Greg and Tara K. were under the impression that a timeshare would only make their retirement even more enjoyable. At the time of the purchase, they were planning to retire within just the next few years. It should not be a surprise to many though that the timeshare salespeople used this particular information to the couple’s disadvantage.
Below is a written account from Greg and Tara on what went wrong with their timeshare experience and we hope this story enlightens more to the deceptive strategies used by the timeshare sales industry. Names have been changed or redacted due to privacy concerns.
“The meeting was supposed to only take an hour, but it lasted for at least 3 hours. Each sales rep gave a slightly different spin but always assured us that a timeshare would save us money while taking nice vacations with very little effort. We thought getting nice vacations at a greatly reduced cost was a great idea and the song and dance about the ease of getting them planned were also enticing. We fell right for it and by the time we realized it was all lies, it was too late.”
After leaving the timeshare sales presentation, Greg and Tara were in good spirits thinking the vacations for the rest of their lives were already planned and paid for. It would not take too long though before the couple saw the cracks in the pavement.
“One of the main problems with our timeshare was the difficulty of using it. We were told over and over that there was no availability for the dates we had in mind. We just started asking them when they had openings but they would not tell us. We would call with a whole list of dates every year and rarely would there ever be any of them open. It was very frustrating.”
It began to seem impossible for Greg and Tara to use their timeshare. It took over five years of attempts before they were able to book their first and only vacation with the timeshare. Despite rarely getting to use the property, they were still required to make annual payments on it.
“We had hoped to retire earlier but had to postpone both of our retirements due to the financial hardship brought on by the cost of the timeshare. The maintenance fees kept going up rather rapidly each year and we could barely keep up. If they kept going up every year, we were not sure how much longer we could continue to afford it. We were both still working our full-time jobs and my wife even took on a second part-time job to help pay for it.”
This timeshare kept Greg and Tara working well into their late 60s just to keep up with the outrageous costs that came with owning one. This was not a part of their plan over a decade ago when they first purchased the timeshare. In fact, when it was sold to them it was presented as an enhancement to their retirement plan.
Greg and Tara knew something had to change about their financial predicament as it was becoming more and more unbearable. They reached out to us at Wesley Financial Group, LLC for assistance in getting out of their timeshare agreement. We worked quickly to see if the couple qualified for our termination services and then within the next year, it was official!
Wesley Financial Group, LLC canceled Greg and Tara’s timeshare agreement and also relieved the couple of $12,348 in timeshare mortgage and maintenance debt.*
If 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.
