Westgate Vacation Villas

Has anyone had any luck at getting rid of their timeshare once they own it?

Sep 29, 2015

My husband and I traveled to the Grand Mayan Resort in may, 2014 for a week's vacation. We were asked to attend a breakfast the next morning, "to acquaint us with the property". Unfortunately we said "yes." We had no intention of buying a Timeshare and made that perfectly clear To VIDA. From 9:15 A.M. to 5:00P.M., the VIDA representatives were twisting our arms to buy into a Private Residence Club,which the representatives assured us was different than a timeshare. Indeed, it was just another name for a Timeshare The information we received was confusing and misleading. We purchased into the Bliss Resort, thinking our condo would be located at the Grand Mayan near the Water Park and Beach. The contract we signed stated we were buying property in Puerto Vallarta. The representative assured us we were buying into the VIDA family, claiming that we could use any Bliss Property. Well, some of the properties had not been built yet, or were in the process of being built. We were pressured for 8 hours. Every time we attempted to leave the table, one of 5 individuals (four at one time at one point) would offer us another week for free or almost free. We eventually signed to purchase. Once we returned home and were able to research the company, we found that we bought into a TimeShare which was basically worthless. Within two weeks, we were ready to cancel the contract, but the 5 day "grace period" had expired. We began researching our options to cancel the contract. Both my husband and I were questioning our decision making by then,and were afraid of making a poor choice in selecting an attorney to represent us in Mexico. I interviewed a number of attorneys both in the States and in Mexico. We surveyed blogs and web sites and read dozens of stories about people who like us, were sold a bag of lies and misrepresentations. Mexican Timeshare Solutions located in Mexico was chosen to represent us. We had many questions. How many cases had they lost? How long does this process take? AND--do we only pay when our contract is cancelled? They answered every question. We took a leap of faith and crossed our fingers. Our representative was Ricardo Lasko. We promptly cancelled our credit card and made a complaint against VIDA for fraud. Our credit card was reimbursed the downpayment we made to VIDA. I was very afraid this would effect our credit. It didn't. In september, we received a short letter from VIDA, stating our contract was cancelled. We followed up the next day with VIDA Customer Service and they confirmed that the contract was cancelled and we owed them nothing. Several days later, we received an email from MTS with a request for payment for their services, as per their contract with us. We gladly paid for their services. We recommend the services of MTS. They delivered the cancelled VIDA contract in four months. Our peace of mind is well worth the fee. Lesson learned.


Emily O.
Sep 29, 2015

I would be very suspicious that emilyo24 might be working for the company she claims helped her. These forums are rife with people working as shills for scam organizations writing phony testimonials. If she is for real I would challenge her to provide proof.


David K.
Sep 29, 2015

patrickm348 wrote:
Did you know you can donate your Timeshare to Charity?

Oh yeah...just try finding one that will take it. Do you think they want to be stuck with the annual maintenance fees and possible special assessments any more than you do?


David K.
Apr 09, 2016

I have as of the current time tried to do a resale on my Westgate resort.The buyer emailed me to tell me that Westgate informed them that if they did buy it they can only use the Orlando Resort without paying a fee and that they will have limited privileges.I am truly frustrated so I am going to try the deed back.I cannot afford to pay the fees and if they will not take it back I may be forced to walk away or get a lawyer.They make it impossible to sell it.I was built up just to be let down again when I found that they treat the resale buyers that way.


Cheryl A.
Sep 18, 2016

How did you get on in the end ? Mine is with WestGte resorts also. I am thinking of a) politely telling them I can't afford it anymore in writing.

Or b) using what little money I have to use a law firm to get it off my hands and the monthly panyments. I'm only 5 months into ownership.

Will option a) leave me with a bad credit score ?

Kind regards

Will

pamelam293 I stopped making my monthly payments and after about 6 months or so they contacted me. miguel_jimenez@wgresorts.com was the person I dealt with. He provided me options...and I tried to be as polite as possible

dollyc12 wrote:
Can you please let me know who you contacted at Westgate as I would like to contact them. My

pamelam293 wrote:
I got rid of mine working with Westgate. I told them that I couldn't afford or use it anymore and I wanted to transfer it back to them. I had to fill out paperwork for a quit claim deed or deed in lieu of foreclosure... I believe it cost me nothing. Below is what I sent them and then they replied...

"I would be interested in an option to be released from my timeshare Contract completely thus avoiding foreclosure proceedings. Vacation ownership is something that I no longer wish to continue. I would be willing to provide you with an address to send the Warranty Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure (WDIL)' with the understanding it would release me from all financial and contractual obligations with Westgate Resort. In other words, if Westgate would be willing to forgive the deficiency and unpaid amounts of the mortgage and maintenance and taxes, to include the late fees.

I have tried to discuss this a number of times before, however, nobody would provide me options. I would love to allow you to avoid the time, hassle and expense of a formal foreclosure, however I do NOT want to be held "on the hook" for any unpaid balances or "deficiencies" as I had tried a number of times previously to resolve this.

Please let me know soonest."

I hope this helps you out...I am now almost rid of the second one that I so foolishly purchased...but there is light at the end of this! Woohoo!


William S.
Dec 07, 2017

i have been trying to get out of my time share at sunset beach club benalmadena,costa de sol .its a beautiful resort but I can not afford to travel a broad as often as I used to


Tarek S.
Jul 23, 2019

Where did you send the letter to?


Shannon R.

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