Buying, Renting, and Selling Timeshares

FILING COMPLAINTS CONCERNING TIMESHARE RIPOFFS

I have owned a timeshare for 13 years and had a lot of fun with the family. The maintenance fee started out at $364.00 a year now it is $ 735.00 year. Also RCI charges have doubled. there is no money owed on the unit and I want to give it back to the resort. will I have a problem, how do I do it ? Anybody know?

FDW

Frank D.

Unless the resort will take the deed back (and it's doubtful they will) you'll have to keep it (and keep paying the maintenance fees) until you sell it or give it away.

I agree that doubling of the maintenance fees in 13 years of ownership is bothersome, however you do have to consider inflation and the rising costs of running a resort.

Rising maintenance fees, special assessments and rising exchange company memberships and exchange fees are the main reasons we sold all of our timeshares.

R P.

frank1291 wrote:
...there is no money owed on the unit and I want to give it back to the resort. will I have a problem, how do I do it ? Anybody know?

Ask the resort if they will take it back, all they can do is say no. If it is a smaller resort where there are not many units to sell, they may take it back and resell.

My father did just that with his TS. The resort realized it would be more of a hassle trying to collect annual MFs from someone in their mid-70s, than it would be to take the unit and resell it to someone that can pay the MFs.

Mike N.

has anyone else been ripped off by a company in florida???

Stacy G.

I was stupid enough to sign up with not one but two companies to rent my timeshare for what they told me would be $2500 for each week. I signed up with both because each told me I could get my money back if the other rented it first. I have wasted over $2k and am trying to figure out what to do.. please let me know if you have any suggestions. I was reading the other posts about calling the FL Attny Generals office but am just wondering how effective that would really be. Any advice?

Kristen H.

Hi Jayjay,

There is new info on Desire / Temptation timeshare scam. http://www.premier-originalresorts.com/

Hope to let people beware of Mexican Timeshare Scam. It is best not to sign your name, getting your money back is impossible, complaining is useless.

Soonn

Soon N.

FYI- They want to sell, you have time to decide. Did a RCI Time share in Mexico, $75,000 american. I asked if in pesos, they were not in a happy mode. So they said, repo just $25,000. I just smiled and said, To much for a vacation. JUST SAY "NO". P.S. Florida is $25,000 + dues. If you add up your dues it's more than renting a week. "Every year"

Tony L.

I'm in exactly the same spot, and I'm at a loss as to what to do. I've stopped paying, and they are hounding me, and they've already "repossessed" my timeshare (I'm locked out) and thay are threatening. But I'm going to wait and see what happens. I'm tired of sending good money after bad. The unit is worthless, though they say it's worth $17K.

Joe B.

Last edited by marty8084 on Feb 18, 2009 05:29 PM

joeb585 wrote:
I'm in exactly the same spot, and I'm at a loss as to what to do. I've stopped paying, and they are hounding me, and they've already "repossessed" my timeshare (I'm locked out) and thay are threatening. But I'm going to wait and see what happens. I'm tired of sending good money after bad. The unit is worthless, though they say it's worth $17K.

You will be reported negatively to all credit agencies since they repossessed your timeshare. When you signed that contract on the dotted line to buy a deeded week recorded in county records, then you're expected to comply with all fees owed. If you're not concerned with your credit score, then just ignore all the hounding.

Sorry, but this is just the way it happens when you buy any deeded property.

R P.

Last edited by marty8084 on Feb 18, 2009 05:28 PM

RE - if anyone has been ripped off by a company in Florida; I was ripped off by Vacation Time International. They lied to us by telling us they had all these people just waiting to rent our timeshare and we fell for it and gave them $699. Now they are no longer in business as of the middle of January. Their phones are disconnected and they were evicted according to one of the other businesses at the same address. They also did not leave a forwarding address which I found out when I called their post office and also sent a letter which needed signature confirmation. I feel so stupid for letting them rip me off -- but honestly I know nothing about the timeshare business.

Lynnette F.

Please help me!!! We are in a desperate situation!!!

I went to PV with my wife on March. We end up purchasing a Mayan Palace week there and when we got back and were reading the papers we found out that none of the verbal promises about renting our weeks and selling our other timeshares were in the contract.

We got scared and call them to cancel right away. They told us to relax because they would send the cancellation letter to us but we never received it. Now that I called, they told us that we should have sent a letter of cancellation within our five days cancellation period. We were taken advantage from Mayan Palace twice.

