MARIGOT--Many French-side Oyster Pond residents and some directly concerned property owners are calling on authorities to stop what they deplore as the day-in day-out, year-in year-out "terrorist practices" of some Off-Premises Consultants (OPCs) or freelance salespersons for the timeshare resorts.
Residents said there had been no reaction to several registered letters and complaints to The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and Spa and verbal and physical fights, and seemingly no responsibility is taken by timeshare resorts for which the OPCs are working.
"For years now, every day, OPCs are standing around on the road, yelling at passing tourists in front of residences, stopping cars to get their vouchers scratched and blocking the main Avenue du Lagoon road," complained one resident. "The activity starts mainly from 8:30am until 5:00pm, including Saturdays and Sundays, even during holidays at Easter or Christmas.
"One of the main 'camping' spots is in front of Lot 98 and the apartments across the road. OPCs park their cars in the private parking spaces of the apartments or on the roadside (partly private property), leaving apartment renters no space to park, nor can any visitors park without looking further down the road.
"They also regularly block driveways, forcing villa owners to repeatedly ask them to move their vehicle. And when they leave, empty bottles and garbage are left behind. They also talk loudly on their cell phones all day, disturbing neighbours, in between shouting at passing rental cars."
Residents said they had been told by some timeshare resort representatives that OPCs worked independently, so it was not the resort's problem. But residents argue that OPCs bring tourists to the timeshare resort and the resort at least could make sure its OPCs "don't terrorise the whole neighbourhood."
The OPC problem has brought to light several questions posed by affected residents:
What does the law say on the French side? Are English, Dutch Sint Maarten, South Africans, Dutch, German and other people allowed to work on the French side without residence papers, work papers, paying taxes or having a company, while trying to lure people into buying timeshare on the Dutch side?
Are French people allowed to work for Dutch-side timeshare resorts here while receiving money from France because they don't work in French territory?
Are OPCs allowed to hold up and stop traffic so that other vehicles cannot pass safely on the road?
Is there not a "privacy law" to prohibit strangers from sitting in a private driveway, parking their cars on a private parking and yelling the whole day so close to private properties?
Is it normal that residents have to close windows so that their baby grandchildren can sleep a few hours during the day and are not woken up several times by OPCs' screaming?
What about privacy when residents make phone calls on the terrace and OPCs comment on what they say?
Is there not a privacy/annoyance law on the French side that prohibits people from harassing residents by making loud noise right in front of their properties?
Are the same OPCs allowed to litter everywhere and discard cigarette butts, creating a high risk of fire?
Is it normal OPCs can smoke joints and drink alcohol while they are "working"?
Is it normal for OPCs to have stopped a French-side Gendarmerie patrol on several occasions to complain about branches that residents had put outside alongside the road on their private part of the road, saying the branches were in the OPCs' way? The Gendarmerie called the residents to say they needed to clean up, while they pay for a private service to do that almost every day.
The Daily Herald called The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and Spa on Tuesday to establish whether the OPCs mentioned in the complaint worked for that resort and whether the resort had any accountability for those OPCs. The message was relayed to the Marketing Director by someone in the timeshare department, but up to press time there had been no call back to clarify the situation.
