[2008] Successful cancellation of Westgate purchase

Hello Tuggers!

I am a new member of these discussion boards, thanks for sharing your knowledge and wisdom. We toured Westgate Woods- Branson two years ago and bought a vacation sampler week. We just took our trip using this pre-paid vacation week at the Westgate Smokey Mountains resort in Gatlinburg in May. We loved the Smokey Mountains and in the midst of vacation bliss purchased a one week EOY 1 bedroom deluxe timeshare. The price of the sampler week counted toward the down payment and it had guaranteed our price quote from two years ago, so the salesperson made it sound like we were getting a big price discount off the current prices. After returning home my husband had second thoughts and I did some reading on these message boards and the message boards on Redweek, and we decided to cancel the purchase.

I sent registered letters to Westgate and shipped them the briefcase of owners materials. I have now received the credit on my credit card for the balance of the downpayment and received a letter that the purchase has been cancelled. The only cost to us was $30 for the new owners breakfast ( where they tell you about the owner referral program ) and the $26 postage.

We will now spend more time considering our options for either just renting timeshare weeks or buying resale.

Vacations are very important to me, as I want to visit so many places and enjoy life as much as possible. Thanks again for all the wisdom and information on these message boards.

Renee
St. Charles, MO














newbie

Stay away from Wastegate - you did well!

Congratulations. Avoiding any retail timeshare in favor of resale is a smart and money saving move. Avoiding Wastegate is a BRILLIANT move. Its no deal at retail, resale, "I got it for free" or even "they paid me to take it" when you have to deal with a conniving and underhanded organization as they have proven to be over and over again. Having a nice resort can't make up for the problems of the management and owner of Wastegate.

Good for you, Renee...welcome to TUG!
Connie

Buy Resale. Save $10,000

rsm said:

I have now received the credit on my credit card for the balance of the downpayment and received a letter that the purchase has been cancelled. The only cost to us was $30 for the new owners breakfast ( where they tell you about the owner referral program ) and the $26 postage.

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Congratulations on getting out of it while the getting was good.

I'm puzzled by $30 for a new owners breakfast. Whussup with that ?

In any case, by buying your timeshare resale instead of paying full freight to the timeshare company, you will come out so far ahead that you can spring for lots & lots of non-free breakfasts at upscale eateries & still be way, way ahead of the game.

When you buy your resale timeshare, a case can be made that you also come out ahead by taking care to make sure you're getting a non-WestGate timeshare. But that's another story.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Congrats on the successful rescission! I agree 100% with everything said so far on this thread!

Charging you $30 for attending their sales presentation is a rip-off, but at least that's all they got you for! (And, it seems you were happy with the vacation you received, so you got good value from your sampler package.) If you want to get that $30 back, in a year or so do one of Westgate's tours to get the "free gift", then spend the whole time telling them you're only there because they ripped you off and you want your $30 back (with interest!)

Better yet, just buy a good resale unit from another company and ignore Westgate completely. I don't own in the immediate area of Westgate Smoky Mountains, but I do own several units in the Smoky Mountains area of NC. There are plenty of inexpensive resales there. If you plan to exchange your week, I suggest getting a week that trades in both RCI and II; PM me if you want specific suggestions.

Westgate Cancellation Address

For anyone who is looking for this here is the address that you need to send your recession letter to to cancel your Westgate Timeshare. They will not give it to you. I found it on the addendum CD that was given to me at closing. No one that I talked to at the resort or at the corporate office would give it to me. They stated that they did not know it. I found it myself and successfully canceled my Westgate timeshare.
Westgate Resorts, Ltd.
2801 Professional Parkway
Ocoee, Florida 34761

On the CD it will state how long you have after the closing date to have it in to them. I research Tennessee Timeshare Rules on the State of Tenn. government website and found that I had 10 days from time of closing to have the recession letter postmarked. You need to look at the addendum CD and research Timeshare rules from the state in which you purchased to timeshare for that states timeshare grace period. They are all different.

I am thinking that acknowledging the receipt of the CD would not stand up as agreeing to all of terms included in the electronic document.

None the less I am sure they would attempt to argue that if it was beyong the recission period

Great Job on getting out of a contract with the devil-lip-whore

timeos2 said:

Congratulations. Avoiding any retail timeshare in favor of resale is a smart and money saving move. Avoiding Wastegate is a BRILLIANT move. Its no deal at retail, resale, "I got it for free" or even "they paid me to take it" when you have to deal with a conniving and underhanded organization as they have proven to be over and over again. Having a nice resort can't make up for the problems of the management and owner of Wastegate.

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Hi John,detecting your obvious dislike for Westgate.I am becoming more worried.We have been owners since 2003/2004 what exactly is the problem,or does it only come to light when onr tries to sell or rent?

bathroomuser ( )

If you tried to sell this TS in the current economy, you would quickly discover that it has no resale value.

Dare I ask about your user name? I know that "bathroom" has different connotations in the UK.

I know I learned my lesson, never buy retail again. I wish I found this board before I bought my property.

