June 23, 2022 (Updated November 14, 2024)
By Fran Dygulski
Timeshare self-advocacy is an evolving process that can take weeks or years. When I prepared this report in February of 2020, I was in the midst of two timeshare disputes. The process was long and tedious, but in the end my concerns were addressed and resolved. There are times when retaining an attorney may be necessary, but in the vast majority of circumstances, a timeshare member can work directly with their timeshare company to resolve a dispute.
Given the complexity of timeshare, those who feel they experienced unfair and deceptive tactics need support. Peer support from someone who experienced
what you experienced is beneficial, especially after learning that what was presented to your family was far removed from what you purchased.
One major concern is how a timeshare default will affect your credit score. Kimberly Calhoun of PBS Money Masters, is co-host our PodTV Show Timeshare Solution or Surrender. Our show airs live every Monday from 1 to 2 PM EST on ROKU and Amazon Fire. Kim's sister, Kelly Johnson, is with Motivation Mortgage. She works in lending and is a credit repair expert. She explains in Episode 31, September 23, why timeshare members in dispute should challenge a timeshare loan being categorized as a mortgage loan. In a recent court filing, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a timeshare loan is NOT a mortgage loan. FNMA and the National Credit Union Administration agree (NCUA). Click "Live TV Shows" on PodTV during the show to chat. It really is a reality timeshare TV show featuring industry experts and timeshare buyers in dispute. All shows can be accessed from the menu by episode and date:
https//podtv.tv/timeshare-showcase
Let's Begin by Turning Despair into Empowerment
The first step is to prepare a clear, concise written report, sent first to the timeshare company, and if not resolved or responded to, filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies listed below. Many reports begin with, "The sales agent said ....." The oral representation clause is buried in volumes of electronic fine print. Purchasers unwittingly initial that they agree they did not rely on claims made by a sales agent. If the developers really wanted you to know this, the disclosure would be provided at, or prior to attending a sales session. This is one item we hope a lawmaker will change.
Timesharing Today magazine produced this important public service announcement. We hope you share this with others, especially the general public BEFORE they go to a sales session. Despite this clause, one attorney coined the license to lie clause, developers have resolved credible disputes. Volunteers have tracked sales agents that have had multiple complaints reported over the years, to lend credibility.
https://vimeo.com/1039259484?share=copy#t=0
Step 1 Write a Timeshare Report
A well-written complaint, not only furthers your cause, it can be used in the future to explain to a lender, for those whose only option is to default, why you stopped making payments. Before you begin writing your report, ask yourself the following questions:
Was it possible for you to have discovered what prompted your complaint during the contract rescission period? In other words, did you have access to the booking site during the rescission period? In fairness, the rescission period should not begin until the purchaser has access to the booking site.
Was the contract rescission period dodged? For example, sales agents may advise, "I used to work in lending so I can help you refinance. Contact me in two week, but don't mention anything about it when you're signing documents." You complain. The response, "If this was important to you, you should have mentioned it on the recording." It is unfair to use the recording against the buyer, if the buyer is not allowed to record the sales session.
Is your complaint about general availability? Given there are millions of happy timeshare members, availability complaints typically go unheeded, unless very specific. For example, the parents of an active duty service member were told that there were lots of resorts near their son, who was stationed in Germany. Instead of lots of resorts for a family of four near his base, there was only a studio available 200 miles away. They resolved their dispute.
Is it just that you can’t afford the timeshare? You can’t go to your primary residence developer and ask them to take your house back because you can’t afford it. You can't ask your home mortgage lender and expect them to cancel your loan because you lost your job. However, a resort may consider a medical hardship release with documented medical or financial proof of hardship within your immediate family. Unlike a house, it is all but impossible to sell a timeshare with an outstanding loan.
Document everything. Keep a log, noting the name of everyone you speak with, the date, and the nature of the call. One active duty Army service member sent over 70 emails to Club Wyndham asking them to honor the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).
Four not so simple steps
Step 1: GATHER INFORMATION
Review your contract(s) and supporting documents. Provide the five Ws - What did you buy (points/week), where did you buy, from whom (sales agents' names), when did you buy, and why. Our volunteers are not lawyers so we don't ask you to send us your contract. Not only that, self-advocacy means you are in charge of the process and should have a clear understanding of the contract in question.
Step 2: EDUCATE YOURSELF
There are resources and consumer protection laws in place that are supposed to protect consumers, but it takes volumes of complaints before a state or federal agency will take action. It’s important to file, even if just for the record. The CFPB sent attorneys to argue on behalf of timeshare consumers, including military timeshare consumers, at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
LIST OF RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATIONS TO FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH
a. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Tell Your Story. It's important to do so. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/your-story/
b. The Federal Trade Commission is the federal agency in the U.S. that defines “unfair and deceptive" sales and marketing practices.
https://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint-ftc.
