After a 34-year career of public school teaching, Marilyn spent retirement with her husband travelling. On one vacation they were tricked into attending a presentation where, before they could blink, they were timeshare owners. Below includes first hand accounts of the timeshare fiasco that Marilyn and her husband experienced. The names of people and companies have been changed or omitted due to privacy reasons.
“At the presentation we were in a large room filled with many tables of other sales representatives paired with potential buyers. We found this setting very distracting, noisy, and difficult to concentrate. There was much talking and noise going on around us, which I think was part of the selling strategy. The representative had a rehearsed presentation script, going at a lively pace with a slick demonstration book. He said that buying a timeshare was economical, which would give us travel options to many locations at a reduced cost, and that it would be easy to book the trips. He stressed that buying a timeshare was a good investment, that it could be willed to our heirs, or sold at a profit.”
What Marilyn didn’t know was that the so-called investment would be passed on to her kids. A year and half after buying the timeshare, tragedy struck Marilyn’s family as her husband passed away. She could no longer afford the timeshare that she was manipulated into buying.
“My husband and I had the timeshare for only a year and a half before he passed away. We were able to use only one timeshare week in that time span. Now being by myself, I had no desire to travel and use any of the weeks. After my husband passed, my income was significantly reduced, making it a hardship to make the monthly payments which would extend for 25 years at the current payment rate. My daughters and sons-in-law have no desire to continue the burden of ownership and financial obligation after I pass.”
Looking back on her early conversations with the sales representatives, Marilyn remembers being promised that heirs would easily profit from the investment she made.
“They said buying a timeshare was economical, which would give us many travel options (they didn't). They said it would be easy to book the trips, which we later found to be untrue in regard to dates and locations. They said that buying a timeshare was a sound investment, which could easily be sold for a profit or willed to our heirs. Our heirs do not want the burden of owning a timeshare, including the monthly payments and yearly maintenance fees.”
Feeling like she had been wronged, Marilyn decided to reach out to the timeshare company stating what had happened. They were not going to budge.
“I sent a letter to the company, informing them of my husband's death and telling them my income was reduced and I could not afford the payments. They offered me a smaller condo unit, which I did not want. I received offers from other companies about selling the timeshare, but I had not contacted them; I was concerned about their reliability. Then, I saw an advertisement for Wesley Financial Group in a magazine. I wanted to select a company that was reputable, one that would get the job done efficiently and professionally and that’s exactly what Wesley Financial did.”
After Marilyn got in touch with us we were able to terminate her timeshare and free up any financial hardship it was causing her.* She now looks forward to finishing up with her husband’s estate and spending time with her family.
“I can’t explain how grateful I am for Wesley Financial Group. I would highly recommend them to anyone else who wishes to cancel their timeshare.”
If you know someone who could potentially use our services, pass along our phone number below. We would be more than happy to see if they qualify for our timeshare termination services.
(800) 425-4081
*Wesley Financial Group, LLC (“WFG”) develops individualized programs for each client, terminates over 98% of their client’s timeshare relationships, and in certain circumstances, obtains a refund of some or all of the timeshare purchase price. Actual results depend on each client’s distinct case and no specific outcome is guaranteed (although WFG does offer a 100% money back guarantee if the timeshare is not cancelled within the time specified in the WFG Enrollment Agreement).