| You have to hand it to ol’ Ben Franklin…he could deliver a good punch line. After all, Ben’s the Founding Father who gave us the memorable saying… …“In this world, nothing is certain except for death and taxes.” We’re betting that if Ben were alive today, he would have added… …“and timeshare maintenance fees.” Because, as a Westgate owner from Lincoln, Nebraska named Agnes so eloquently puts it, “once a gullible customer signs on the dotted line, they are liable forever!” Agnes shared her history of never-ending timeshare obligations – and her outrage with Westgate – in a copy of a letter to Westgate she forwarded to the Florida Attorney General. We found it among the 4,256 pages of similar complaints against Westgate on file in the attorney general’s office. “As an owner of a timeshare with Westgate Resorts, I am absolutely furious about the lack of common sense policies of your company in regard to my disposal of this so-called ‘property.’” “With the death of my husband, Floyd, and due to my age, my inability to travel and the decrease in my income, it is no longer feasible or affordable for me to own or use this property.” That’s no laughing matter for Agnes. “So, the obvious thing for me to do would be to sell it, right!?! Or, at least, one would think! However, to whom would we sell it?!?” “There does not seem to be a market for selling timeshares, and strangely, even Westgate Resorts has no policy whatsoever of assisting their customers with this task when they reach this point in in their lives.” Unfortunately, we all know the inability to sell a timeshare is one of the longest running gags at Westgate. “It would make sense that any honest, legitimate and upright company would have a resale department. After all, people outgrow their timeshares as they do other kinds of things, right?!? “But, no! That would spoil their whole plan of making elderly people beholden to their ‘agreements’ for the rest of their lives and of their children’s lives after that if they could get away with!” Agnes discovered the big reveal at the heart of Westgate’s routine! “I believe Westgate Resorts, and probably other timeshare companies thrive on taking advantage of the elderly and retired people.” “You pay the rest of your life!” That’s quite the mic drop from Agnes. Given Westgate’s failure to change, David Siegel, the President and CEO of Westgate, only seems amused by such complaints. Let’s email him at david_siegel@wgresorts.com to tell him it’s time to start taking owners seriously. But David isn’t the only one laughing all the way to the bank. As Agnes points out, lots of timeshare companies are preying on seniors. That’s why we should also contact Jason Gamel, President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), which represents timeshare companies in Washington, DC. You can email Jason at jgamel@arda.org to tell him his industry’s whole “pay for life” bit is getting stale. Is your timeshare company in on the “liable forever” joke? Use this list of ARDA VIPs to let them know it’s the last call for that type of behavior. Tired of your timeshare’s act? Share your story with us at info@timsharefacts.com PS: Follow us on social media. Twitter Facebook Instagram |
