[2008] Successful cancellation of Westgate purchase

[DeniseM]

I have the binder and tablet in a flat rate priority mail box. I just want to confirm that this goes to the resort I purchased the timeshare from and not to the same address that I sent the letter to in Florida? Also should I put ATTN to the lady that did all our paperwork and gave us the stuff?

I would send it all to the address for rescinding, unless the written instructions direct you to send it somewhere else.

Why? If you mail it to the sales office that lost your commission, they don't have much motivation to notify the office that handles recessions that you returned it.

***Can you insure a flat rate box? (because of the tablet.)

 

[jwalk03]

I have the binder and tablet in a flat rate priority mail box. I just want to confirm that this goes to the resort I purchased the timeshare from and not to the same address that I sent the letter to in Florida? Also should I put ATTN to the lady that did all our paperwork and gave us the stuff?

We sent ours back to the Corporate Address we sent the recession letter to, and included a copy of the letter in the box.

Also a Flat Rate box is not typically the cheapest mailing option. If you have a box laying around it would likely by cheaper to package yourself and send via regular parcel post. (Flat rate will work of course, just point out there may be a cheaper option.)

 

[Gabby691]

Thanks everyone. I mailed it to the Florida address yesterday. Hopefully I will get my refund soon.

 

[theo]

Thanks everyone. I mailed it to the Florida address yesterday. Hopefully I will get my refund soon.

1. I hope that by "the Florida address" you specifically mean 2801 Old Winter Garden Road, Ocoee, FL 34761 --- the correct address to which to send your rescission.

2. If submitted to the correct address and within the state law specified time frame / deadline, know that Westgate has absolutely no choice other than to cancel the contract and issue 100% refund; it's the law. However, also keep in mind that it could (lawfully) take up to 45 days for you to receive that 100% refund --- and Westgate has been previously reported by other rescinding buyers in these TUG forums to have taken every bit of that allowed 45 days to issue the refund, as required by law.

3. Do not answer any phone calls you may receive from the disappointed Wastegate Weasels after they receive your rescission letter, seeking to salvage their fast-disappearing sales commission. No possible good can come from any such (...legally meaningless anyhow) telephone conversations.

 

[Clenz_Cozmo]

How to opt out westgate resort

So I'm new to this. I purchased a 1br villa at Westgate las Vegas on December 31 2015. I now feel it has become too much of a liability and want to opt out. I don't know if I can get my money back or how to go about this effectively. Do you guys have any pointers that may help?

 

[LannyPC]

So I'm new to this. I purchased a 1br villa at Westgate las Vegas on December 31 2015. I now feel it has become too much of a liability and want to opt out. I don't know if I can get my money back or how to go about this effectively. Do you guys have any pointers that may help?

The first piece of advice is to not pay any company (no matter what this company calls itself) any sort of upfront fee to get you out of your TS.

Do you have the mortgage paid off and are you up to date on the MFs? If so, then try the free giveaway method here on TUG. You might also want to contact the resort and ask if it will take your TS back. If the answer is No, then threaten to not pay another penny in MFs and then see what happens.

 

[Clenz_Cozmo]

So far, all I've paid off was the deposit. I was making payments, and was told that my mortgage payments would be a set price $250 less per month than my payments for deposit. Than all of a sudden, they hit me with something called a renewal fee that I have to pay for the next 18 months so that combined with my mortgage payments is actually only $100 less per month. They also said I would receive some type of binding that states by doing so my maintenance fee would stay at a fixed rate instead of increasing indefinitely. However, that was almost 2 months ago and I haven't received anything. I just want to be done with them all together.

 

[Passepartout]

You very well could have some difficult decisions. It's up to you whether you feel like losing whatever you've paid these vultures, plus whatever you pay in the future, because even IF you tough it out and pay off the mortgage, it's worth nothing. Zero. Zilch- in fact owners have to pay buyers to take Wastegate TSs.

