Here’s a question: why does buying a timeshare have to be so…well…complicated?
First there are the high interest loans…
…then the confusing deed for points swaps…
…the special credit cards…
…and then all the complex upgrade schemes.
Figuring out how to pay for a two-bedroom getaway on the beach seems to involve more high finance than building a big city skyscraper.
The truth seems to be simple – timeshare companies love to use complicated high-finance shenanigans to hide the low financial blows they deliver on a regular basis…even to their most loyal customers.
Loyal customers like Navy veterans Teresa and Allan from St. Augustine, Florida. Over the course of many years, they purchased several Diamond timeshares in Hawaii. Since Allan’s death a few years ago, Teresa has been looking for ways to keep up with the maintenance fees and Diamond’s suggestions didn’t exactly help.
We found Teresa’s story among the 2,170 pages of complaints about Diamond publicly available in the Florida Attorney General’s office.
“Diamond has sold me a number of properties, all of which turned out to be nothing more than financial burdens.”
“I have made every effort to lessen the load with and without Diamond’s help, and their recommendations that I purchase more points to leverage lower payments have resulted in no significant change in this situation.”
After trying several ways to reduce payments…
“I got a call about some new programs that Diamond was offering which hinted at being able to sell back some of points or use them in a different manner which would save in the Association fees. I went to the presentation.”
“One last time I was convinced to re-do the points and trade into the US collection because they said the Hawaii Association fees were going up and my fees would be even higher next year. They apologized for some people being ‘less than honest,’ and getting me into this situation.”
Some people. Those would be Diamond’s own people, wouldn’t they?
“They said they understood I was overextended, but to help decrease the future costs and correct what happened with the last purchase I made in attempt to get out of this debt, I would have to pay for some more points.”
Ah, yes…more points…to help pay for all the other points they got her to purchase!
“They said this was to switch the collection, which would save me some money on monthly payments and the expected increase in fees. I had to put down $23,925.00 to make this switch. In the end, my monthly payment went down only $20.00 per month.”
Catch that?
Diamond’s high finance solution was to have Teresa cough up nearly $24,000 now in order to “save” $20 a month going forward.
That means she’ll break even in…oh let’s see…in about a century!
Now that’s a low blow.
“In conclusion, I am at the end of my rope with Diamond Resorts. I have been purposefully misled time and time again throughout the course of my ownership.”
“I will be 65 my next birthday but with this debt I will be working till I am 90!”
We’re so sorry, Teresa.
We wonder if Mark Wang has any sympathy for Teresa. He’s the CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations, which purchased Diamond Resorts in 2021.
Let’s email him at mark.wang@hgv.com to find out.
Let’s also ask Jason Gamel, the President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA). He represents timeshare companies in Washington, DC.
Jason’s email is jgamel@arda.org.
What about your timeshare company? You can find the contact information for its leaders in this list of ARDA VIPs and ask them yourself.
Received a low blow from your timeshare company? Let us know at info@timesharefacts.com.
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