Cancelling Wyndham Contract

[april0402]

I am looking for any advice or guidance on how to go about cancelling of my contract. (Not reselling, not upgrading, I want to CANCEL) I am aware that the majority don’t think it can be done….but I have heard stories of timeshare holders being very persistent and getting their contracts cancelled on their own without the use of a third party.

We purchased 200,000 points July 2022. We regret the decision and want out of our contract. All of these ‘exit companies, lawyers, advocacy groups etc’ in my mind, is just another scam and more money we cannot afford.

So I want to do this myself, I’m starting with a cancellation letter to let them know of our intent for cancellation. (I know I am past the grace period but I am going to try my hardest to get out of this on my own. I represented myself in a couple of court cases before, how hard can this be?!)

I wanted to start this forum in hopes to help other people in a similar situation as me, let’s get through this and find a way!

I was mislead, lied to and intimidated to close this deal. This is fraudulent and not ok. I simply want to just be free of this contract, I am not even going to hold my breath for a refund, just let me go!

 

[Passepartout]

I'm assuming that you still owe on the purchase. That being the case, you can't transfer it to a new owner. You have nothing to sell. What you're talking about is defaulting. That is- stopping paying. That will work. You'll get demands for payment. You can demand (in writing) that they not call you and that ALL communication MUST be by US Mail.

They will (of course) cancel your use and stop you from making any reservations. At some point, whomever has the note will sell your debt to a collector and it starts all over again. You will possibly see your credit score drop by up tom 100 points.

Eventually, (say, 10 years) the default will fall off your credit score and you can start rebuilding it.

Good Luck!

Jim

 

[april0402]

I'm assuming that you still owe on the purchase. That being the case, you can't transfer it to a new owner. You have nothing to sell. What you're talking about is defaulting. That is- stopping paying. That will work. You'll get demands for payment. You can demand (in writing) that they not call you and that ALL communication MUST be by US Mail.

They will (of course) cancel your use and stop you from making any reservations. At some point, whomever has the note will sell your debt to a collector and it starts all over again. You will possibly see your credit score drop by up tom 100 points.

Eventually, (say, 10 years) the default will fall off your credit score and you can start rebuilding it.

Good Luck!

Jim

Thank you for your response. I don’t want to default or foreclose. I don’t want to transfer or sell.

I want to take the approach of having Wyndham cancel the contract all together. (Like it never happened) On the grounds of hardship and/or fraudulent sales tactics.

I am curious if anyone on this forum has taken that approach themselves.

 

[Passepartout]

Thank you for your response. I don’t want to default or foreclose. I don’t want to transfer or sell.

I want to take the approach of having Wyndham cancel the contract all together. (Like it never happened) On the grounds of hardship and/or fraudulent sales tactics.

I am curious if anyone on this forum has taken that approach themselves.

I haven't heard of an owner unilaterally cancelling a contract they signed. I suppose that if you have a sudden physical disability that disallows you from paying the contract or using the facilities, you could have a lawyer write and outline your disability. Wyndham might go for it, but to just 'ask' them to cancel your contract isn't going to fly. They'll simply tell you that you had a legally outlined 'cooling off' period in which to rescind without penalty. No hard feelings, and here's your money back. But after that period ends, you (and they) are bound by the contract you both signed.

 

[Passepartout]

Deleted- Duplicate

 

[april0402]

I haven't heard of an owner unilaterally cancelling a contract they signed. I suppose that if you have a sudden physical disability that disallows you from paying the contract or using the facilities, you could have a lawyer write and outline your disability. Wyndham might go for it, but to just 'ask' them to cancel your contract isn't going to fly. They'll simply tell you that you had a legally outlined 'cooling off' period in which to rescind without penalty. No hard feelings, and here's your money back. But after that period ends, you (and they) are bound by the contract you both signed.

Maybe I can be the first one you hear of, fingers crossed

I’m drafting a cancellation letter, sending it by certified mail and requesting a response from them within 14 days

Obviously they will deny my request. I will then draft another letter outlining issues I have with the contract itself and the fraudulent practices used to obtain my signature.

Any advice or wording is appreciated!

My hope is that if I am persistent enough, maybe just maybe they won’t want the threat of a legal headache.

