[2008] Successful cancellation of Westgate purchase

[Passepartout]

Love to read it, but Orlando Sentinel requires a subscription. Oh well, I get the gist anyway. That's why we have to explain to newly defrauded buyers where their paperwork is.

Jim

 

[TUGBrian]

whew, really has the sales folks riled up on that facebook thread now...must have struck a tender nerve!

basically the article says that its a "security pouch" not a hidden pocket...and that all salesfolk are specifically instructed to tell every new owner about the pouch and its contents. This is the official response from westgate when the orlando sentinel reporter contacted them about the pouch.

 

[TUGBrian]

some of the responses sofar

You are just so full of BS!! You create your stories making proof of BS with things done by your colabs, making Your point. Why is that you are eagerly consistently advising people NOT to buy a timeshare huh? Why is that? Where does your advocacy to such a task gets so much energy from? Huh? I see... You and your promotion to invite everyone to go aftermarket, second hand ownership... where YOU are making YOUR GOOD MONEY. Find a way to make money without making so many FALSE STATEMENTS. I worked for Westgate Resorts and can tell you this is a legit company honoring every single vacation interval they sell, You even do not need to book, fixed week, deeded property. Such a big company, I assure you by personal experience, NEVER incur in such practices, since those are NON LEGAL. So You better be aware of what you state ... someday somebody may sue you.

BS. Your are non credible at all.

What you call ' the truth' based on lies, YOUR LIES. Next time you just jump into public opinion making false statements, make sure you have a way to demonstrate in front of law enforcement, Why you guys dont invite Federal Trade Commision inspectors to do a mistery shopping purchase at Westgate and make them take action agains such a practice??? Because you cant proof what is NOT HAPPENING

BS, you are so full of BS man. Shame on You guys.

WHat You call hidden pocket might be a desing feature of a crappy 2 dll bag, wich is crafted by number of millions and NOT SOLD EXCLUSIVELY to Westgate... From the bag having a 'hidden pocket' to malpractice hiding documents intentionally there IS AN ABBYSIM of difference.

TUG charges for membership and they do very well with the fear mongering on the poor unsuspecting timeshare owners.

can follow the facebook thread here:

https://www.facebook.com/TimeshareUsersGroup/posts/10153675842656255

 

[TUGBrian]

oh my, now they claim that TUG planned all this from the start!

To start with, who can assure You guys did not put the documents there, then created this issue notifiying 'this horror story' to the news papers? huh?

 

[Passepartout]

From the look and spelling and punctuation prowess, I'd say that most of those were written by one person and with an IQ in single digits at that.

 

[DeniseM]

Since registration is required:

An attorney for Westgate Resorts denied that the timeshare rental company is hiding instructions for canceling purchase contracts in a folder given to new buyers.

The issue of canceling contracts has been a problem in the industry for years, according to watchdog groups. A large black vinyl folder is given to many new buyers, filled with glossy photos, brochures and an owners manual.

But the details for how to cancel a timeshare purchase, which average around $20,000 each, are tucked into a pouch sealed with Velcro.

Kate Saft, an attorney for Westgate, says the folder is a ‘security pouch’ and not a hidden compartment. But Greg Crist, CEO of National Timeshare Owners Association, said his group has fielded calls and complaints from people who are trying to find instruction on canceling. The so-called hidden pouch was also lambasted online at the Timeshare Users Group, a forum for timeshare owners.

“The contract and public offering statement are the most important of all owner documents, yet they appear to be well-concealed inside an alleged hidden compartment and buried under a bunch of marketing materials,” Crist said. “You would be hard pressed to even find this compartment and if you did, you would almost have to rip the binder apart to even open it up.”

He called on Westgate to make the cancellation instructions easier to find.

Saft said Westgate’s salespeople are required to show buyers where the instructions are located in the folder. She said three other documents signed by buyers show the cancellation procedure, and most people get their documents on a CD-ROM.

“We train them and monitor them, and we listen to hear that that specific thing is said, ‘Here’s where your condo documents are,’” Saft said. “If there are any particular owners that have a complaint, we would like them to contact us, or me.”

