Get out of Westgate Resorts

danan74 wrote:

I am very anal about my credit and have anxiety just thinking about not paying. My thought is use the timeshare one last time (we are only 6 hours away) and "upgrade" then immediately opt out within the 10 days. Like before we ever leave. Will this get me out of the whole timeshare all together or only the one we upgrade to? Someone please help my thought process..

Good idea in concept, but badly flawed in reality. If you "cancel" the second purchase, you would simply revert right back to the original purchase, with all of its' associated obligations intact. There is no "twofer" cancellation option. Sorry, but that is simply a fact.

Thank you. That's what I was afraid of. I want to know if they actually turn it in to a credit agency. Paying them doesn't show up on a credit report so why would not paying them? Has anyone's credit credit actually been affected?

danan74 wrote:

Thank you. That's what I was afraid of. I want to know if they actually turn it in to a credit agency. Paying them doesn't show up on a credit report so why would not paying them? Has anyone's credit credit actually been affected?

The only truthful and accurate answer is --- it depends. Mexican operations, in general, do not bother with negative credit reporting --- UNLESS the Mexican entity also has a U.S. based corporate presence (which is usually not the case).

In a Mexican RTU (right to use) contract you own absolutely nothing. You only have a "right to use"; a "membership" providing access. If you stop paying on that "membership", the Mexican operations usually just terminate the membership and (very happily) pocket whatever money you have already paid. It's really no skin off their nose, since the steady stream of other Gringos ready and willing to pay money for those RTU "access" contracts seems to be virtually endless.

I stopped making payments 3 months ago. I get a ton of calls. I received a letter today from a collection agency,m called International Collection Agency LLC, or ICA. Has anyone else received letters from them? Any hit to credit yet? Please keep up updated! I appreciate it! Thanks

jessicaw279 wrote:

I stopped making payments 3 months ago. I get a ton of calls. I received a letter today from a collection agency,m called International Collection Agency LLC, or ICA. Has anyone else received letters from them? Any hit to credit yet? Please keep up updated! I appreciate it! Thanks

Defaulting on any loan taken out in the U.S. will almost certainly result in a negative credit report at some point in time and that negative credit report information will then remain a matter of record for 7 years.

If only not paying maintenance fees, foreclosure will occur at some point (likely within 3 years) but a negative credit report is unlikely as long as you are not also defaulting on a loan.

Collection agencies get a percentage of whatever they can harangue someone into paying. They actually have no legal authority whatsoever, so just ignore them (unless you intend to pay off the debt involved).

It is not clear from your post whether you are defaulting on a U.S. initiated loan or just stopping paying maintenance fees (with no unpaid loan balance). The distinction between those two very different situations is important and will determine whether or not you see negative credit report consequences in the future. If you default on a loan, you should definitely expect to see negative credit report consequences at some point. If there is no unpaid loan balance and you just stop paying maintenance fees, there will of course ultimately be a foreclosure, but likely no negative credit report.

Jessica, An individual can send a cease and desist letter to stop collection calls, according to Fair Debt Collection rules. I searched it and there were free downloads from law firms. A company cannot make calls if you send the letter. One ICE agent with a Master's degree in Criminal Justice would interrogate the Collection Agent. He used it as an opportunity to convince the debt collector of fraud and that he was a part of it. If you are defaulting due to fraud, and you have maintained a lifelong high credit score, members have reported there were no problems borrowing, especially if the member provided the lender third party support, like the former sales agent awarded $20 million for refusing to employ unfair and deceptive tactics. File every complaint you can, keep the records and provide them to lenders and to credit reporting agencies to dispute the report. Ignoring the situation makes the member look irresponsible.

One year a state AG said the most complaints were about violations of debt collectors. The first was timeshare complaints.

I had a friend lined up to take over ownership of my Westgate lakes (My deed is paid in full, was giving it away for free). As such, I never paid any of this year's maintenance fees. The transfer company told me the maintenance fee needed to be paid in full before I could transfer. I made 2 payments towards the maintenance fee, and Westgate still transferred my maintenance fee bill to a collection agency. Now I have to make sure my week is still valid etc once I pay off the balance. Just an fyi

Is it customary for the collector to collect a fee in lieu of reporting the foreclosure/negative mark to the credit reporting agencies/credit bureau? I've read that a timeshare foreclosure is reported like they would for a home foreclosing.

Nice of you to respond ken1193. It took roughly 2 years for me (fully paid/no loan default) of unpaid fees and taxes. Foreclosure itself took 12 days from recorded notice. Now I'm just dealing with paying a fee for them not to report to the credit reporting agencies and I don't know if I should fork over my hard to come by money.

I've never heard of anyone having to pay a fee to keep information off of their credit report . Sounds like extortion to me .

jairoc5 wrote:

Is it customary for the collector to collect a fee in lieu of reporting the foreclosure/negative mark to the credit reporting agencies/credit bureau? I've read that a timeshare foreclosure is reported like they would for a home foreclosing.

Collection agencies will say / do almost anything to collect a portion of whatever they can harass / cajole someone into paying. That's the only way they get paid anything. If you pay nothing, they get nothing --- just as it should be. By the way, iIt's not a collection agency decision to report anything to the credit agencies in the first place. The collection agency is really nothing more than a hired sub-contractor for the developer / chain and only the developer / chain can decide whether to initiate negative credit reporting. Collection agencies have no actual authority whatsoever, when it comes right down to it. Ignore them.