Yes, it comes along eventually

bathroomuser said:

Hi John,detecting your obvious dislike for Westgate.I am becoming more worried.We have been owners since 2003/2004 what exactly is the problem,or does it only come to light when onr tries to sell or rent?

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Sorry for the delay. Didn't see your post until now.

My dislike (or worse) for Wastegate is deep rooted. Like you we were long time owners (over 10 years) with no real complaints, Then the beast that s Wastegate management raised its ugly head. First we were treated to increased fees for unwanted housekeeping, admittedly done to help sales, When that got dropped due to owner backlash the fees never returned to the original level. The HOA is nearing 20 years old yet the majority o Board member are not owners as required by law but hand picked Wastegate stooges.

Then they started with the "season upgrade" nonsense after over a decade of what they had promised (all weeks equal) followed by the move to assign weeks to II for trade that were different than your deeded ownership (and, of course, not as valuable in trade). They have no right to do that - RCI won't let them - but with II they get away with it.

Then there are the bogus "commissions" and non-existent ROFR they claim to hold (in most weeks prior to 2006 they do NOT) among many other outrageous actions/claims.

Of course all of this in the backdrop of the never ending harassment of owners (& guests) to buy buy buy! Sales is the ONLY thing that matters to this corrupt group.

I have now attended the past two Annual Owners meetings to raise my concerns. They are brushed off as "not a problem for most owners and we have hundred of thousands". At those meetings it was revealed that our maintenance fees, which are supposed to be kept separate for the Association/phase we pay for/own - are apparently freely mixed with other phases as they wish. It was reported that our money was going to sections of Town Center - built within the past four years - to correct construction issues the Developer (Wastegate AGAIN - not any Association and certainly not one that isn't even part of that development) should be responsible for!

It goes on and on but that should give you the gist of it. They are not ot be trusted. IMO they are crooked, conniving Weasels that deserve to be shut down, The only happy Wastegate owner is the one they haven't quite gotten around to screwing over - yet. It WILL happen, it's just a matter of when.

DeniseM said:

bathroomuser ( )

If you tried to sell this TS in the current economy, you would quickly discover that it has no resale value.

Dare I ask about your user name? I know that "bathroom" has different connotations in the UK.

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Ha Ha !
Yeah. my user name is down to my 14 year old son and his sense of humour[twisted]!! But you've worried me now, I really hope that my user name isn't offensive in the US. If so, maybe I will change it as no offence was intended.
Apologies for the delay in answering.have been a bit busy.

bathroomuser said:

Ha Ha !
Yeah. my user name is down to my 14 year old son and his sense of humour[twisted]!! But you've worried me now, I really hope that my user name isn't offensive in the US. If so, maybe I will change it as no offence was intended.
Apologies for the delay in answering.have been a bit busy.

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great name and avatar. then again i'm in my early 20's and most likely share your son's sense of humor.

It's not offensive at all - but can you explain the connotation in the UK?

Can you clarify, please? Did you actually receive a refund for the purchase price of your Sampler Plan? We just paid for a Sampler Plan (Diamond Resorts) and have one year to visit one of approx 23 resorts. Got home and decided it wasn't for us but Diamond refuses to refund our credit card for the Sampler Plan purchase. Any suggestions?

Cancellation of westgate purchase

krafty767 said:

For anyone who is looking for this here is the address that you need to send your recession letter to to cancel your Westgate Timeshare. They will not give it to you. I found it on the addendum CD that was given to me at closing. No one that I talked to at the resort or at the corporate office would give it to me. They stated that they did not know it. I found it myself and successfully canceled my Westgate timeshare.
Westgate Resorts, Ltd.
2801 Professional Parkway
Ocoee, Florida 34761

On the CD it will state how long you have after the closing date to have it in to them. I research Tennessee Timeshare Rules on the State of Tenn. government website and found that I had 10 days from time of closing to have the recession letter postmarked. You need to look at the addendum CD and research Timeshare rules from the state in which you purchased to timeshare for that states timeshare grace period. They are all different.

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Hi to all, to bad i got to know this page only now...
I bought a westgate timeshare at town hall center last november 2009 and i would like to cancel this contract can someone help with how to do so... What are the procedures???

I'm sorry, but it's much to late. The legal rescission period is usually about 5-10 days.

freddy said:

Can you clarify, please? Did you actually receive a refund for the purchase price of your Sampler Plan? We just paid for a Sampler Plan (Diamond Resorts) and have one year to visit one of approx 23 resorts. Got home and decided it wasn't for us but Diamond refuses to refund our credit card for the Sampler Plan purchase. Any suggestions?

