Original Message:
Options... (by KC):
paulafp wrote:...its not fair that just cause i refinanced now i can't have anyone help me try and get out of it.....also they said my maintenance fees wouldnt go up ever at all but it went up by $120 this year and thats just not fair..... i think Westgate preys on elderly people and its not fair.
I am sorry for your plight, but let's be clear here --- if you took out a loan to purchase the timeshare originally, the simple fact and truth is that NO ONE could have helped you to get rid of it with debt attached --- REGARDLESS of your later "refinancing" of the original loan. A loan is a legal, contractual obligation into which you freely and voluntarily entered; it is simply impossible to get rid of any timeshare with loan debt still attached to it. Period.
Westgate is definitely the worst of the worst, as far as lying, deceitful timeshare sales weasels go. Wyndham is a very close second, but Westgate is still the champ. By the way, Westgate does not just "prey on elderly people" --- they prey on ANYONE AND EVERYONE who makes the (completely voluntary) choice to attend their sales presentations.
I've owned several timeshares for years, all of them purchased in the resale market (not from developers). I can assure you that maintenance fees go up at EVERY timeshare on this planet, almost every year, at an average increase of of 4 to 6% per year, sometimes more . Anyone stating otherwise is either completely mistaken and / or just plain lying.
I certainly can't tell you what to do and I am genuinely sorry for your current plight, but it might be time to consider cutting your losses and just walking away if the loan payments and maintenance fees are just too much of a financial burden . You should perhaps consult with a local attorney first. You will of course lose everything you've paid in so far, but you can at least stop the future financial bleeding. Defaulting on the loan will of course have negative credit report consequences and foreclosure on the timeshare will mean that you would forfeit any and all future access to the timeshare rights, but at some point you have to stop the financial bleeding if the payments are just too much of a hardship for you.
You are absolutely right that it's not fair, but somewhere in your original contract it very clearly states that any VERBAL representations made to you are not binding in ANY way and that ONLY what is expressed IN WRITING WITHIN THE CONTRACT is legally binding.
I hope that there is a special place in Hell for deceitful timeshare sales weasels who will say ANYTHING to make a sale. For now, you have some hard choices to make. I wish you well.