In 2020 Timeshare Sales were #9 on the FTC’s Top Ten Frauds list and Timeshare Resales (fake buyers), #10
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2020/ftc-top-scams.html
c. Office of the Attorney General (OAG) – File in the state where you signed your contract and the state where the timeshare company is domiciled. Some AGs refer you to the state’s Real Estate or Consumer Protection division. We’ve learned some AGs are pro-industry and some pro-consumer. It’s always important to file. If the resort denies your complaint, file a rebuttal if you don’t agree with the resort’s conclusion.
Attorney General filings are public record. Volunteers filed a public records requests to learn how many complaints against their resort had been filed and the nature of the complaints. A common complaint is being told you can rent your points or week to cover costs or even to make a profit. They did a GoFundMe to conduct a Florida public records request. A Westgate Resorts public records request from 2022 produced 585 complaints. Nearly half mentioned renting. A volume of complaints is a form of proof. The results:
251 mention “rent”
88 mention “profit”
111 mention “investment”
d. The Better Business Bureau: The BBB will attempt to mediate your dispute. File a rebuttal if you disagree with the company’s response. You can file a review or complaint, but not both. Review the BBB profile and history of complaints for your resort to see if there has been a volume and pattern of complaints. You may read a complaint similar to yours to let you know the resort's likely response to you. You can trust an F BBB rating but an A+ rating can be faked. The misnamed Consumer Law Protection is not a law firm. They have an F rating and “Pattern of Complaints” alert.
e. The FBI: The Federal Bureau of Investigation's definition of white collar crime is "deceit, concealment, violation of trust, and bait and switch." File at IC3.gov. Select internet crime even though it isn't. Some report that they not only spoke with an agent for a few minutes or at length, but a few met with an agent. The FBI works with other agencies. The US Treasury sanctioned a Jalisco Mexican cartel for distributing fentenyl and timeshare exit scams in America. We lost interest in the FBI for a while, but if they followed up on exit scams, with enough complaints, they may act concerning the front end of the sale.
e. ARDA-ROC
f. Legal Action: Self-advocacy can be admittedly time-consuming. Not everyone has the time or temperament to self-advocate. We maintain a list of law firms we trust that specialize in timeshare. Every situation is different, so we don't post the list.
g. For Sale by Owner Sites: TUG: Timeshare Users Group TUG forums are great for gathering information from other timeshare owners. It’s also a good place to list your timeshare if you wish to sell. RedWeek is another for-sale-by-owner resource. It's helpful to see if your resort has a resale market, and if so, how active. Just search the name of your resort and RedWeek or TUG resales.
h. Local and national media - Sometime the only court open is the court of public opinion. For a bit of Gallows Humor check out John Oliver's Last Week Tonight's timeshare rant - garnering over 7 million views!
Step 3: WRITE OUT YOUR COMPLAINT The world consists of writers and non-writers. Our volunteers can help you get started by asking you the 5 Ws.
Organize your information: Begin with the transaction you are disputing. Provide as much detail as you can. Keep paragraphs short. State the outcome you desire in your opening paragraph. A historical summary of what led up to the dispute can follow. A chronology of all purchases is helpful to understand the big picture.
Some Don’ts:
Don’t making emotional statements or use inflammatory language,
Don’t ask for all correspondence to be in writing, talk to your resort if they reach out,
Don’t object to your call from the company being recorded,
Don’t address your complaint “To whom it may concern.” Get a name, or at least a department, to address your complaint.
Don't give up!
Include in your narrative:
Your name (s), state of residence, phone number, member number, account, or loan number, something to identify you. The date of transactions, the name of the resort and the names of all sales agents/manager/staff involved and their ID numbers, if available. Include the purchase price of each transaction, and if a loan is outstanding, the down payment, amount financed and interest rate. State whether a down payment was charged to a personal or resort-issued credit card. Were you aware a credit card was charged?
Then, what happened? Why are you not happy? Include what you want to have happen in your opening paragraph.
Step 4 EMAIL YOUR COMPLAINT to the resort unless instructed otherwise
Copy and paste your complaint into the body of an email. Do not send as an attachment. If denied, compose a rebuttal and then file with the applicable resources listed above.
Additional information to include and consider:
The Public Offering Statement (POS), sometimes called a Disclosure Statement. If you don’t know what that is, it means a state statute has been violated. You may be unaware that you initialed that you read and understood the POS.
https://tarda.org/what-is-a-public-offering-statement-is-it-important
Sometimes the only choice is to default or pay for a product you don’t want for the rest of your life. Self-advocacy continues after exhausting regulatory routes by disputing credit score downgrades.
