| The stories that come to us… well, quite frankly they will break your heart. Tara B. from Tennessee sent us this: “My mom was completely robbed. My parents were there when time shares first began. They truly enjoyed vacationing and the family time away. I grew up visiting many places without having to stay in a hotel and enjoying several vacations a year and my dad and mom traveled a lot since he had taken an early retirement. They were sold on the legacy, the tangible investment, and a lifetime of vacations. My mom found out 4 months after my dad died that after 35 years of being transferred, bought out, re configured with various time share entities that their fees per year were almost $8,000. You could take at least a couple nice vacations per year for $8,000 without a timeshare. The time share company hounded my mom by phone after my dad died to have her sign various paperwork. They convinced her that by buying more points she could use them towards the maintenance fees. Over the next 3 months they sent a notary to her house no less than 4 separate times regarding my dad’s death certificate, consolidating accounts, transferring the title over, and purchasing points. When January came around, my mom was shocked to find the fees had nearly doubled and she was faced with handling the timeshare maintenance fees of $15,000. My mom was also paying $3,800 a month which turned out to be for 3 separate loans from the timeshare that they said she opened to buy more points. In total with 14% interest she owed them $128,000. She had to use all of my dad’s insurance money to pay them off, plus refinance her house. She has so many points she cannot use them all. You could be on vacation for over a year with the amount of points my mom has, but no one in our family went on vacation in 2020 and only one vacation worked out in 2021. She has been in the process of trying to exit this scheme but you cannot talk to their “transitions team” with any reservations on the books. It also costs thousands of dollars to close accounts (basically forfeit points). The situation has been ongoing for two years just to end the nightmare due to their very poor communication. We cannot find a lawyer that can do anything to them in the state of Nevada. She paid the maintenance fees again last year since she didn’t know what else to do. The best thing to do is never give out your social or sign anything at all. She only has one bill of sale that she knew about for $15,000. They preyed on someone very vulnerable. Most of the resorts are open to the public now anyway and if not, it still is not worth it. Timeshares should be illegal period. You do not want to leave this legacy for your heirs!!!” Our goal is to shine a bright light on these unethical practices. We want both current and prospective timeshare owners to be better informed about the questionable tactics of the timeshare industry. The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) represents timeshare companies in Washington, DC. Jason Gamel is the President and CEO of ARDA. He may have some good advice about what the timeshare industry suggests for owners who have fallen on hard times. Let’s email him at jgamel@arda.org. Or… here is a list ARDA published of its VIPs across all its member companies. Maybe you can find your timeshare company executive and ask their advice too! Tell us your timeshare horror story, too. Send it to us at info@timesharefacts.com. PS: Follow us on social media. Twitter Facebook Instagram |
