| Ah… the Westgate Way. When you read through the 4,256 pages of complaints against Westgate on file in the Florida Attorney General’s office (like we have)… it doesn’t take long before you can see the full array of tactics Westgate uses to coerce customers into buying timeshares they don’t want and can’t afford. The lengthy sales pitches… … random reduced price offers… …rushed document signings… …not giving customers their documentation. Samantha and her husband experienced ALL of these…but with a twist! As the Springfield, Massachusetts couple recounted to the Attorney General, they got the full frontal Westgate Way even when they canceled their contract! On the day before they were scheduled to leave the Westgate Resort and Spa in Orlando, Florida, Samantha and her husband attended the obligatory sales presentation and tour. “After the tour, seeing that we’re younger (24 years old) we were pressured intensively to purchase a timeshare/ownership, which we did.” “Upon thinking about what we did, when we were finally not under pressure, we realized that we needed to cancel it.” Smart move. The next day (the day they were flying home) they went to the Westgate office to cancel in person, but… “The pressure started again (for over an hour), but we firmly declined.” High pressure sales pitches…check! “When we were finally brought to the notary to cancel everything we signed for, she held us in her office, stating that we were the ones who signed to this, not her, so what was our problem (instead of processing our request).” Delays…check! “She also tried to offer us a reduced price of $15,000 which we declined.” Price reductions…check! “To decline this offer, she forced us to sign on the ‘approval line’. Thinking ahead of her and also being scared we signed but was sure to put ‘declined’ in parentheses on the approval line. This appeared to be another trick for us to accept the offer without our knowledge.” Rushing through document signings…check! We also requested a copy of every document we signed throughout the process and receipt of payment, but the notary rudely said, “I am not giving you guys anything you canceled it, so why do you want me to give you a copy, Goodbye”. Not providing documentation…check! So rude…and so the Westgate Way. But at least Samantha and her husband were able to cancel their contract…to their eternal relief. “We were emotionally abused.” “I am writing this letter to see if you can investigate the protocols and whatever is going on at Westgate.” What IS going on at Westgate? Why IS emotional abuse part the of the Westgate Way? One person who knows the answer is Westgate CEO David Siegel. Let’s email him at david_siegel@wgresorts.com. Someone else who could tell us is Jason Gamel, the President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), which represents timeshare companies in Washington, DC. Let’s email Jason jgamel@arda.org and see if he can tell us whether other timeshare companies do business the Westgate Way. Want to find out what your timeshare company’s leaders think of the Westgate Way? Use this list of ARDA VIPs to find their contact information and ask them. Have you been abused by a timeshare company deploying the Westgate Way? Share your story with us at info@timesharefacts.com. PS: Follow us on social media. Twitter Facebook Instagram |
