When Chelsea and her friend, Patty, toured a resort in Sedona, Arizona, Chelsea was overwhelmed with the idea of a timeshare. She thought of the flexibility to travel around the world, but the price tag was just as overwhelming. However, she eventually caved to the sales pressure after being in the meeting for hours on end. Chelsea’s first real vacation with her family then became her last for a while...
The following is a firsthand, written account about Chelsea’s deceptive timeshare experience. We hope Chelsea’s story will help shed a light on the distrustful practices of the timeshare sales industry. Names have been changed or redacted due to privacy concerns.
“My son and I had never really gone on a real vacation. I saw an ad online for a place in Sedona, AZ, that I could get for a cheap rate and a $100 gift card. All we had to do was sit through a timeshare presentation that was to take up to 90 minutes, so I took advantage of it.”
Chelsea, her son and her friend Pam all sat through the lengthy timeshare sales presentation. It lasted just over three hours in total, but Chelsea hoped she could make it work in her favor so that she and her son could enjoy vacations together. The timeshare salesman asked them a lot of leading questions and extended his pitch to even more emotional lengths.
“[The timeshare salesman] went on to tell us about a day that “forever changed his life.” He was driving home from work one day and passed a bad car accident. He thought nothing of it and kept driving, but soon after, he got a call. That car accident was his father who was killed in the crash.
He was convincing, and I guess I was not as wise back then as I am now. He pulled on my heart strings and got me to change my mind.”
Looking back, Chelsea isn’t so sure about the validity of that story from the salesman. She doesn’t think this out of cruelty or bitterness; rather, she recalls a funny thing that happened when she was leaving the room after signing all of her paperwork.
“On our way out of the building, someone else with [timeshare company] went up to [Chelsea’s timeshare salesman] and gave him a high-five and said, ‘You finally got one!’”
Chelsea and her son only used their timeshare one time in the 11 years that she paid for it. She remembers the experience vividly, recalling less-than-desirable customer service, lack of availability and a hotel room in terrible conditions when she finally arrived at her desired Atlantic City destination.
“There weren’t any properties in Atlantic City through [her timeshare company], but there were some available through the exchange program. This wasn’t free though. I had to ‘convert’ 1,000 of my points and pay $169 to do this.
I can honestly say that this was truly one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in. It was completely filthy. The balcony was covered in spiders and spiderwebs. We were booked for seven days, but we could only stand it one night. We booked and stayed at another hotel on the boardwalk.”
It took some time for Chelsea to gather the nerve to try another timeshare some years later, but booking again would prove to be just as difficult. As time went on, the points she paid for each year would become less valuable. She’d originally agreed to purchase 2,000 points per year 11 years ago, but those points would hardly get her any sort of timeshare option today.
After many failed attempts to book her timeshare, Chelsea later reached out to us here at Wesley Financial Group, LLC (WFG). With assistance from WFG over several months, Chelsea is now timeshare free!* She is now able to take valuable vacations with her son and her friends whenever she’d like...giving her true flexibility!
Do you know anyone with a similar timeshare experience? Please feel free to pass our phone number along to them. We’d love to see if they qualify for our timeshare termination services!
*Wesley Financial Group, LLC (“WFG”) develops individualized programs for each client, terminates over 97% 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 canceled within the time specified in the WFG Enrollment Agreement).
Wesley Financial Group, LLC, and/or its affiliates, successors, or assigns are not lawyers and/or a law firm and do not engage in the practice of law or provide legal advice or legal representation. All information, software, services, and comments provided on this site are for informational and self-help purposes only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, legal or otherwise.