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Usually the Sampler plan packages are non-refundable - probably because they are not actually real estate purchases and therefore are not necessarily governed by the same laws including rescission rights. When you purchase a sampler package, usually you are giving yourself a week of vacation during which you will be able to test drive their system. Generally the sampler plan contracts also lock in purchase price at whatever the developer rate is when you purchase your sampler. If you choose to convert your sampler package to an ownership interest (by making an additional purchase), that would usually be when right of rescission comes into play. I don't think rescission applies to most sampler packages - but of course everyone should check the details of their own contract.

westgate

I bought at westgate Lakes in 2006,,I was told at the settlement table that there was not a 10 day right to cancell at the settlement table by the closing person...was that the case for you and if so I am now tring to reach the attorney general to render and complaint...

mommabee135 said:

I bought at westgate Lakes in 2006,,I was told at the settlement table that there was not a 10 day right to cancell at the settlement table by the closing person...was that the case for you and if so I am now tring to reach the attorney general to render and complaint...

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If they specified that there was not a 10 day rescission period (right to cancel), that was probably true, but misleading. Rescission periods will vary from state to state. 10 days is one of the longer rescission periods. Tennessee is one of the states that has 10 days as the period of rescission. Florida's timeframe is likely shorter than that, although I don't know how long off the top of my head. Your contract is legally required to contain the information on rescission, although it is my understanding that Westgate frequently attempts to skirt around this by providing the documents on a CD which many people are mysteriously unable to open.

Westgate Gatlinburg - Lies Lies Lies

My husband and I spent the last day of our vacation in a room with salesmen for 5 hours! FIVE HOURS!!! It was like an interrogation room! I was mentally unable to process the information anymore and when we would try to leave they would act like it was ok and say "ok well thank you BUT HANG ON, there is someone else who I'd like to speak with you" OH MY GOD!!!!!

We ended up not buying (or so we thought) an actual timeshare, but a week vacation which would go toward the purchase should we decide later to buy. When we came home and figured up the cost as being WAY MORE than we would spend creating our own vacation package, we tried to cancel and was refused.

All that was left to do was cancel our bank acct and switch banks so they could not pull any more money and let them turn us over to collections. Now we have points against our credit but, I do not even care because Westgate got nothing and will never get anything from us!!!!!

kelmore said:

All that was left to do was cancel our bank acct and switch banks so they could not pull any more money and let them turn us over to collections. Now we have points against our credit but, I do not even care because Westgate got nothing and will never get anything from us!!!!!

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Isn't it sad that you have to take drastic measures such as that to jsu get away from these vultures? Congratulations on a great choice to do whatever you needed to do to end any relationship with the undisputed worst timeshare organization in the world. Had you kept any type of ownership / package with them you'd regret it forever. Now move on - thankfully the nightmare that is Wastegate is over for you. Hopefully others will see your post and be better prepared to deal with these people if it ever happens to them. Thanks for posting.

Passed 10 day period

What if I have passed the 10 day period to cancel and would like to cancel? What is the penalty? Can I cancel? :'(

yfeliz2007 said:

What if I have passed the 10 day period to cancel and would like to cancel? What is the penalty? Can I cancel? :'(

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Unless Wastegate agrees to a buy out of some type after the 10 days pass you own it. Sorry - try to get some value out of use/trade/rental. And never buy timeshare retail from anyone again.

Please help!!!!

kelmore said:

My husband and I spent the last day of our vacation in a room with salesmen for 5 hours! FIVE HOURS!!! It was like an interrogation room! I was mentally unable to process the information anymore and when we would try to leave they would act like it was ok and say "ok well thank you BUT HANG ON, there is someone else who I'd like to speak with you" OH MY GOD!!!!!

We ended up not buying (or so we thought) an actual timeshare, but a week vacation which would go toward the purchase should we decide later to buy. When we came home and figured up the cost as being WAY MORE than we would spend creating our own vacation package, we tried to cancel and was refused.

All that was left to do was cancel our bank acct and switch banks so they could not pull any more money and let them turn us over to collections. Now we have points against our credit but, I do not even care because Westgate got nothing and will never get anything from us!!!!!

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*** My family and I just stayed at the West Gate Spa and resort in orlando and this exact same thing happen to us... we had our 3 kids and my oldest daughters friend and i kept telling them we needed to leave because we had a big day planned. The "manager" had my debit card and I kept asking for it back and was told he had given it to the closers up stairs and that I would have to wait. I was getting really upset and so the man said they would rush us ahead of everyone waiting. I kept telling the man this was all moving too fast and i needed some space to think it through. I explained i needed to work with the numbers and information they were given my self. He kept presuring me and would not give me space. I wanted to walk to my car and just take a breather and I was told if I left the building and changed my mind it was too late. I was told why would I not do this... He asked me did I want to give my children a good life or not>??? Then told me if we (my husband and I ) wanted to really help our family for the long run then we would make this deal. He told us we were getting a below market rate./ The cost was only 8000.00 before the interest rate./ My kids were really upset wanting to leave and my husband and i felt the only way to get our card back and leave was to sign/ So we did and within a couple hours I knew it wasnt a smart choice. Onces I was away and could think.... I feel so stupid... Now I just need to figure out how to get out of this!!!! Any advice would be great... This was just yesterday 7/27/2012 So I need to move fast/ The closer told me I couldnt change my mind onces the papers were signed.... But I should be able to... There should be some type of period to change my mind... I dont know but I am not against closing my bank account and having BOA reverse the charge on my card/