Below is a word for word account of the timeshare nightmare that Robin and Randy H. experienced. We hope their written account will shed some light on the tactics that the timeshare industry often uses on good, unsuspecting people. *Names of people have been changed and/or redacted for privacy reasons.
Robin and Randy’s Client Story
“The reason that I bought my timeshare in Virginia Beach was the BEACH!! When I first bought, the prices were much more reasonable and it was deeded, so that every year you had a guaranteed week in the summer to enjoy the beach. Of course, they always offered you a $50 gift card as an incentive to come to the meeting, but my family (which at that time included me as a single mom and my 2 children who lost their dad before either was 5 years of age to a brain tumor) loved to vacation together, and so having a week guaranteed every summer at the beach with the ability to pass it onto my children was enticing.
I first owned at Turtle Cay (neat pool!) and then we moved up to Boardwalk (great indoor pool) and finally at Ocean Beach Club which was nicer than either of the others and offered indoor and outdoor pools, as well as a variety of other activities. My final purchase there was Ocean Air because the units were laid out better and they offered nicer air conditioning than the other unit. I owned 2 weeks so that we could go to the ocean twice a year, or I could let my friends use it.
All was well, and the maintenance fees ran at $1200/year, which I could get with a weeks rental. When another timeshare company came in, Bruce (owner of the timeshare company I originally owned with) made sure that there were provisions so that those of us who had purchased during his ownership would still be guaranteed our units if we chose not to upgrade to points. I resisted several years until I was told that eventually all of the units would be converted to points and that if I didn't take this "deal", I would lose my ability to convert my units at a much higher rate than I would get after I left the beach this particular year. I bought into their point system at this "reduced rate" with the guarantee that if and when I converted my units to points, I would convert at the higher rate. When I was hit with the maintenance costs that next year which included a homeowners fee because I had kept the 2 deeded weeks, I flipped! It quickly became apparent that I would not be able to continue ownership of my beach weeks as I knew it.
My new husband and I went to Las Vegas with my children and met with Sam. He had all of the answers and told us how we could afford this "investment" and greatly reduce the maintenance fees that had become a huge problem. He told us that we had too many deeds and that's why the maintenance fees were so high and why they were able to charge us homeowners fees on top of the maintenance costs. He told us that we could book a week for 10,000 points and within a month of travel, call in to get the same week for 5,000 points because we already had a unit booked and they couldn't deny availability. He told us that we could turn our points in and make $.40/point, so that if we converted 100k points, we could pay the maintenance costs and the loan costs and still have money left over. It sounded great and the answer to our prayers. We were going to get a lot more flexibility and a way to make all of this self-sufficient while still giving us great vacations! He figured out that over the course of 10 years, we would have spent about $160,000 in maintenance fees so that's what price he set on our "upgrade", although I can’t find that figure in any of the paperwork. With cashing in points, it would be paid in full in no time and we would have that ongoing income to help us with maintenance costs.
Within 3 months of our meeting (buy the way, the paperwork is dated 8/13/17, but we went to Las Vegas over Thanksgiving which is when we met with Sam), the whole program changed and now you could get $.04/point which wouldn't even cover the maintenance costs. I called Sam a few times, but he just referred me to financial services if I was having a problem.
There is no doubt that since the new timeshare company took over, the maintenance of the units has deteriorated and the activities have become cheapened. My dad (who was a supporter throughout this purchase process) passed away and really felt that he was leaving me with a burden because he sat in on many meetings in Virginia Beach.”
Robin and Randy trusted the timeshare salesman when he told them he had the solution to their problems, but unfortunately, he ended up causing them even more issues. Robin and Randy reached out to us for help with their issues and we are in the process of helping them cancel their timeshare.
We are here to help those who have been lied to or misled when purchasing their timeshare. Reach out to us today if you need assistance cancelling your timeshare.
(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).