 

[raygo123]

What came to mind when reading this was the picture of the hustler with a small table on a busy NYC corner, moving around three shell, with a pea under one, inviting victims to guess which shell it is under.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[csxjohn]

The site want's me to register to continue reading.

 

[DeniseM]

I posted it above

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[Eva01]

Since registration is required:

Hello I just purchased timeshare on Orlando Florida Westgate property in August...my fiance and I are not happy...and want to sell..who do we contact..

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[DeniseM]

Hello I just purchased timeshare on Orlando Florida Westgate property in August...my fiance and I are not happy...and want to sell..who do we contact..

Welcome to TUG - unfortunately there is no way to sell it - it has no resale value.

WHEN did you sign the contract? If recently, you may be able to rescind (cancel your purchase.)

 

[friedshrimp]

hows this? I was on an 80s comedy kick today, so hope you enjoy that slant!

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/westgate-cancellation-secret-pocket.html

Nice page and very informative. Just a note, the $18,000 mentioned was for an "every other year (EOY)" option.....prices for an annual option will be much higher.

 

[friedshrimp]

Hello I just purchased timeshare on Orlando Florida Westgate property in August...my fiance and I are not happy...and want to sell..who do we contact..

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Welcome to TUG - unfortunately there is no way to sell it - it has no resale value.

WHEN did you sign the contract? If recently, you may be able to rescind (cancel your purchase.)

Unfortunately, since they purchased in August and this is October, they are well past their 10 day rescission period. You are correct that the unit has little to no resale value. There only options are to use it or stop paying on it and suffer the consequences of that action.

 

[LannyPC]

.who do we contact..

I will tell you whom not to contact or, for that matter, have any dealings with if/when they call you. Do not go seeking help from relief companies, viking ship companies, upfront resale companies, or law firms. All these companies claim they can magically make your contract disappear or even fetch you tens of thousands of dollars for a sale of your property. These are scams or, at best, questionable companies and firms.

Others have suggested not paying anymore on mortgage or MFs. If you're thinking about going that route, I would suggest contacting the resort's HOA or Westgate's corporate office stating that you will not be paying another penny so it might be in everyone's best interests if the resort will take the TS back (but you would lose all monies paid till this point).

 

[team433]

Thank you guys so much. My wife and I just purchased a property at Westgate Lakes in Orlando on 10/6/2015. I haven't been able to sleep for a week since. This is the kicker. The salesrep and closing officer told us b/c we were purchasing a property from the "owner's inventory" that we only had 3 days to cancel? Has anyone heard of that? I searched and searched online and have yet to find that language. I'm sending my letter with their materials back first thing in the am. My wife is nervous that we will not be able to rescind due to what they said about "owner's inventory" but after reading all the horror stories here, i'm convinced that was just another lie.

We contacted them earlier today b/c there was no cancellation info in our contract. Called them looking for the address to send the letter to. They gave us the run around and tried to send us to the closing officer. Thanks to this site I managed to get all the information I need. I'll sleep better tonight.

 

[Ty1on]

:whoopie:

 

[theo]

....just purchased a property at Westgate Lakes in Orlando on 10/6/2015. I haven't been able to sleep for a week since. This is the kicker. The salesrep and closing officer told us b/c we were purchasing a property from the "owner's inventory" that we only had 3 days to cancel <snip>

What you were told by those two deceitful Wastegate Weasels was (...no real surprise) just pure, unadulterated bull$h!t.
In fact, under applicable Florida law, even buyers in private resale transactions (i.e., no developer involvement) have a 10 day rescission period in FL.

I hope you used the Ocoee, FL address for your rescission letter. Do NOT call those lying parasites again, and don't answer their later desperate calls either.

P.S. Fyi, there are in fact several states in which the rescission period is only 3 days under applicable state law, but Florida (10 days) certainly is not one of them.