What you "have read" is a somewhat incomplete picture. A foreclosure based solely upon failure to pay maintenance fees is one thing --- and almost never gets reported to the credit agencies. Defaulting on a loan is another story entirely however, and defaulting on a loan will virtually always result in a negative credit report being filed (and remaining a matter of record for 7 years thereafter).

ken1193 wrote:

jairoc5 wrote:

Is it customary for the collector to collect a fee in lieu of reporting the foreclosure/negative mark to the credit reporting agencies/credit bureau? I've read that a timeshare foreclosure is reported like they would for a home foreclosing.

Collection agencies will say / do almost anything to collect a portion of whatever they can harass / cajole someone into paying. That's the only way they get paid anything. If you pay nothing, they get nothing --- just as it should be. By the way, iIt's not a collection agency decision to report anything to the credit agencies in the first place. The collection agency is really nothing more than a hired sub-contractor for the developer / chain and only the developer / chain can decide whether to initiate negative credit reporting. Collection agencies have no actual authority whatsoever, when it comes right down to it. Ignore them.

What you "have read" is a somewhat incomplete picture. A foreclosure based solely upon failure to pay maintenance fees is one thing --- and almost never gets reported to the credit agencies. Defaulting on a loan is another story entirely however, and defaulting on a loan will virtually always result in a negative credit report being filed (and remaining a matter of record for 7 years thereafter).

Thanks for the reply. "almost never gets reported" I can't take any chances. There was a time where a collection agency did attempt to collect, however, the fee I speak of came from an entity or department associated with the resort.

jairoc5 wrote:

"almost never gets reported" I can't take any chances. There was a time where a collection agency did attempt to collect, however, the fee I speak of came from an entity or department associated with the resort.

It is not at all clear to me whether you are talking about unpaid maintenance fees, an unpaid outstanding loan --- or maybe both.

In any event, a resort can report non-payment for either one to credit agencies, as they may see fit. The simple fact remains that it is very rare that they ever bother to do so just for unpaid maintenance fees (expressed idle threats notwithstanding) but will virtually always do so for defaulting on a loan. Ultimately, you have to decide for yourself the course of action with which you are personally comfortable.

I'm sorry if I posted this already, but Westgate is taking weeks back. Out of five Westgate members who contacted me over the last few months, four were able to relinquish working directly with Westgate through their Legacy program. Westgate does seem to pick and choose, whether they like your inventory or not. By calling the Legacy department, you will speak with someone in the relinquishment department, as opposed to a general owner services agent who likely will not understand the program. One of the four owners required a battle, Herculean efforts, despite both the husband and wife diagnosed with cancer, but their week was eventually taken back. Westgate charged a minimum of $1000. They refused one because it was a studio and another because it was Branson, as the owners reported. https://responsibleexit.com/

Yes, some of these chains like Westgate, Diamond, and Wyndham have programs in place that take back a limited, select number of units. Most are doing this because units and weeks were eventually reverting back to them anyway through foreclosure. Instituting these take-back programs are saving the timeshare chains lots of money in foreclosure costs.

Hi,

I own a Westgate Resort in downtown Orlando. It is all paid for. I do not wish to pay the expensive maintenance fee which is at $1,400.00 every other year. It is a 2 bedroom apartment with a studio apartment which can be locked out. I currently have 2 unused weeks.

I read some of the posts, saw there was a fee of $900.00 to give the property back to Westgate Resorts. Do I stil owe the $1,400.00?

I paid a little over $20,000.00 for the property.

I would say "it depends" on the $1,400. We had a 2 bedroom near Disney that was all current and paid off. In November of 2018, we paid the maintenance fee for 2019 (about $1,200). We then requested a "deedback" under the Westgate program. We had tried several times before and was turned down. We were ready to walk. This time they said "yes" and we got rid of it in early 2019 (Hallelujah!). I think the decision is made based on inventory. We had to pay $700 which we were glad to do. The property was willed to us through a Trust so it wasn't a bad decision we made in the beginning. With all this COVID stuff, who knows what they'll do. Good luck!

Do you remember who you contacted for the "Deedback" Information and what you may have written when you applied for this?

Yes. We started with a webpage from Westgate that showed contact information. Here are two places where they talk about their "Legacy program".

https://www.westgateresorts.com/legacy/

https://www.westgateresorts.com/legacy/will-westgate-buy-back-timeshare/

You will need to talk to a person to get the ball started. Our experience was reasonably smooth once they said they would deed back.

I had my westgate timeshare in Orlando Florida since mi february 2018 and I stopped paying in september 2019. We bought a 3 bd with my husband, my sister and her husband. Now after being so many months without paying they are offering a warranty deed in lieu of foreclosure which is gonna costs us $625 each since it is four owners, total $2500. Has anyone here done something similar? I’m kind of skeptical because I have to make the payment first and then they will send me the document to sign and notarize. They also mentioned if I don’t do this it will affect my credit score by 140 points and the debt will be counted as income when I file my taxes, is this true? I live in NY, and my sis and her husband in South America.