I am aware that this is a long shot! But I must try anything I can to get out of this.

Thanks for your help! I will post an update when I hear back. I know there are countless people in my position…maybe it’s possible… Lord willing

 

[HitchHiker71]

I'm assuming that you still owe on the purchase. That being the case, you can't transfer it to a new owner. You have nothing to sell. What you're talking about is defaulting. That is- stopping paying. That will work. You'll get demands for payment. You can demand (in writing) that they not call you and that ALL communication MUST be by US Mail.

They will (of course) cancel your use and stop you from making any reservations. At some point, whomever has the note will sell your debt to a collector and it starts all over again. You will possibly see your credit score drop by up tom 100 points.

Eventually, (say, 10 years) the default will fall off your credit score and you can start rebuilding it.

Good Luck!

Jim

The impact to your credit all depends on how you financed the initial purchase. For example, when we purchased directly from Wyndham back in 2018, we paid about 50% of the monies up front, and then put the remaining 50% on the Wyndham credit card (which is really a BarclaycardUS account - nothing to do with Wyndham itself) with six months interest free and paid it off within the six month interest free period. Had we defaulted - it would have been to simply stop paying on the credit card - which has nothing to do with Wyndham itself. So my question to the OP would be - how did you finance your timeshare purchase with Wyndham, with this mind? It also matters what ownership type you purchased, did you buy a deeded ownership (CWS - Club Wyndham Select) or did you buy Club Wyndham Access (CWA - trust based ownership). This matters as deeded ownerships actually have a deed in play and Wyndham must go through steps to foreclose on that deeded ownership, whereas with CWA there's no deed to foreclose on - so it's a different process - and at least in some cases - those who have stopped paying on CWA ownerships - their credit isn't ever negatively impacted. It's hit or miss from what we've seen - but it's worth mentioning in this thread. If it's a deeded ownership - then the foreclosure process mentioned above definitely applies.

What I'd recommend is to contact Wyndham Certified Exit first here: https://www.wyndhamdestinations.com/us/en/wyndham-cares/certified-exit

We've also heard of edge cases from other owners when using Certified Exit where Wyndham does take back an ownership with a loan against it - by basically reselling that existing ownership to another net new buyer at a discount since the current owner has been paying down the existing balance for the last year or so. It seems like this is more the exception than the rule - but again I think it's worth a shot before going down any legal path - because once you start down any legal path - all negotiations essentially come to a halt.

 

[bnoble]

Maybe I can be the first one you hear of

The thing is, you are far from the first person to try what you are trying. Lots (and lots) of people have tried what you are trying.

The problem is that Wyndham has a bunch of in-house lawyers who have a lot of experience writing timeshare contracts, and have written the current one specifically to withstand claims of fraudulent selling. For example, as part of the buying process you agreed that you were aware that verbal promises during the sales process carry no weight, and that the only thing that matters is what is written in the contract.

maybe just maybe they won’t want the threat of a legal headache.

Yeah, about that. Remember those in-house lawyers Wyndham has? They pay them a salary, so it's not as though there's a bunch of extra costs dealing with your potential lawsuit. That's precisely why those people are on salary---because it is important to Wyndham that their contracts be binding, and that there is no easy way out of it. They are willing to spend real money to make sure that continues.

But, they will make life miserable for you by dragging things out until you give up and go away. They probably have more patience than you do. They certainly have more money. At some point, it would be cheaper to just pay for the thing and give it away than to pay some lawyer the hourly rate you'd need to pay to make any progress.

It is vanishingly unlikely that you will come up with the magic wording in a letter that will get Wyndham to say, "You know, they are right. We should just forgive this loan balance and let bygones be bygones." Instead, you are going to be relying on Wyndham's generosity, as @HitchHiker71 suggests.

 

[april0402]

The thing is, you are far from the first person to try what you are trying. Lots (and lots) of people have tried what you are trying.

The problem is that Wyndham has a bunch of in-house lawyers who have a lot of experience writing timeshare contracts, and have written the current one specifically to withstand claims of fraudulent selling. For example, as part of the buying process you agreed that you were aware that verbal promises during the sales process carry no weight, and that the only thing that matters is what is written in the contract.