You had the opportunity for a few days after buying where the state allowed you to get out of it and Wastegate had no choice but to honor your wishes. Sadly, that opportunity is gone. If you are going to try to just default (stop paying), they will definitely play hardball. Starting with letters and phone calls, then threats to not allow you to use your timeshare, then threats to send you to collection, then actually sending you to collection, resulting in more letters and phone calls, then bad credit report(s) with the credit agencies, resulting in lower credit scores, higher interest on car, home, consumer credit loans. Finally, they DO give up and foreclose, taking the week back, and eventually with hard work and diligence,, you can rebuild your good credit. It might take 10 or more years.

Sorry for the bad news, but that's how they play. As stated above, DO NOT fall for any of the 'get you out of your timeshare' offers you will see. We know of none of those that do more than take your money, do nothing, and disappear, while you still own the timeshare and have the continued responsibility.

Best wishes......

Jim

 

[Clenz_Cozmo]

Kind of sounds like a lose lose. But myself personally would probably be better off getting a ding on my credit instead of being short on funds investing in something that doesn't make any sense for years on end. That's just me though. I guess the best thing to do would talk to them and see how that goes. Either way, it doesn't look I'll be continuing with them but who knows, the convo could go better than expected.

 

[dperk104]

Divorcing Westgate

In September we went to a sales presentation at the Westgate hotel. I was pressured into buying. I made a partial down payment of $500. We got home and realized afterwards that we wouldn't be able to do the timeshare (additional college fees for our son). How do I divorce Westgate?

 

[jwalk03]

In September we went to a sales presentation at the Westgate hotel. I was pressured into buying. I made a partial down payment of $500. We got home and realized afterwards that we wouldn't be able to do the timeshare (additional college fees for our son). How do I divorce Westgate?

You are likely already past your legally entitled recession period. (depends on what state you bought in, but typically only 3-10 days.) If that is the case, there are not great options. Read through this thread and you can see what those options are. (foreclosure, deed-back, learn how to use what you have for the best.)

 

[Dugg2478]

Westgate Shanghai

Hello everyone, I was hoping to receive some guidance or recommendations in regards to a Westgate contract that we foolishly signed. My wife and I were staying at the Smoky Mountain Westgate property in August and we went to their presentation (and a warning to those not “in the know”, Westgate “concierge” are just disguised salesmen). Anyways, the 90 minute presentation became two hours, three hours, four hours. We kept saying no to their offers and their counter offers, at least five times. They then presented us with a “Vacation Traveler – Vacation Occupancy & Price Lock-In Agreement” which we caved on. We signed this on August 23. After returning home we began looking up information as to whether or not we could rescind, and according to Tennessee State Law, it appeared that we could. The right to cancel a contract in Tennessee cannot be waived by any clause in the contract, and the cancellation period for contracts in Tennessee is 10 days. So we drafted up a letter stating that we wished to cancel the contract, and we wanted all monies returned to us. This was postmarked on August 31. We sent it to the Windhover Drive address in Ocoee as it was the only address provided on the contract.

Around September 13, we received a letter back from Westgate, dated September 9. In a stock response, it stated that “we regret to inform you that we are unable to process this request” and “according to the terms of the contract you signed, your request is beyond the rescission period”.

On September 17, we typed up another response and sent it back to them. We again affirmed our rights to rescind under Tennessee State Law. Also in this response, we attached Westgate’s September 9 response to us, our original request letter from August 31, and a copy of the postmark which clearly shows we were within the 10 day window to rescind.

On October 5, we received another letter from them refusing our request to rescind. In fact, it was the same exact stock response, word for word, as the first letter we received from them. Around this time we also began receiving nastygrams from them for late payment. As we fear they will attack our credit, we made one payment. We received another late payment notice this past week as well.