We felt frustrated and taken advantage of. While checking with other victims of Mayan Palace on the web, I found a law firm in Mexico. We were so desperate that we end up hiring their services.

Does anyone have any experience with this company? The name is Gonzalez law firm. Please if you have any past experience with this company or with Mayan Palace, let me know about your case. We are crossing our fingers because we can not afford another timeshare.

Joe C.

joec337 wrote:
Please help me!!! We are in a desperate situation!!!
I went to PV with my wife on March. We end up purchasing a Mayan Palace week there and when we got back and were reading the papers we found out that none of the verbal promises about renting our weeks and selling our other timeshares were in the contract.
We got scared and call them to cancel right away. They told us to relax because they would send the cancellation letter to us but we never received it. Now that I called, they told us that we should have sent a letter of cancellation within our five days cancellation period. We were taken advantage from Mayan Palace twice.
We felt frustrated and taken advantage of. While checking with other victims of Mayan Palace on the web, I found a law firm in Mexico. We were so desperate that we end up hiring their services.
Does anyone have any experience with this company? The name is Gonzalez law firm. Please if you have any past experience with this company or with Mayan Palace, let me know about your case. We are crossing our fingers because we can not afford another timeshare.

I can't answer your question regarding the law firm, but the best I can offer you is to contact Profeco. This is the Federal Bureau of Consumer Interests. If you were told you cannot rescind they may be able to help. Unfortunately, as you found out, calling the resort was not the best thing to do.

See the RedWeek post here. Or go here. And here's a link to a pdf which might be of interest.

Mike N.

Last edited by mike1536 on Apr 27, 2009 01:00 PM

let me know where the property is.

Carlo D.

Last edited by marty8084 on Apr 27, 2009 10:10 PM

Same happened to me, I paid $699 last November and I have not received any phone call from them, I called and it's a answer machine. The name of the company is Executive Timeshare Markting Inc.

Carlos V.

Dear Timeshare Owners,

We invite you to get to know our services at G&G Mexican Timeshare Solutions. We are a Mexican based company that specializes in cancelling contracts purchased under fraudulent premises. We offer free consultations to anybody interested in our services to discuss the details of their case.

We are empathetic to victimized consumers and we work on a contingency basis; which means no upfront fees, and if we don't achieve results, you don't pay us a cent.

We look forward to helping you in your claim.

Customer Service,

info@timesharescam.com

1 888 275-3595

www.timesharescam.com

Customer S.

i don't wont my time share anymore, My timeshare is in Toronto Canada its a 4 season resort called carriage hills resort its a 2 bed lock out one week with points,we just don't use now as i have retired ,

Ron T.

First and most important: never, ever pay anyone a large, upfront fee to sell, rent out, market, or "cancel" your timeshare. That is always a scam.

Secondly, try to find out what your unit is worth on the resale market. It's likely that it is worth close to zero dollars. If that is the case, you can do one of two things. Try asking the resort if it will take your unit back. You might have to present an ultimatum basically stating that if it does not take your unit back, you will just default on the payments and let it go into foreclosure. The other thing to try is to advertise if here on RedWeek in the Bargain Basement section. Advertise that you are willing to give it away to a new owner and maybe even offer to pay closing costs and the next maintenance fee.

Whatever you do, do not fall for any of the scams out there that promise to get you out of your timeshare but then do nothing after they take your money.

Lance C.

Thanks Lance for your helpful information and i will i cant even get a copy of my time share agreement from them so i am sure they wont take it back from me , i will try to give it away here and pay costs and next years fees next,

Ron T.

Last edited by ront35 on May 18, 2015 05:41 AM

No one is going to help you get out of timeshare for free. Be careful with the companies that ask for money up front. Make sure these companies have at least paid to be apart of the BBB. (even though the BBB is biggest scam too. youtube BBB 60 minutes for a good laugh) With that being said the reason these companies operate this way is because the companies that offer timeshare relief get scammed by consumers too. What I mean by this is when a customer has to pay to get out of something they don't want they feel like they got burned twice. The company pays a title service and a lawyer to get name removed from contracts and deed then the consumer doesn't pay for the service. It's not cheap but it's better than paying these big companies for a product that doesn't work. I know if you are reading this you probably want out of your timeshare. Sorry to tell you the harsh reality but there is a way out at least.

Sara M.

NEVER pay anyone money upfront that claims they can get you out of your contract !!!!!

Don P.