Beware of scam exit companies that promise they can release you from your timeshare. Often the outcome is default and foreclosure. You don't have to pay anyone to default. It seems every day a new generic sounding exit company is reported for charging upfront fees but doing little if nothing to resolve a dispute. In just a two month time period, six timeshare owners reported losing $146,000 to scam exit companies.
TARDA Volunteers are not attorneys, but there are a number of attorneys who have donated their time to answer legal questions that we are not qualified to answer. This article offers advice on default from three attorneys: https://tarda.org/timeshare-defaults-attorneys-speak-out
Timeshare and Resort Developer Accountability, Inc. (TARDA) is a 501c4 nonprofit staffed with volunteers who understand the regulatory filing process. Our volunteers don’t review documents, but we can review a report you prepared. We encourage you to join our efforts, especially our legislative and media outreach efforts.
The Role of a Timeshare Resale Broker
Have you checked into selling your timeshare? A handful have resale value. We mentioned Timeshare Users Group (TUG) and RedWeek that provide "for sale by owner" listings. They charge a nominal fee to join and list. At least you can say you tried to sell when your resort responds, "Find a buyer."
There are also licensed resale brokers that charge no money upfront. We appreciate those who have appeared on PodTV to explain their specialties. You can find a broker by contacting the aptly named Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers Association (LTRBA). We maintain a list of honest resale brokers that function like traditional real estate agents. They get paid at closing. Beware of ad agencies that charge a hefty upfront fee, known to inflate the listing price to justify their fee.
Timeshare disputes could largely be avoided if people were aware that a timeshare can be purchased from the secondary market for a fraction of the cost. Listening to resale experts with unbiased views provides invaluable due diligence. Buyers should check what restrictions are associated with secondary market points.
The Timeshare Rental Market
Renting someone else’s timeshare is a great way to tour the universe of timeshare possibilities before signing a perpetual contract for a timeshare that has little to no secondary market. Check on rental restrictions, because Bluegreen and other Developers have suspended and terminated accounts accusing the members of commercial activity. ALL report that it was their sales agent that encouraged to buy additional points to rent to offset costs. If renting is allowed, Koala is an innovative timeshare rental platform. Co-founders Mike Kennedy and James Burbridge explain the rental process in an informative interview and Mike and our Board Member Sherida Nett appeared on PodTV Episode 18, June 24: tarda.org/a-new-timeshare-rental-platform
Social Media is here to stay
Timeshare members should not decide to exit a timeshare based only on negative reports. Check social media sites on both sides of the timeshare world. There are many who use and enjoy their timeshare. When a timeshare is sold honestly, it can be of great benefit to families.
Most who resolve disputes are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This is why many who resolve don't talk about it in fear of retaliation. Below are Facebook groups that provide peer support for those in dispute.
Good luck and don't give up! Your TARDA Team completed their journeys, but a few are still engaged in battle. Every day is Veteran's Day at TARDA. Three of our board members are veterans. Pod TV Episode 36, October 28 interviews active duty service members, and Episode 38, November 11, Veterans Day 2024, include interviews with veterans. Let us know if you would like to be a guest on PodTV. If you wish to join our efforts, contact us at Get Involved!
Member/Owner Support Facebook Groups
Westgate Timeshare Hostages – (launched 12/2021)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/westgatehostages
Vacation Village Massanutten Timeshare Unfortunate Owners – (10/2021)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1309724916165817
Diamond Resorts Hilton Grand Vacation Advocacy – (2/2017)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/members
Diamond started recording the closing session after the Arizona Attorney General received hundreds of complaints and issued the firm an Assurance of Discontinuance. Other developers quickly followed suit. If you are told what to say or not say on the recorded closing, it is a red flag. Record the sales session in states where it is legal to record without the other person aware. If you are attending a presentation in a state where you must have the other party’s consent, ask to record. If refused, leave. Member recordings provide clear and convincing evidence.
Gold Key Owners’ Forum – (10/2015)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175
Bluegreen Timeshare Hostages – (2012)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962
Justice for Manhattan Club Owners – (11/2021)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/285143193617063/about
The Manhattan Club Disgruntled Owners
https://www.facebook.com/groups/116892578330143/ – (2010)
Unhappy Wyndham Owners – (12/2018)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/376743609795740
Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge Owners – (2/2018)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CHCROwners/members
Other related articles:Timeshare Specialists Scam Hotline
https://tarda.org/timeshare-specialists-timeshare-exit-scam-hotline