?

If proof was ever needed that you cannot trust a timeshare sales agent, then that scene is it, with golden bells on it.

Following this revelation into sales force motivation 101! John does go straight on to say it doesn’t save lives, it totally “screws” (our replacement word) them up, this theme is continued after how it is sold, all the lies included. Many of the examples given about the “presentation” are very familiar, especially the “diabetic” who purchased because she needed her insulin, we have so many similar stories documented in our articles.

In the next important example given in “Firing-up,” the sales team is given what can only be explicit instruction to lie, to say and do anything to stop the “mark” from leaving without a purchase. FF to 4:33.

Moving on to another point we have covered in many articles, the “exit & claims” industry. How it attracts the “scammers” who promise the earth, take your money and go.

In our next clip which is located at 21:53, a “new” company is formed, it is based on the many companies we have seen emerge in the UK over the years, especially when something hits the news.

These are the companies which will not only get you out of your timeshare, which the previous company failed to do, but they will also get your money back from that company. We have seen this with regard to the court cases against Eze Group and the various Mark Rowe companies, within hours of arrests and subsequent charges being filed, the “scammers” were on the phones with promises of getting all your money back.

The clip is a spoof “paid-for segment” promoting the new company, Timeshare Exit Squared. A very impressive company with a 200% success record.

One thing is very clear from this entertaining show, behind the humour there is some very serious reporting which is most definitely in the “Public Interest”. John Oliver through his whit covers a subject which has left many lives devastated, exposing an industry that is built on greed. We have known this for a long time, we urge you to share this link, it gets the point across and in a way that does not make you want to switch off, so full marks to this piece.

John Oliver is a British Comic and he did win an Emmy for his work as a writer on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”, guest-hosting the show in 2013 which is when HBO noticed him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd2bbHoVQSM