Rescind on Wyndham Discovery?

[sandralynn88]

So, my husband and I took our two children on a last minute trip to Myrtle Beach this weekend. We attended a Wyndham Time Share sales pitch (or whatever it's called) for free tickets to an attraction. We were told it would last two hours but we ended up being there from 9 am to 3pm! We had no intentions of buying until we got there and listened to the pitch and we were then, somewhat, interested in becoming possibly owners in the future when I finish schooling next summer. I haggled with them a little bit and they kept bringing more people in who had more bells and whistles and didn't want to take no for answer. After being exhausted and just wanting to get out of there we finally agreed to the discovery program. We paid 2,700 for 300,000 points we could utilize within the next 20 months. They set up a Wyndham credit card for us but that's not what we paid for it with. They apparently charged a PayPal credit for the full cost. We were told that there is no interest or payments due for the next six months. After getting an email the next day I found out that I will in fact be charged the full interest of it isn't paid in full within that six months, which they did not tell me and, in fact, led me to believe that I would'nt be charged any interest in that six months even if I don't make a payment until the six months is over. Yesterday, when we attended the sales pitch and signed up, was Sunday. Today on our way back home I have been researching to see what I actually got myself into. I found this site and realize I was ripped off because there is a better way to go about purchasing or renting a time share. I think I want to rescind but I'm not sure how to do it. From what I gathered from this forum I write a letter cancelling and they will refund? I got my contract out and it does say we have 5 calendar days to cancel. How will I know that they actually refund this PayPal thing they charged? They didn't give me paper work on that account and when I tried to get online to my PayPal account (which I rarely used in the past, only a couple times on eBay years ago) I can't find anything on a PayPal credit line opened? I'm so confused and feel so stupid and lost. I typically pride myself in making finically sound decisions but I guess I have given myself too much credit to have become tangled up in this mess. Any advice would be appreciated. As a side note, we do plan on taking a vacation next summer still, like we always do, so maybe this would be worth it to just keep and utilize the 300,000 points? I'm afraid if I do that then I won't be able to book what I actually want for next July. Please help? Thank you for reading!

 

[ecwinch]

You were the victim of a high-pressured sales process that is designed to help you make a large impulse purchase - so no need to beat yourself up about that part of it. The good news is that rescinding is easy, and that you still are within the timeframe.

Look in the contract/paperwork and you will find a document that outlines your cancellation rights. In some states it includes a form you can fill out, but at a minimum it will give you the address you need to send the recession notice to.

The format of the letter you need to send is not important. Sending it by the deadline is very important. As you will read in the article - it is best to send the letter by certified mail.

They will refund the money to Paypal. In a typical purchase, you would receive a letter from Paypal after you purchase. But for the refund, the acct info is not required. When Wyndham processes the cancellation they will know what payment method was.

Here is a helpful article on what is involved.

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/cancel_timeshare_purchase.html

 

[sandralynn88]

Thank you for responding to my post. I am going first thing when the post office opens in the morning to send my letter to them, signed by my husband and myself, stating that we wish to exercise our legal right to rescind. I'm so nervous that they'll refuse, even though my better judgment (which apparently hasn't been that good the past two days to fall prey to this! Lol) tells me that they are legally obligated to grant my refund and will do so. I'm just glad I stood firm on actually buying into it fully and at least this is a somewhat "trial" package, I guess. The way I understood it and it was explained is that we purchased 300,000 for the total of $2,700 and can utilize them at select resorts (which they gave me a book listing them) within 20 months and I am not obligated to buy anything else with them but that I will have to suffer further through a sales pitch on my first stay when I start using my points. Does that sound about right? So, if worst comes to worst, as a purchaser of the Wyndham Diacovery Program, I am basically just paying $2,700 for whatever rooms I get with my 300,000 points and then it is done and over with?

 

[ecwinch]

Dont lose any sleep over it. By law they cannot refuse. As long as you have proof that you mailed the recession by the deadline, you are protected.

The cancellation/recession laws are in place because the state governments recognize that it is a high-pressured sales process that limits the buyers ability to make an informed decision. So they require a "cooling off" period that allows buyers to cancel the purchase.

As you note, worst case scenario is you overpaid for using those points by around $800 or so. And yes, once you use your pts you would be done with it. However, every time you used those points you would be pressured to buy a full membership (not just the first time). And probably get multiple calls at home.

 

[sandralynn88]

Thanks again for the information and for the reassurance! I can now breathe a sigh of relief, although I'll be fully relieved once I get the certified letter sent.
Thank goodness for the cancellation/recession laws! The sales people just scoffed at me every time I would bring up that I don't make spur of the moment descions and that this kind of purchase would require me to have some time to mull it over/research it before I felt comfortable enough to commit. They kept saying how if I don't do it now, I'll never get a deal like this ever again, I kept wanting to say, "Yeah right, I guarantee that I could walk in next year and get the same or better!" When I did just allude to that fact, without outright, rudely saying that, they argued and said, "Nope, you wouldn't because your name is in our system now and we can't offer you such "great discounts" again." They said prices go up yearly and it wouldn't be fair to the people that purchased first time around because we could compare what we got and how we got it and other owners would be mad! Ha! Yeah right! If that's the case, then that would tell me that they were obviously lying when the "manager" would come over offering me this once in a lifetime special offer that he's never even give anyone else. Obviously, it wasn't a special offer, it was all part of their standardized sales (scams). They kept lying to me trying to butter me up and I'll admit, I was halfway falling for it but my gut kept telling me to quit wasting a vacation day and just demand my gifts I was promised for showing up and run!! Anyways, I'm sure you know the song and dance and have heard the same story from countless others who were victim of it so I won't bore you on anymore of the details. I do want to say I appreciate the information you gave me and the also the reassurance you gave me that I can get this straightened out. I plan on sticking around on this forum to learn the ins and outs of this to see if maybe purchasing resale would be right for me.

