| It’s a bit of mystery, really. Tennessee’s Timeshare Act is very clear about what timeshare developers like Westgate Resorts are required to disclose to every purchaser in a document called a “public offering statement.” A group of timeshare purchasers at Westgate’s Smoky Mountain Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee even spelled out an explanation in the lawsuit Moore v. Westgate “Specifically, it must include: ‘A statement that within (10) days from the date of the signing of the contract made by the purchaser…the purchaser may cancel the contract for the purchase of a time-share interval from the developer.’” Nice. Seems pretty straightforward, right? So…and here’s the mysterious part…why do so many Westgate customers report that they were never told about their rescission rights? Well, the customers who sued Westgate have a theory. “Westgate encourages and/or allows its commissions-based sales and closing agents to use a ‘secret pocket’ to conceal legally required disclosures about the purchasers’ rights, including their statutory right to rescind their purchase in violation of Tennessee Code.” Well, there you go! Mystery solved! Wait. Whaaaat? SECRET POCKETS??????? “It is Westgate’s standard practice to give each new purchaser who buys a vacation timeshare at the Resort a black folio. Generally made of black faux leather, the folio zips shut and has numerous readily visible pockets on the outside and on the inside. There is room for documents to simply be placed inside without being in any pocket, since the entire folio zips shut. The black folio contains Westgate’s name and logo on the inside.” Plenty big. Plenty official. So why the secret pockets? “Westgate provides its commission-based closing agents with the folio containing the secret pocket, knowing that those closing agents often withhold and conceal this information from purchasers by hiding it in the secret pocket.” That’s so deceitful!! But there’s method in it from Westgate’s point of view. “Therefore, while purchasers have technically been given the Public Offering Statement and purchase contract, they do not know they have it and are not told about their right to rescind. In this way, Westgate’s concealment prevents purchasers from exercising their right to rescind the contract.” Purchasers like Marilyn Moore of Goodlettsville, Tennessee: “Westgate agents did not inform Mrs. Moore about the legally required Public Offering Statement, which on one occasion was concealed in a secret pocket hidden within the black folio it gave her after she completed her transaction.” And Ryan and Laura Spado of Anderson, South Carolina: “Westgate agents did not inform the Spados about the legally required Public Offering Statement, nor did they inform them whether a CD-ROM was concealed in a secret pocket hidden within the black folio.” Or, how about Brian and Danyelle Miller from Marion, Illinois: “Westgate agents did not inform the Millers about the legally required Public Offering Statement, which was concealed in a secret pocket hidden within the black folio it gave them after they completed their transaction.” Just an unfortunate bad habit at Westgate? More like a bad business model for Westgate’s customers. “By utilizing a system whereby closing agents use folios containing a secret pocket, which incentivizes the closing agents to avoid giving the [purchasers] the disclosures that they are required by law to give, Westgate willfully violated the Tennessee Timeshare Act.” You know who could take the mystery out of Westgate sales contracts? Westgate’s CEO and president David Siegel. Let’s email David at david_siegel@wgresorts.com and demand he stop keeping secrets from Westgate customers. Jason Gamel should hear from us too. He’s the 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 Think the leaders of your timeshare company are keeping some secrets from you? Use this list of ARDA VIPs to tell them to come clean. Have a timeshare mystery you can’t explain? Share your story with us at info@timsharefacts.com PS: Follow us on social media. Twitter Facebook Instagram |
