Original Message:
Re: Instead of kids paying to unload TS, can parents "will" it to Obama? (by Greg H.):
The timeshare companies made untrue statements and false promises during the sales presentations concerning how the end of life cycle for a timeshare works when we are no longer able to use it.
The sales people stated that when we are no longer able to use our timeshares we could sell the timeshares back to them. I asked how much the timeshares would depreciate over time, anticipating that I probably would not recover the full amount of the purchase price. The timeshare sales people stated that timeshares do not depreciate over time, and that they actually appreciate in value over time. So then I asked if that meant that I could sell it back to them for the appreciated value of my initial purchase price and the sales people said probably not, but that I could always get back the amount that I paid.
This was many years ago, and over the years my wife and I have purchased several timeshares, and I always asked the same question to the sales people about the end of life cycle for the timeshare, and I always got the same answer that I could always sell it back to them.
It is now many years later and my wife and I are close to retirement, our kids are grown up, and we are not able to use the timeshares like we used to. So I have inquired about selling the timeshares back to the timeshare companies who sold them to us originally. What I have been told by the timeshare companies is that they do not buy the timeshares back, and it is up to me to find a buyer. The timeshare companies are not interested in getting involved in this end of life cycle process even though the sales people always said they would. This is extremely fraudulent in my opinion.
The timeshare companies are only interested in maintaining their revenue stream from the constantly increasing maintenance fees. This is made evident by the fact that the maintenance fees include a line item for bad debt expense from other timeshare owners who have defaulted on their maintenance fees, but the timeshare companies are ensuring they still get that revenue by passing the bad debt expense to the other timeshare owners who are still able to pay the maintenance fees.
At the timeshare sales presentations they described the maintenance fees as being directed toward the maintenance and upkeep of the buildings and furnishings in the buildings, but they never mentioned that the maintenance fees were intended to maintain their revenue stream in the event of defaulting timeshare owners by passing the bad dept on to the other timeshare owners. This is also extremely fraudulent in my opinion.
I would never have purchased our first timeshare if the sales people had been honest about the end of life cycle process on timeshares for timeshare owners. Instead, my wife and I now have several timeshares that we want to sell back to the timeshare companies, and these companies refuse to honor what the sales people said to us. And to make matters worse, the timeshare companies won't even take back timeshares for free, because they enjoy the easy-money of maintenance fees going on into perpetuity.
I've already done this, but I think everyone who is unhappy about the fraudulent things told to them by timeshare salespeople should file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Maybe if enough people complain, then some laws will be enacted to stop the fraudulent sales pitches. I would like to see the FTC step in and fix the timeshare industry to be the way the salespeople advertise it to be. That is, you can sell it back, or at least give it back with out having to pay any legal fees, or other fees.
The way the timeshare industry is right now is more like a fitness club or country club with a huge non-refundable "initiation fee", and an "annual dues" that goes on into perpetuity. The "initiation fee" is way over-priced given the reality of the resale market, and it is definitely non-refundable, and industry gets to raise the amount of the "annual dues" at will so as to maintain the revenue stream to which they have become accustomed.