This is where we are looking for assistance, since it seems Westgate will not budge. Are “Vacation Travelers” treated different than standard timeshare purchases in that state laws do not protect the purchaser in the same manner? I have also noticed this, on the contract we signed, in bold and all caps, it states, “Not subject to cancellation: It is expressly understood and agred that this agreement is not subject to cancellation.” And yes, “agreed” is misspelled in the contract.

I am usually not one to reach out on a forum for help, but we really feel like we are at an impasse. Any information or suggestions that the community could provide for us would be so gratefully appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[TUGBrian]

report this to the Tennessee state Atty Generals office as well as the AGs office in your home state. (reply to westgate saying you are doing so as well)

as long as you have copies of the rescission letter and proof it was postmarked before the 10th day, you should be just fine. The law does not permit them to unilaterally ignore your rescission letter if it was sent in time to the correct address.

 

[min123]

Hello everyone, i'm glad i found this forum before its too late. we recently purchase a timeshare while we were on vacation at westgate palace orlando florida last week 12-22-2016. thanks to you guys i was able to find the sealed orange envelope that contains our contract. today i mailed them a letter with our intent to cancel via certified mail with return signature. i include both our name and signature and our westgate acount # in the letter and mailed it to Westgate Palace LLC, 2801 Winter Garden rd, Ocoee rd, Fl. I forgot to include a copy of our contract and i forgot to write the parcel ID# in the letter. Do i need to send them another letter? TIA

is the westgate account # the same as the contract#? (its 11 digit written in almost every page of the contract).

also do i need to cancel my credit card. how do i get my refund if cc is cancelled. i can not sleep good at night until i get a confirmation that they cancelled the contract.

 

[Centurion]

Do i need to send them another letter? TIA.

Other people in the forum would say that you are fine just sending the first letter. I for one would strongly recommend a follow-up certified letter including all the information that you left out of the first letter and reference that the first letter was your official cancellation request.

is the westgate account # the same as the contract#?.

You will be fine just referencing the contract number. Most developers have a contract number and an owner number because many owners have multiple contract numbers assigned. If you have only the one Westgate it should be ok to just reference the account number.

o i need to cancel my credit card. how do i get my refund if cc is cancelled.

If you paid with a credit card you have additional protections. VISA has an extended 14 day cancellation period. Once you have received proof of delivery from the first mailed letter I would suggest calling your credit card company and providing them with that confirmation number for the requested refund. They will promptly credit your card account. Cancelling the card outright is not necessary unless you do not need to credit line.

 

[min123]

Thanks for the response. I read the cancellation instruction in the contract, even though it only state to send a letter of intent to cancel, i will still send them another letter that includes the parcel ID# & a copy of the contract so they can easily identify us just to be sure. never again.

 

[angelagiaco]

We signed up for Westgate timeshare Orlando on Monday of last week, so it hasn't quite been a week yet. We want to cancel ASAP. I've got a little one running around and am at the airport so I don't have a lot of time to read through all of this, can someone tell us step by step what we need to do to ensure the cancellation process goes as smoothly as possible? THANK YOU!

 

[clifffaith]

You need to dig through your stack of paperwork to find the cancellation page, then follow those instructions about where and how to send the cancel.

 

[theo]

We signed up for Westgate timeshare Orlando on Monday of last week, so it hasn't quite been a week yet. We want to cancel ASAP. I've got a little one running around and am at the airport so I don't have a lot of time to read through all of this, can someone tell us step by step what we need to do to ensure the cancellation process goes as smoothly as possible? THANK YOU!

Your cancellation letter must be postmarked (not received, just postmarked) within 10 days of contract execution, per FL law. It's now the weekend and this coming Monday is a federal holiday, so post offices will be closed. I'd suggest being at a USPS counter with your completed letter, ready to be mailed, on Tuesday.

You're very lucky, by the way; in most states you would already be too late to rescind / cancel (only 5 or 7 days to cancel in most states and only 3 days in several states including Indiana, Ohio, Massachusetts.

