I got rid of mine.

I tried running ads in the TUG Marketplace, but all I got was inquiries, no serious response. I never tried listing it on eBay. But I did see that Sumday Vacations had several listings there, so I contacted them. They referred me to Timeshare Refuge. I then contacted Timeshare Refuge. I found out that they would take my timeshare (Wyndham Royal Vista, EOY, even) and dispose of it for $699, paid up front. Now I had seen all the stories about NEVER pay upfront, so I was leery. But after several emails and phone calls, I decided to take a chance. It has taken about three months, but it is GONE! No hassles, except for the time delay. Everything worked as promised and was done via emails, scanned documents, etc. I did have to mail the signed deed because they required an original with the notary seal. I like using email, and I made sure to save every single email document sent and received. The only thing I should have done differently was to make sure I had exchanged all my Wyndham points with Interval before the transaction completed. I had some points left that I was planning to utilize with an II exchange at Daytona Beach. I entered the transaction during the period when documents had already been sent to Wyndham and thought I did it in time. But when II tried to confirm that the points were still available, the transaction had gone through, so I'm just losing those points, which would have gotten me a one bedroom for a week. But that's my fault. Wyndham claims they have no way to look up my past history, which sounds like they have a really lousy record keeping system. So while I would agree that paying up front fees is probably a bad idea in most cases, I'm glad I did. It's worth $699 to me to rid of it. But if I had been told to pay several thousand dollars up front, well, I'm willing to take a risk, but I'm not stupid. I'm not saying this is the perfect solution for everyone looking to get rid of timeshare, but it sure worked great for me. And just to be clear, this is a totally unsolicted story just put out there for general information.

Thanks for the advice on giving it away. I guess you didn't read the first part of the original post where I stated that I had advertised it on TUG. When I did not get any serious interest, I decided it was worth it to me (maybe not for everyone) to pay to get rid of it. It basically cost me a year's worth or maintenance plus the transfer fee. Now it's off my back, and I say again, to me that's worth the cost. I agree that trying to dispose of it on TUG first is a good idea, but what if, like me, you don't get any interest? I had it listed for $1 and was agreeing to pay the $299 transfer fee at Wyndham, and still no interest. At some point, you have to decide if you want to keep paying maintenance or bite the bullet and pay to get rid of it. Call me an idiot if you like, but I'm happy with the deal. By all means, try to sell it or give it away first, and TUG is a great place to do that. My whole motive for joining TUG was to be able to run ads in the marketplace in hopes of selling the unit, or giving it away. But keep in mind that not everything that is listed on TUG will sell. Mine did not. I'm not advising anyone to go the route I took. I'm simply listing my experience because I have seen and read of so many people being bilked by paying exorbitant fees up front and not getting anything for their money. I paid up front. They did exactly what they said they would do. It's hard not to be satisfied with that. So you have to decide what's best for you, which may not be the same as for someone else.

I'm so sorry to hear that you paid them $699!

You could have given it away on TUG for FREE!

I smell a shill.

It does look like a shill post, but I don't think so, based on a little google search.

asnooper said:

. But I did see that Sumday Vacations had several listings there, so I contacted them. They referred me to Timeshare Refuge.

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Why didn't Sumday Vacations want to sell it for you?

You probably could have advertised it here on TUG and offered less than $699. I bet you would have gotten several takers

antjmar said:

Why didn't Sumday Vacations want to sell it for you?

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I tried to get another ebay seller to sell something for me. They said no..They dont deal with one or two weeks from the general public. I think if I had several hundred to sell they would have taken on the project...I bet Sumday is the same

OP said he tried running an ad in the Marketplace. The OP is a "guest". Don't you need to be a member to place an ad?

RX8 said:

OP said he tried running an ad in the Marketplace. The OP is a "guest". Don't you need to be a member to place an ad?

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You do - But he may be a member, and be one of the people who can't figure out how to change that in their member profile.

DeniseM said:

You do - But he may be a member, and be one of the people who can't figure out how to change that in their member profile.

