The following is a word for word account of the timeshare nightmare that Raul and Kathleen C. experienced. We hope their written account will shed some light on the strategy that the timeshare industry often uses on good, unsuspecting people like them. Names of people have been changed and/or redacted for privacy reasons.
“My best friend heard about a great resort on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. So, I used a timeshare exchange network to get a room for one week. We enjoyed the facility and surroundings so much that we agreed to attend a timeshare presentation. They were friendly and professional even though I told them I would have difficulty paying for another timeshare. They then introduced us to the supervisor, who tried several ways to finance this timeshare so it would not be a major financial burden on us. After that, they added a few perks like a platinum membership for a year, a 2-for-1 exchange for a week at another facility in Florida, a golf and tennis package and a membership which, according to them, had higher end facilities when compared to our company. So, after 2.5 hours, we grudgingly signed and agreed to purchase one week for odd years for a two bedroom unit. We made an initial down payment via our credit card and would pay in total 84 payments over the next seven years.
As mentioned we have only been to Hilton Head, South Carolina one time. The cost to go there included a round trip flight from Los Angeles to Savannah, Georgia, a car rental cost, a fee to get my one week and of course the associated costs to enjoy the surrounding attractions. So, we tried several times to exchange it out for another resort and were not very successful. That's it. So, to continue to pay association and maintenance fees of $800 every odd year and monthly mortgage fees of $147 made us feel that we were not using this timeshare for our benefit. Although our mortgage loan is finally paid in full, our experience with this company really convinced us that it was not meeting our needs. And to consider flying to South Carolina, especially with the travel restrictions per the current pandemic, our vacation plans have severely disrupted for quite a while. Thus, we agreed that we want out of this timeshare agreement!”
The lack of customer support doesn’t end at misleading agreements. Raul and Kathleen can’t even get an answer on whether they can exchange weeks to go on vacation somewhere much more accessible for the couple living out on the west coast.
“We are terribly disappointed that this company has not been responsive to our desires to exchange for other facilities. For example, we wanted to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico again and for 3 months, but they could never find me one week to exchange.”
The Southern California couple also started to experience certain medical hardships. Raul suffered a heart attack and Kathleen had knee replacement surgery recently. Though both have recovered, it has made traveling even more of a liability. This is not to mention the five grandchildren that Raul and Kathleen would like to be able help their kids support.
“We are both retired and have a fixed income that gets us by. So, we no longer desire to use this timeshare and its related services. We now travel for 2-3 days/weekend trips from Los Angeles to vacation locations much closer to us like: San Diego, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, and Las Vegas. We no longer have any inclination to any timeshare company again."
Wesley Financial Group, LLC is here to help if you have been through a similar situation to Raul and Kathleen. Give us a call today to see if you 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 terminated within the time specified in the WFG Enrollment Agreement).
