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My parents were suckered into a timeshare almost ten years ago by Bluegreen in Gatlinburg, TN. They were drawn in by the notion of having blissful family vacations in cabins, chalets, etc. that housed 6-8 people. They felt this would allow all the kids the opportunity to vacation together at no cost. However, what they did not know then is that year after year we would not be able to have enough points to actually book anything that large because it was always either too expensive in any of the seasons they could travel or not available to book. So year after year they paid a high price and $1200 in maintenance fees, only to never be able to use it. They were being swindled. So they went to Bluegreen in an effort to find a way to actually use the timeshare they had purchased, at which point they were told verbally that for not much more they could almost double their points and afford to stay almost anywhere. The lady wrote on a napkin the new amount for my mom to see, but did not clarify that would be in addition to the loan they were already paying off, and it would re-define the terms of the old loan additionally. So they would now begin anew paying towards principle. They received their first maintenance fee bill of $2500...it had doubled. My father is on disability from a Government job due to a brain injury caused by a tooth infection that got into his blood stream & my mother works at Walmart. They can not afford to even take a vacation, and having double the points still did not help because hardly any of the timeshare locations had availability for 8 people as promised, and at all three vacation windows with family there were not any resorts available 6 months in advance in the points they now had. This is not nice! They prey on those least equipped to afford their services, and then make it nearly impossible to use it. When they could no longer afford to maintain the new loan amount, that was now doubled...they spoke with a third party consultant online, who advised that what Bluegreen was doing was illegal and that there was documented litigation of many have gone through their company and been able to win their freedom from the program. My parents followed their "legal" advise to discontinue their payments and refuse all collection calls for up to 6 months while they fought on their behalf. They required that my parents send $2200 to them and they would handle everything with Bluegreen and file a form that would keep anything from affecting their credit score. My dad would get the paperwork in the mail when everything had been settled. Instead my parents received a letter this month that they were in litigation, their credit has plummeted and rates are skyrocketing on the credit cards that have not dropped them. When my parents called the company they were told that the lady they had spoken with has since left the company and nothing had been filed on their behalf, but they would get some paperwork to them right out to have signed to proceed. The paperwork they received was to file bankruptcy. They have been swindled yet again. Today they received a notice that their bank accounts can and may be seized. At a time that they should be relaxing and enjoying their retirement years, they are now faced with many painful life lessons...and a very bleak situation. My question is, is there any recourse? It has now been 8 months since they defaulted on two loans and additionally they can not afford they maintenance fees, so they have not been paid for this year. How do I advise them? Who can we trust for sound advice? Will it be helpful to contact Bluegreen at this point? Sincerely, Kristi