In total, 3,583 people across the UK were defrauded out of £28.1m, with the highest individual loss being £80,000.
Nearly 500 victims lost more than £10,000. Most were aged between 60 and 80, with some in their 90s.
Des, from Mitcham, recalled how he was persuaded to take out a loan by the company.
The police have asked us not to reveal his surname.
The former engineer had been trying to sell his family’s timeshares in Tenerife and was alerted to the con by the police.
“We were devastated because I wanted to retire at the time, but now I couldn’t afford to,” he said.
“I was absolutely gutted and every phone call I made to the Bournemouth office, I got fobbed off.”
Des, who branded the fraudsters “scum”, said: “How do these people sleep at night?
“They don’t care about us normal people. They’re greedy, they get greedier and they’re living their life of luxury from their ill-gotten gains.”
