February 6, 2020
By Irene Roberts
Don’t discount the services provided by the Better Business Bureau. An Island Seas Resort owner contacted us to ask about this Bahamas resort. In checking the Better Business Bureau (BBB) report, we discovered a well written rebuttal an owner wrote in response to a complaint dismissal. We thought the rebuttal so well-crafted we should share it with our readers.
The good thing about the BBB is they do attempt to mediate disputes. Reading other complaints and responses gives you an idea of how your resort will likely respond to you. It also provides contact information. Often they allow you to log in under your complaint number and file a rebuttal if you don’t agree with the company’s response, as this owner did on October 18, 2019.
Consumers need to be aware of the oral representation clause we highlighted below. This one sentence is often used as defense to dismiss any complaint beginning with, “The salesman said….”
Note that it is not required that a sales agent inform the buyer of the contract rescission period. The rescission period is the number of days you have after signing a contract to cancel or rescind the contract. This period varies by state.
Also note the author’s reference to the state required Public Offering Statement (POS). This document should be provided prior to, or at time of purchase. It should not be stuffed in a pile of documents to be reviewed at leisure. This owner took the time to actually read the POS and point out what they believe to be discrepancies in the product they purchased and what is described in the POS (sometimes called a Disclosure Statement).
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/timeshare-cancellations-can-i-cancel-timeshare-purchase.html
Original complaint (unedited)
Island Seas coerced us into buying a timeshare and will not allow us out of it even though we were pressured. My husband and I signed a contract for a timeshare on June 10, 2019 at Island Seas Resort in the Bahamas. We paid a deposit of $1060 and were told many false claims. We were given alcohol to "celebrate" our purchase before we signed the papers. The sales, Whitney, was very pushy and told us numerous things that were not true. We were told that if at any time, we no longer wanted the timeshare, we could give it back. We were told how we could get additional vacations through RCI for only $219 for 7 days and that we could take minivacations for anywhere between 1 and 4 days for $99. None of this is true. All of the "facts" were written on a scrap of paper, which Whitney refused to give me in the end. When looking at the Public Offering Statement Volume 1, it states that "You should not rely upon oral representations as being correct" which goes to show me that Island Seas is aware that false statements are being made in order to lure people into signing to purchase when they otherwise might not have. We have tried contacting the company numerous times and we just get rude responses and hung up on. The other issue is that the resort isn't even available right now due to being impacted by Hurricane Dorian, but still, they are not allowing us out of the contract. They say they will reopen, but have no idea as to when.
Customer Response (unedited) 10/18/2019
The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.
I am aware that according to the papers, we had seven days to back out of the agreement. We were not given our copies of the forms until three days after having signed said agreement. Yes, the paper stating the seven days was signed by us, but it was not pointed out to us at the time that we only had seven days. In fact, on the scrap of paper that Whitney was writing all the figures and "facts" down on that I asked to keep and he refused to let me have it, he even stated that at any time if we wanted to get out of the timeshare, Island Seas would buy it back, no questions asked. I am aware now that it states in the Public Offering Statement Volume 1, that "You should not rely upon oral representations as being correct" which goes to show me that Island Seas is aware that false statements are being made in order to lure people into signing to purchase when they otherwise might not have. If we had not been told that it could be bought back, there is no way we would have signed. There are many other issues with the contract and additional papers that we were given. I have highlighted and put a Post-it flag on each appropriate page. The first discrepancy is on page 4 of the Public Offering Statement Volume 1, which states that "Time-sharing interests being offered for sale are annual or biennial membership interests for a period of fifteen (15) or thirty (30) years", but our contract is for a term of 20 years, which is not a time period the resort is allowed to sell. This is stated again on page 7 of the Public Offering Statement Volume 1. On page 9 of the Public Offering Statement Volume 1, it says that "The current dues are USD $710.00 for each week in one bedroom unit," but on the Island Seas Fact Sheet, #4, it says a "1 Bedroom Suite is $681.45" and this number is reiterated on the Terms and Conditions page under #4. On the Island Seas Resort Members Understanding and Acknowledgement, #7, the transfer of membership rights never mentions a transfer fee. On the Membership Rules and Regulations page, #18, it states that "No carry over of weeks is allowed" but we were told that if we didn't use our week one week, it could carry to the next week. This was also written on the scrap of paper that Whitney refused to give me at the conclusion of our meeting, after all the papers were signed. It is due to these reasons that we feel the contract and the salesman, Whitney, is fraudulent and therefore, we do not agree that we owe the money that the contract is for. We look forward to hearing that this issue is resolved.
Desired Outcome
We would like out of the fraudulent contract and a refund of our deposit of $1060.00.