Anyway, your rescission / cancellation initiative should proceed as follows:

Identify the purchase contract in your rescission letter by its' date, contract number, location of purchase. "I hereby rescind this contract" will just about do it, with the original signature(s) of everyone who signed the contract. You don't need to provide any reason, sob story or explanation of any kind; you are exercising a right provided to you by applicable state law. Include a photocopy of the contract if possible (it's not absolutely necessary to do so) but keep all original documents. Send the rescission (cancellation) letter by certified mail and save your USPS counter-issued date stamped receipt; it's your proof of having met the 10 days deadline identified by FL law. Send your cancellation letter to:

Westgate Resorts
2801 Old Winter Garden Road
Ocoee, FL 34761 ........................***unless*** you find something in your rescission instructions that very clearly specifies otherwise. Knowing how slimy Westgate operates, you may actually have some difficulty even finding their well hidden rescission instructions at all.

Do not answer the phone when Westgate inevitably calls you later to try to "sweeten the deal" and get you to reverse your contract cancellation. You really don't want anything whatsoever to do with the likes of Westgate. Be grateful that you still have (albeit now very limited) time to reverse that unfortunate and ill-considered decision to sign that contract in the first place.

It could (lawfully) take up to 45 days before you actually have your deposit back in hand, but it won't likely take that long. Rest assured that they are legally obligated to refund 100% of your deposit. If you meet the rescission deadline, they have no other choice or option in the matter. It's the law, plainly and simply stated --- it's certainly not a voluntary act of kindness, consideration or benevolence on their part.

Tick tock. Don't delay; you are approaching the end of the time period during which FL law allows you to cancel. If you snooze, you will lose.

 

[LannyPC]

There's a sticky at the top of this Buying, Selling, & Renting forum showing you how to rescind a contract:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?...-rescind-cancel-my-timeshare-purchase.189301/

 

[angelagiaco]

Tick tock. Don't delay; you are approaching the end of the time period during which FL law allows you to cancel. If you snooze, you will lose.

Thanks for your help! What do we do with the tablet and documents/binder? We are preparing to send out the letter tomorrow.

Thank you!

 

[theo]

What do we do with the tablet and documents/binder? We are preparing to send out the letter tomorrow.

You certainly need not return those items with your certified mail rescission letter (which is obviously the top priority here), but if you don't return them they can (and likely would) lawfully deduct the retail value of the tablet from your later refund.

Mention in your rescission letter that those other items will be promptly returned "under separate cover". You might consider sending the tablet back by insured mail, but that's up to you. Keep all originals of contract related documents, but send everything else back --- where it belongs.

 

[Passepartout]

Thanks for your help! What do we do with the tablet and documents/binder? We are preparing to send out the letter tomorrow.

Thank you!

Put 'em in a flat rate box, insure it and send to the same 2801 Old whatever it is- address. Include a copy of the contract signature page for identification. Congrats for getting out of their gasp. We don't call 'em Wastegate for nothing.

 

[Dannyr]

I SENT IN THE LETTER TO CANCEL MY TIMESHARE TO THE FLORIDA ADDRESS. BEFORE THE 5 DAYS I HAVE PROFF OF DELIVERY AND I HAVENT RECIEVED A RESPONSE OR A LETTER OR ANYTHING. ITS BEEN 3 WEEKS

 

[Passepartout]

I SENT IN THE LETTER TO CANCEL MY TIMESHARE TO THE FLORIDA ADDRESS. BEFORE THE 5 DAYS I HAVE PROFF OF DELIVERY AND I HAVENT RECIEVED A RESPONSE OR A LETTER OR ANYTHING. ITS BEEN 3 WEEKS

Good. That's what you want to happen. They are required by law to process your rescission and refund your down payment. They are NOT required to inform you. Depending on the billing cycle of your credit card, it can take as much as 45 days to see the credit refunded.

Regarding your caps lock. There's NO REASON TO SHOUT.

Jim