| It happens again and again. When cajoling customers into buying a timeshare, unscrupulous timeshare sales agents make lots of promises about what their timeshare is. “It’s easy!” “It’s an investment!” “It’s a dream come true!” Which is why so many timeshare owners despair when they find themselves tied up in the “NOTS” of timeshare ownership. That’s exactly what happened to one couple who emailed the Florida Attorney General’s office when their Bluegreen Vacations timeshare was definitely NOT what they were promised. They were offered a discounted vacation in return for attending a Bluegreen sales presentation. “We took this offer and attended the presentation, but were pressured into purchasing a sampler package after four hours of relentless sales pitches.” That was their first “not” – as in, NOT subtle. “Part of purchasing the sampler was agreeing to attend a presentation at our first booked vacation which was at the Sea Glass Resort. We were actually held there for eight hours.” NOT exactly short. “[R]elentless sales reps convinced us were buying more points to ‘upgrade’ thereby assuring we would never have to worry about availability of or booking a beachfront property vacation again.” “However, all the promises made in the first visit’s presentation fell empty.” So… also NOT true. “When we booked our first beach trip in April 2014, we requested a floor-level unit as my foot was broke and in a boot at the time. After a 12-hour drive, we arrived to find we were miles from the beach…” Ummm, that’s NOT beachfront. “[O]ur unit was 3 floors up with no elevator and no key to get in.” NOT ground level, either. “We soon learned from another vacationer we had to check in at a location 10 min. away. Upon arrival, we found the office closed & locked up. Luckily a cleaning lady inside helped us secure a key but we had to return the next day to check in.” Clearly, NOT convenient. “Suffice to say our first vacation was a nightmare as I had to navigate 3 flights of stairs with a broken foot.” Obviously, NOT ideal. “Since joining Bluegreen, we’ve taken 16 vacations, ONLY 4 have been through Bluegreen mostly due to total lack of availability.” Unsurprisingly, NOT available either. “We feel we have been deceived and misled by Bluegreen Vacations, and their sales tactics are unethical and manipulative.” NOT good. And, more importantly, NOT honest. And yet, Bluegreen president and CEO Alan Levan seems…well…NOT too concerned. Let’s see if we can change that. Let’s email him at alan.levan@bluegreenvacations.com and tell him it’s NOT right to treat owners this way. We should also let Jason Gamel know. He’s the President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), which represents the timeshare industry in Washington. His email is jgamel@arda.org. If your timeshare is NOT working for you, use this list of timeshare VIPs published by ARDA to contact your company’s leaders. Are you tied up in timeshare NOTS? Let us know at info@timesharefacts.com PS: Follow us on social media. Twitter Facebook Instagram |