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He's been a registered user here since last June but this is his first post. It is possible that this really happened. A shill would have chimed in way before this.

I bought 3 of my timeshares off eBay and am tempted to contact the sellers to see if they want to have another go at one of them. Just thinking out loud.

If what the OP is saying is true, then it's worth sharing. I think a lot of people would like to know this.

DeniseM said:

You do - But he may be a member, and be one of the people who can't figure out how to change that in their member profile.

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IMHO you shouldn't have to "figure out how to change your status" it should be a function of paying the fee

you still have to register on the forums when you join, indicating you are a paying member is part of the registration process.

we are looking into setting up a new way to register (automatically) on the forums when a new member joins as part of the new vbulletin software however.

and in the spirit of full disclosure, a person matching the email registered to this name had posted an ad in the marketplace for 140k wyndham points for 1 penny.

TUGBrian said:

you still have to register on the forums when you join, indicating you are a paying member is part of the registration process.

we are looking into setting up a new way to register (automatically) on the forums when a new member joins as part of the new vbulletin software however.

and in the spirit of full disclosure, a person matching the email registered to this name had posted an ad in the marketplace for 140k wyndham points for 1 penny.

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I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here. His screen name indicates he's been lurking here for a while.

As far as Timeshare Refuge is concerned, they did what they do, took his money, tried to sell his product and someone bought it. Could he have done the same himself? He tried. Maybe he should have put it on the Bargains forum and gotten the same results.

Would I pay the company that money? No. I'd place an ad, put it here and on Craigs List and then maybe try eBay.

He got rid of his so good for him.

csxjohn said:

Would I pay the company that money? No. I'd place an ad, put it here and on Craigs List and then maybe try eBay.

He got rid of his so good for him.

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Sometimes it is very difficult to get rid of a timeshare, especially a less than desirable week. The price mentioned by the OP would be a decent price to easily dispose of the commitment and be done with it.

Now, is the company legit? Who knows? I sure don't.

ace2000 said:

Sometimes it is very difficult to get rid of a timeshare, especially a less than desirable week. The price mentioned by the OP would be a decent price to easily dispose of the commitment and be done with it.

Now, is the company legit? Who knows? I sure don't.

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I think what I wanted to say was that I think the price he paid was OK but I also believe the disposal company got lucky. If they really try to get rid of these timeshares they have to find a buyer now and then.

There is never a performance guarantee so he could still be waiting for a buyer.

I would have, and am in the process of doing right now, tried a little more here and on Craigs List before paying even that relatively small amount.

Wyndham Royal Vista ALWAYS sells - there is one on eBAY right now for 49,000 points with all expenses being paid. Those very low point contracts seldon sell. 140K of RV points is good for a 1bdr over the parking garage in dead of Winter.

If he had listed under the BARGAIN DEALS on TUG verses the Marketplace, multiple TUGGERs would have taken it within a week with maybe only 1 BUMP.

I have several USE YEARS and points packages at RV - I would have picked it up. But I did NOT see it.

You are assuming that they resold his timeshare. How do you know they didn't register it to an LLC and abandon it? (Viking Ship) That is what many of the low-cost "rescue companies" are doing - it's cheaper than trying to sell it.

IF the OP realy wants to prove that they are actually out of the ownership and haven't just paid some group undeserved cash for what they could have done far cheaper themselves it is very easy to do. It could also be that the ownership is STILL theirs and they only think they "got rid of it".

They can point us to the recorded/filed deed transferring ownership to XXX - whoever the alleged buyer was/is. It is public record so they aren't disclosing personal or private information. We can easily see if the transfer is real, if the time frame makes sense and if in fact they are no longer the owner(s) of record. It is so easy to prove that if they don't it certainly raises the question of is this a real story of success or another tall tale of fiction and wishful thinking.

As they posted it as a done deal lets see the proof & we'll be happy to wish them well.