P.P.S. You state that you received no rescission information. Frankly, that is highly unlikely, since developers are required by law to provide same to buyers and even slimy Westgate won't flagrantly disregard the rule of law. They hide the rescission information instead. Have you seen any of the posts (or the recent, actual eyewitness photos) posted right here on TUG regarding the hidden velcroed binder pocket which Westgate uses to (...ahem) "provide" the rescission info? Yeah, they "provide" it alright --- but they keep that particular material completely hidden from immediate view and / or easy access. Those people are lower than whale excrement on the ocean floor.

 

[Rocy317]

Hello I just purchased timeshare on Orlando Florida Westgate property in August...my fiance and I are not happy...and want to sell..who do we contact..

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It sounds like it is too late for you to get out of this purchase.
We bought Westgate several years ago. I would never do it again, and would tell anyone else to stay away, but since you own it, I will tell you it's not the end of the world.
We have actually been able to make good use out of it. We have never had any problems with the rooms, housekeeping, maintenance, reservations, front desk, bell services, etc. The trick is avoiding the sales staff. They will hound you relentlessly trying to get you back in to buy more. Anytime we stay there, they call and leave messages in the room (which we ignore), they leave notes on the door telling us something along the lines of "Westgate Corporate requires we come down and be informed of something, blah, blah, blah". Just ignore them. They won't go away, but don't let them ruin your vacation. Never go to any "appointments" they set for you. Never set foot on the second floor of the main building, that's where the parasites feed. Never attend a free breakfast. Never take your ID out of your pocket and show it to anyone accept the Front Desk when you check on, or maybe Bell Services. The sales weasels will take off with your ID and hold it hostage.

Every single non-sales employee we have ever interacted with at Westgate was really wonderful. Any complaints we've ever had about the rooms have been resolved immediately. Just hang out some garlic to keep the sales people away and try to get something for the money you paid.

 

[Jndhotrods]

Thank all you guys!!

Well like many others got myself into a west gate time share.
Thanks to all of you we were able to successfully cancel our contract,
Using only info provided from this site. We were refunded our deposit and
received my confirmation from west gate today....less than 30 days total!!
Thanks again!!

 

[Passepartout]

congratulations. We love to hear these type stories. All timeshare companies are not like Wastgate, but run any resales you consider by us, or heck, just rent from TUGgers.

Jim

 

[Suzzy1990]

Westgate

I just signed contract yesterday I called the lady who did my closeing. She said u can't cancel due to the fact it wasn't a brand new timeshare it was like resale timeshare. She said she was going to try and help me out should I still send in my cancelation letter I have not finished my down payment I only put 500$ down. She told me not to contact the sales department.

 

[Suzzy1990]

Westgate

I just signed contract yesterday I called the lady who did my closeing. She said u can't cancel due to the fact it wasn't a brand new timeshare it was like resale timeshare. She said she was going to try and help me put should I still send in my cancelation letter I have not finished my down payment I only put 500$ down. She told me not to contact the sales department.

 

[jwalk03]

They will continue to lie to you, do not call them. You can still rescind your purchase even if it was a re-sell (unless the purchase was in Vegas I believe.) Send your letter of recession ASAP, as you likely have a very short window to do so. (The exact number of days depends on the state you purchased in.) Follow the instructions EXACTLY as stated in your contract to rescind. With Westgate the instructions are likely on a CD they provided you.

 

[jlic53]

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.

Hi, I'm canceling a timeshare I just purchased. If I purchase a resale in the Westgate property, can I still use RCI and II? Westgate is telling my I cannot use their amenities, RCI, II, or their referral program.

 

[theo]

Hi, I'm canceling a timeshare I just purchased. If I purchase a resale in the Westgate property, can I still use RCI and II? Westgate is telling my I cannot use their amenities, RCI, II, or their referral program.

Whether developer-direct or resale, you would be well advised to stay far, far away from the slimy, deceitful likes of Westgate. Think of them as a communicable disease that you really don't want to contract and it should be a whole lot easier for you to just ignore their lies and assorted fairy tales.

Just rescind (cancel) in writing, ASAP --- and then stay as far away from the Westgate system as possible. Don't call them again either, just to hear more of their lies.

Forewarned is forearmed.