Yeah, about that. Remember those in-house lawyers Wyndham has? They pay them a salary, so it's not as though there's a bunch of extra costs dealing with your potential lawsuit. That's precisely why those people are on salary---because it is important to Wyndham that their contracts be binding, and that there is no easy way out of it. They are willing to spend real money to make sure that continues.

But, they will make life miserable for you by dragging things out until you give up and go away. They probably have more patience than you do. They certainly have more money. At some point, it would be cheaper to just pay for the thing and give it away than to pay some lawyer the hourly rate you'd need to pay to make any progress.

It is vanishingly unlikely that you will come up with the magic wording in a letter that will get Wyndham to say, "You know, they are right. We should just forgive this loan balance and let bygones be bygones." Instead, you are going to be relying on Wyndham's generosity, as @HitchHiker71 suggests.

There have been people who have gotten out of their timeshare contracts. I guess this is the only thing I can try to do that might work. I realize this is a long shot. Thank you for the reality check on what I am up against.

I am not relying on Wyndhams generosity, all they care about is $$$. I am just simply trying to find a way to get the contract cancelled and was hoping that maybe someone on this forum has had experience with doing so.

They are making my life miserable now by me just paying for it. I can try to push back since I’m stuck with them anyway. Hopefully I can make some lead way.

 

[HitchHiker71]

There have been people who have gotten out of their timeshare contracts. I guess this is the only thing I can try to do that might work. I realize this is a long shot. Thank you for the reality check on what I am up against.

I am not relying on Wyndhams generosity, all they care about is $$$. I am just simply trying to find a way to get the contract cancelled and was hoping that maybe someone on this forum has had experience with doing so.

They are making my life miserable now by me just paying for it. I can try to push back since I’m stuck with them anyway. Hopefully I can make some lead way.

I will reiterate to try Wyndham Certified Exit first. You have nothing to lose by attempting this route first. Try good cop first, and if that doesn’t work, you can always try bad cop - but as @bnoble said - just know what you are going up against and plan accordingly.


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[VacationForever]

First of all, there is no exit company out that can get you out of the contract. They are all scammers by collecting your money and then you are still stuck with the responsibility.

Secondly, try as you may but you won't get out of the contract by writing a series of letters to exhaust them. They won't because they are the thousand pound gorilla that has a slew of corporate lawyers who have put together an iron-clad contract which you have signed. You can try this route for a couple of months and see how it goes.

Subsequently... the best recourse is to keep paying and get the benefit or using what you have bought OR just stop payment and let them foreclose on you. You will get collection calls. Know that you will take a credit hit but you can then try to explain to the credit bureaus that it is timeshare purchase which they may revise your credit history to waive that blemish.

 

[april0402]

So my question to the OP would be - how did you finance your timeshare purchase with Wyndham, with this mind?

We put the down payment on the Barclays card with 6 months interest free. Then transferred the balance to a different card with a 21 month interest free period. We almost have that paid off.

The remaining balance was financed through Wyndham. We pay Barclays and Barclays pays them. ( maintenance fee + cost of Wyndham)

 

[april0402]

It also matters what ownership type you purchased, did you buy a deeded ownership (CWS - Club Wyndham Select) or did you buy Club Wyndham Access (CWA - trust based ownership).

We bought the Club Wyndham Access Plan NOT a deeded ownership

 

[april0402]

First of all, there is no exit company out that can get you out of the contract. They are all scammers by collecting your money and then you are still stuck with the responsibility

I agree with you 100%. I stated that in my original post. I am not spending a dollar towards yet another scam. I am trying to figure out how to go about this on my own and collect information about the best way to do that

 

[april0402]

I will reiterate to try Wyndham Certified Exit first. You have nothing to lose by attempting this route first. Try good cop first, and if that doesn’t work, you can always try bad cop - but as @bnoble said - just know what you are going up against and plan accordingly.


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Thank you. I have tried using the Wyndham Certified Exit. They gave me a couple of phone numbers to ‘third party’ timeshare sellers. Since we still owe money, they basically said there was nothing they could do for us as people are practically giving them away just to get out of maintenance fees and that they hold no value.

I will try this approach again. Any advice on what I should say this time around?

