Original Message:
Re: My timeshare is paid in full, but I just don't want it anymore (by Kelvin K.):
Does the credit "ding" only last 7 years??? I had a negative credit report added 14 years after I walked away from my timeshare.
I am joining this conversation late, and will add to the story about what is currently happening to me. I bought a deeded timeshare (Lake Tansi, Tennessee) a LONG time ago (early 1980s; probably 1981 or 1982). Paid it off in the 1980s. Don't think I used it at all after 1992. Could not give the thing away. Lost probably $300 in one of those "pay up front" scams to get me out of my timeshare. I was concerned about a bad credit rating affecting my ability to keep my security clearance so I paid the annual dues until I no longer needed a security clearance in 2007. I know I paid the 2006 fees but don't remember whether or not I paid the 2007 fees or not and decided to accept the possible 7-year hit on my credit report. Around 2021 I started getting threatening phone calls and letters from a debt collector (Meridian Financial). I checked my TransUnion credit rating around July 2023 and noticed that they added a negative credit report entry saying that I failed to pay around $400 in 2021 for my timeshare (14 years after I walked away from that timeshare). I challenged the report with TransUnion saying that that debt was not valid. TransUnion supposedly investigated and found that debt report to be accurate.
Not sure exactly where I will go with this problem next.