Hi everyone! I'm new here, just joined today because I wanted to post this.
I just came back last night from a trip to Orlando. While in Universal, I was approached by someone who offered a free buffet breakfast and free gift if I attended a 90 minute sales pitch with no obligation to buy. So I said, eh might as well.
At the time I didn't know it would be for timeshares and I had never heard of Westgate before. But, I knew I always wanted to travel to as many places as possible and I was previously interested in owning property, so the whole Westgate thing appealed to me because of their partnership with Interval International that allows you to trade your timeshare in Orlando for a stay for almost anywhere else in the world.
I'm a person who usually does thorough research on anything new I come across and since I had never heard of Westgate, I quickly Googled it while my sales person went to attend to something. The top results centered around "scam" and were on sites like ripoffreport or consumer compaints, etc. And in my head I'm like ohh shiiit.
But they convinced me the deal was good by saying I got a "trade in" whatever that means and they kept telling me i got it way below market value (about $13,000) for the 2bd deluxe and a premium week (week 14) and 5 hours later I signed a deed. But now I'm researching more about Westgate and all I see is SCAM. Which makes me nervous.
The good thing is that I didn't give them any money that day, not even a deposit and they don't have my card information. I qualified for the "bill me later" so my down payment wouldn't be due for 6 months, which is on a Mastercard they gave me, and the first payment wouldn't be till December 11.
What is it that makes Westgate a scam? I'm a bit confused but would like to know in detail. How are people ripped off? all I see in comments are "Westgate is evil--they stole my money!!"....or something along those lines. Can someone explain to me please?
Also, this board has been thorough in providing steps of how to cancel, so thanks for that! Some comments, though, end with "I sent my cancellation (rescind letter)" but I don't see what happens afterwards.
What happens to the "gift" you received from them"? Do they charge me for anything after that? What about the balance on the credit card they gave me? And what of the first balance due in December for me?
They also informed me of their rewards program: referring people for vacations and also referring people to sign up and you get $600. also, they told me you could rent out your timeshare. Any success stories about making a profit from your timeshare?
and what about timeshares in general? is it worth it for me to have it? i'm in my early 20s and single, no kids or hubby or anything. are timeshares better for families or at least with someone you can share the financial burden with or is that just up to personal discretion?
any and all help/advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
I just came back last night from a trip to Orlando. While in Universal, I was approached by someone who offered a free buffet breakfast and free gift if I attended a 90 minute sales pitch with no obligation to buy. So I said, eh might as well.
At the time I didn't know it would be for timeshares and I had never heard of Westgate before. But, I knew I always wanted to travel to as many places as possible and I was previously interested in owning property, so the whole Westgate thing appealed to me because of their partnership with Interval International that allows you to trade your timeshare in Orlando for a stay for almost anywhere else in the world.
I'm a person who usually does thorough research on anything new I come across and since I had never heard of Westgate, I quickly Googled it while my sales person went to attend to something. The top results centered around "scam" and were on sites like ripoffreport or consumer compaints, etc. And in my head I'm like ohh shiiit.
But they convinced me the deal was good by saying I got a "trade in" whatever that means and they kept telling me i got it way below market value (about $13,000) for the 2bd deluxe and a premium week (week 14) and 5 hours later I signed a deed. But now I'm researching more about Westgate and all I see is SCAM. Which makes me nervous.
The good thing is that I didn't give them any money that day, not even a deposit and they don't have my card information. I qualified for the "bill me later" so my down payment wouldn't be due for 6 months, which is on a Mastercard they gave me, and the first payment wouldn't be till December 11.
What is it that makes Westgate a scam? I'm a bit confused but would like to know in detail. How are people ripped off? all I see in comments are "Westgate is evil--they stole my money!!"....or something along those lines. Can someone explain to me please?
Also, this board has been thorough in providing steps of how to cancel, so thanks for that! Some comments, though, end with "I sent my cancellation (rescind letter)" but I don't see what happens afterwards.
What happens to the "gift" you received from them"? Do they charge me for anything after that? What about the balance on the credit card they gave me? And what of the first balance due in December for me?
They also informed me of their rewards program: referring people for vacations and also referring people to sign up and you get $600. also, they told me you could rent out your timeshare. Any success stories about making a profit from your timeshare?
and what about timeshares in general? is it worth it for me to have it? i'm in my early 20s and single, no kids or hubby or anything. are timeshares better for families or at least with someone you can share the financial burden with or is that just up to personal discretion?
any and all help/advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
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