Original Message:
ask-redweek-wyndham-ovation-help-owners-get-out (by Lin B.):
My husband and I went to a Leisure Getaways Inc. meeting at a local restaurant. It was billed as an update meeting but they offered us a plan to end our ownership of our timeshare in Newport, RI. We have owned it for 29 years; we have used it and exchanged through RCI for many years but it was becoming more difficult to get to the places that we were interested in traveling to and our maintenance fees are now over $1000 per year. We own a fixed floating week. If we paid Leisure $9000, they would take over our deed and then give us yearly points to be used for travel. We wanted out, not points. They then switched us to a travel plan for $6000. We agreed. We charged this fee to our credit card and went home. Next morning I called Wyndham; they told me about Ovation. No fee, just turn over the title and be free. Sure beats paying someone. Called Leisure Getaways Inc., they wanted us to come back to the restaurant and talk about it. I put my formal cancellation in writing (CT state law, cancel within 3 days) and we went to the restaurant. Leisure said it was a scam; Wyndham will not take it back and we will be sorry to cancel. What did I have to lose? Cancelled and waited for the paperwork from Ovation. Arrived by email in about 2 to 3 weeks. Filled it out, notarized it and mailed it to Elizabeth Olander at Wyndham Title Services. I have just received confirmation that my ownership has been transferred and I am no longer a time share owner. It served us for 29 years, sometimes good and sometimes not so good. I gave it away for free but at least I did not have to pay anyone any money to get rid of it. I would encourage any Wyndham owners to give Ovation a try. I have read many reports through the years that timeshares are impossible to sell so this is a way out. In retrospect, our timeshare was good for the vacation trades but bad because you just cannot get rid of them when you want out of the timeshare contract. There really should be a legal and ethical company that will assist with timeshare sales; this company would make a fortune as many owners want out after a certain period of time. I am not sure why a legitimate company has not picked up on this market.