I appreciate your help

 

[april0402]

Secondly, try as you may but you won't get out of the contract by writing a series of letters to exhaust them. They won't because they are the thousand pound gorilla that has a slew of corporate lawyers who have put together an iron-clad contract which you have signed. You can try this route for a couple of months and see how it goes.

I am starting to realize that this most likely won’t be a successful route to take. I was hoping for some kind of negotiation. Like if I tell them I am going to stop paying, maybe they will work with me at that point?

 

[april0402]

Subsequently... the best recourse is to keep paying and get the benefit or using what you have bought OR just stop payment and let them foreclose on you. You will get collection calls. Know that you will take a credit hit but you can then try to explain to the credit bureaus that it is timeshare purchase which they may revise your credit history to waive that blemish.

Do you think it is likely that the credit bureaus would revise my credit history because it is a time share? Have you heard of such a thing?

If I do not own a deed, how could they foreclose on me? I purchased the access package

 

[VacationForever]

Do you think it is likely that the credit bureaus would revise my credit history because it is a time share? Have you heard of such a thing?

If I do not own a deed, how could they foreclose on me? I purchased the access package

It has been reported by a few folks here that they have been successful in explaining it to the credit bureau, and if not, future lenders. Access package has access to all the underlying properties, so they can still foreclose on you. It is different from a Vacation Club membership.

 

[april0402]

whereas with CWA there's no deed to foreclose on - so it's a different process - and at least in some cases - those who have stopped paying on CWA ownerships - their credit isn't ever negatively impacted. It's hit or miss from what we've seen - but it's worth mentioning in this thread.

Since there is no deed to foreclose on, do you think that makes the process easier or harder to negotiate cancellation of the contract?

Why do you think being a CWA owner and stopping payments wouldn’t negatively impact your credit score? It certainly shows up on my credit report

 

[april0402]

It is vanishingly unlikely that you will come up with the magic wording in a letter that will get Wyndham to say,

Wyndham does have a ‘hardship’ form available. There are certain instances where people said the right thing and got out of their contract. Very slim chance but still possible. I am looking for those stories and advice on how to go about that. Trying to stay positive over here

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

You’re never going to get them to “cancel the contract.” Maybe, just maybe, you can negotiate an exit with them. Maybe if you offer to pay some of the balance in exchange for them accepting a deed in lieu (or whatever the equivalent is for CWA), then you can get away without a significant credit hit. Can’t hurt to ask. But asking them to just let you out of your contract? That’s not going to happen.

 

[april0402]

You’re never going to get them to “cancel the contract.” Maybe, just maybe, you can negotiate an exit with them. Maybe if you offer to pay some of the balance in exchange for them accepting a deed in lieu (or whatever the equivalent is for CWA), then you can get away without a significant credit hit. Can’t hurt to ask. But asking them to just let you out of your contract? That’s not going to happen.

I think that’s more of the right approach, to try and negotiate an exit. I’m in a hard spot because the other person I signed the contract with wants to stop payments. I tried seeing if there’s anyway I can get my name off the mortgage with no luck and there’s no way I can afford the full payment on my own.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I think that’s more of the right approach, to try and negotiate an exit. I’m in a hard spot because the other person I signed the contract with wants to stop payments. I tried seeing if there’s anyway I can get my name off the mortgage with no luck and there’s no way I can afford the full payment on my own.

A 100ish point credit hit may not be the end of the world depending on your circumstances. It is entirely possible that just defaulting is the correct move here.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

I think that’s more of the right approach, to try and negotiate an exit.

Yes
fyi - Foreclosure is an exit.

I’m in a hard spot because the other person I signed the contract with wants to stop payments. I tried seeing if there’s anyway I can get my name off the mortgage with no luck

Sorry to hear you have this problem.

and there’s no way I can afford the full payment on my own.

There is a legacy Wyndham thread from an owner going through the collection / foreclosure process The member posted regularly
about their Wyndham interactions over a 2+ year period. The thread start date was probably 2015 /16.

Perhaps someone can recall the thread name and post a link

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

An important detail here that I think you haven't mentioned yet is how much you owe on this. If it's like $30,000 (assuming you paid full retail for those 200,000 points and still owe most of the note), then a 100 point credit hit to get rid of it seems like a fair trade to me. If we're talking more like 5k-10k, then maybe trying to refinance and get into a payment plan you can afford makes more sense.