Good point, and...

timeos2 said:

IF the OP realy wants to prove that they are actually out of the ownership and haven't just paid some group undeserved cash for what they could have done far cheaper themselves it is very easy to do. It could also be that the ownership is STILL theirs and they only think they "got rid of it".

They can point us to the recorded/filed deed transferring ownership to XXX - whoever the alleged buyer was/is. It is public record so they aren't disclosing personal or private information. We can easily see if the transfer is real, if the time frame makes sense and if in fact they are no longer the owner(s) of record. It is so easy to prove that if they don't it certainly raises the question of is this a real story of success or another tall tale of fiction and wishful thinking.

As they posted it as a done deal lets see the proof & we'll be happy to wish them well.

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...Moreover, a deed could very well get recorded but later subsequently ignored and rejected by the HOA or company (Wyndham, in this instance) if discovered to have been placed into the name of some bogus LLC or shell corporation. In such a scenario, the "refuge" could (...and can still) turn out to be, in actual practice and reality, no "refuge" at all if / when those maintenance fee bills just keep right on coming....

Broward County has the deeds online. I can find my Royal Vista (Pompano Beach) deeds by doing a search of my name.

Not the whole story...

vacationhopeful said:

Broward County has the deeds online. I can find my Royal Vista (Pompano Beach) deeds by doing a search of my name.

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Yes, that much is easily done, but as you know as a Wyndham owner yourself Linda, the recorded deed is only part of the transfer process. Wyndham itself is (as Paul Harvey might say) "...the rest of the story".

For those of you that say "why didn't he give it away" or "why didn't he sell it?"

Did you not read what he said? He said he TRIED doing what you suggested AND IT DIDN'T SELL.

I am currently have mine posted for FREE in "bargain deals" and I got NO takers. It is a green week at a 20+ year old resort. In my opinion - NOBODY WILL EVER BUY IT. No the resort will not take it back - I tried that already. No it won't sell on ebay - I see other people who have a timeshare at the same resort who have posted it on ebay for $1 and it DIDN'T SELL.


Option 1: Sell it - no go.
Option 2: Give it away for free - no go.
Option 2a: Give it away completely fee where I even pay the transfer / closing costs - no go.
Option 3: Stop paying maintenance and ignore it and hope it will go away - no go because it ruins credit and goes into collections.
Option 4: Give it back to resort - no go - they won't take it.
Option 5: Covert it to Wyndham points - no go because that means MORE money and STILL maintenance fees.
Option 6: PAY someone to take it.
Option 6a: DonateForACause wants $1600
Option 6b: TimeshareRefuge wants $700

I am looking at option 6 because I am getting desperate.

I cannot describe how frustrating it is to know that I have NO options.

I am currently monitoring two other threads on tugbbs by people (travelwizard1971 and TheNoob) who claim to be using this company to see if it turns out to be legit.

For those of you that are trying to warn us away from scams and VikingShips and such - thats great - I appreciate that you are trying to protect us from scams. But please - offer some advice for people in my situation where options 1 to 5 are NOT WORKING. I believe there are a lot of us.

wawacito said:

For those of you that say "why didn't he give it away" or "why didn't he sell it?"

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He ONLY listed it in the TUG Classifieds - he did NOT list it on the TUG Bargain Deals Forum - a specific forum for giving away timeshares.

We are not the bad guys here, and you have received lots of support and good advice on TUG - don't shoot the messenger.

Here is a question for you - you posted that you own a "horrible week that no one would want." This begs the question - WHY did you buy such a timeshare?

I apologize if that's the way it sounded. I am not making you out to be the bad guys.

What disappoints me though is that every where "post card companies" are mentioned -they are just shot down without much constructive help. I'm only interested in these post card companies because it seems I have no other choice. Is there anyway we could get help from those of you that are more knowledgeable to find out if there are any legitimate post card companies out there? Because really - i am DEFINITELY willing to pay somebody to take my timeshare. I just want it to work.

I didn't buy it - my parents bought it - about 20 years ago - and 20 years ago it sounded good. But now the maintenance is to high and trading the week actually limits us more than it helps us