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Re: Important Update Affecting Resale Purchasers

Dear Shirley This is a copy of the letter I've sent to the AG Office and Sheraton Vistana Resort. It's a step in the right direction I hope! Ken--- To Whom It May Concern: This is a copy of the letter sent to the AG Office about the ridiculous, unfair assessment fees being demanded of owners at Sheraton Vistana Resort: Dear Mr. McCollum, Attorney General State of Florida, I and several timeshare owners have a serious dilemma; the Starwood Vacation Ownership Company (parent company to multiple Sheraton Vistana Condominium Associations) is trying to collect between $754 and $2042 per timeshare holder for renovations in addition to the annual maintenance fee of $700. This is ridiculous especially at a time when the economy is doing poorly, banks are failing and businesses are closing. I received letter upon letter about how Sheraton Vistana Resort was going to do renovations but no where in any letters that I got did they state that the owns were responsible for paying. It was not until I received a packet about what the renovations would look like did they let me know I was responsible. I know many other owners have written letters to you about this and are very upset about this situation. In speaking with Sheraton Vistana Resort, I came to find out that they have received calls from numerous owners, angry and upset about this situation and we have been met with rude "pay up, shut up, or sell" type of answers. I know many people who own timeshares and never once have they been asked to pay anything above and beyond their annual maintenance fee. I think it is important that the AG's Office be made aware of this situation as I (and others) feel that this extra fee being levied by the Board is excessive and a result of years of mis-management. No one should be expected to pay $700 annual maintenance and then another $1,600 in additional fees!! Myself, like most owners, are hard working, Joe Average people who have to "save-up" just to take a weeks vacation with their family. I know when my maintenance is due and make sure I have the funds to pay it on time. What I would like for the Attorney’s General’s Office to do is to stop Starwood Vacation Ownership from collecting this “renovation fee” until an investigation can be done to discover what Starwood Vacation Ownership does with the annual “maintenance fee” each timeshare owner pays. Secondly, discover if Starwood Vacation Ownership is justified in collecting an additional $1,600 above the annual maintenance fee. In other words, as one of many upset people who are stuck with ownership in these timeshares, I would like someone to take the side of the owners and stop the wasteful and arbitrary spending by these associations under the Starwood Vacation Ownership. Thank you for you time and consideration, Kenneth J. Tringali