 

[sandralynn88]

Dont lose any sleep over it. By law they cannot refuse. As long as you have proof that you mailed the recession by the deadline, you are protected.

The cancellation/recession laws are in place because the state governments recognize that it is a high-pressured sales process that limits the buyers ability to make an informed decision. So they require a "cooling off" period that allows buyers to cancel the purchase.

As you note, worst case scenario is you overpaid for using those points by around $800 or so. And yes, once you use your pts you would be done with it. However, every time you used those points you would be pressured to buy a full membership (not just the first time). And probably get multiple calls at home.

This is what I sent:


To whom it may concern:

We are exercising our legal right to cancel our purchase of the Club Wyndham Discovery Membership from July 16th, 2017 contract number _________.

Please refund our payment and do not charge anymore additional fees to our PayPal Credit or any other credit card. Thank you for your cooperation.

A copy of the main page of the contract and the page that states the cancellation policy is enclosed.

The book and the Wyndham bag are being returned to you separately by media mail.

And then our signatures here.




Is that going to work, right?

 

[TUGBrian]

congrats on doing the research in time to legally rescind and save yourself a fortune!

 

[sandralynn88]

Thanks!

 

[sandralynn88]

I sent the certified letter on Tuesday 7/18. I checked the PayPal credit and my email and I still haven't been refunded or gotten an email or anything saying they recieved my letter. Is that normal?

 

[WackyLucy]

I sent the certified letter on Tuesday 7/18. I checked the PayPal credit and my email and I still haven't been refunded or gotten an email or anything saying they recieved my letter. Is that normal?

They have up to 45 days to issue your refund. Besides processing the contract cancellation, they are otherwise under no other actual obligation to contact you at all on the matter.

 

[sandralynn88]

Ok, thank you.

 

[Worriedsick]

Does anybody have a success story on rescinding the Discovery program. We were in Myrtle beach last week and fell for the "closure" process, however we did the math and with the dollar as is, we end up paying a lot in Canadian currency. Plus flight costs to the destination we had in mind add up.
Any advice is appreciated. We attended the meeting on 14 August and paid a deposit of USD 450 and the balance 3500 to be paid though installments for 40000 points.However as most of you have pointed out it's far more cheaper to rent or do a resale. Thank you in advance!

 

[LannyPC]

Well, you've passed your five-day rescission period for purchases in SC. You can try sending in a rescission letter as should be given in your owner's package and contract. It won't hurt to try as long as you follow the directions carefully.

If they don't honour your rescission (which they are not required to do past five days), then you have a couple of options. First, just default and lose the $450 USD deposit. The other is to learn to use what you have.

The one option that is not recommended is to seek out "help" from these cancel/rescue/exit timeshare law firms and other questionable companies that claim they will cancel your TS and mortgage if you pay them a whopping upfront fee.

 

[Worriedsick]

Thank you LannyPC, unfortunately I don't think I have the resources to reach out to the law firms at this point. The contract documents do not include a rescission letter nor details on cancellation, my last option is to try contacting the sales person who kindly left us his number and see if we can opt out.

 

[jwalk03]

Calling the sales weasel won't help. Every contract is legally required to include the recession instructions. It's in there somewhere. Could be on a cd of documents if they gave you that, but it's somewhere.

 

[LannyPC]

my last option is to try contacting the sales person who kindly left us his number and see if we can opt out.

That's like the fox guarding the hen house. It is not in the sales person's interest to help you rescind. Likely, he will try to get you to rethink your decision to rescind. After all, his multi-thousand dollar commission is riding on this.

As Jwalk03 said, look carefully because they are required to supply you with rescission instructions.

 

[Worriedsick]

Thanks for your responses, I guess we are as naive as you can get. I actually didn't know this was how TS worked and wished I had never gone to the presentation!
Clause 8 does say 5 days for cancellation but Clause 5 says this
"This agreement is effective when signed by the member and the Discovery representative and shall be governed exclusively by the laws and courts of the State of Florida "
Does this mean i have 10 days to cancel as per Florida timeshare rules. Anybody can comment on this ? Tomorrow is our 10th day

 

[jwalk03]

The rescission law is based on the state where you signed, but it won't hurt to TRY! Send the recession letter anyway, and maybe you'll get lucky. The only thing you have to lose is the cost of a certified letter.

 

[Worriedsick]

Thank you, we will keep you updated on what happens, so far Wyndham Discovery toll free gave us a fax number which is constantly busy, we have mailed the details via certified mail and will await a response.

 

[Tink63]

Does anybody have a success story on rescinding the Discovery program. We were in Myrtle beach last week and fell for the "closure" process, however we did the math and with the dollar as is, we end up paying a lot in Canadian currency. Plus flight costs to the destination we had in mind add up.
Any advice is appreciated. We attended the meeting on 14 August and paid a deposit of USD 450 and the balance 3500 to be paid though installments for 40000 points.However as most of you have pointed out it's far more cheaper to rent or do a resale. Thank you in advance!

 

[Tink63]

This happened to us last Thursday in Branson. However I have searched all my paperwork and there is no cancellation/rescinding form attached or included!! Where do I send my letter? To the Wyndahm main office? Or to the office in Branson where we toured the property? Thank you for responding.