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Another $15,949 105k point buyer who wants to rescind

CampingMan

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Hi All,

My family went on an awesome vacation to the Smoky Mountains last week.
We stayed in a cabin for 3 nights, then hotels for the other 3. On the second to last day of our vacation, we were walking in Gatlinburg when we were hit up for free tickets and cash from a Wyndham Vacation Resorts time share vendor.
We listened to him for a while and he offered us $100 credit card, and 3day/2night hotel voucher if we agree to take a 2 hour tour the following morning. OK, why not? Also somewhat interested in the timeshare thing.
So, we went to the meeting at 9:30am with our 2 young children (the guy said there would be plenty for them to do and it would be fun for them).
We show up and everyone's friendly and we meet our sales agent. We're taken upstairs to a TINY table in a crowded room full of people. First thing going through my head is, ok, how long are the kids going to last?!
So we sit down and start chit chatting... about an hour and a half goes by and then we get the video presentation and then take a tour of the actual resort in Sevierville. All looks nice. Kids are doing really good but we're about 3 hours into it. So we get back to the table to discuss how much this thing actually costs and have to listen to the whole rent a hotel/vs own a timeshare deal. By the way, the sales agent had only been there a week and didn't really know what she was doing, and her manager was on vacation. So when I start asking questions we get another guy to help her. He is nice, but very impatient in my opinion. First package they show will cost us over $500/mo and was like $30k. I said there's no way we could afford this. We get down to a 105,000 point/year package that costs $15,949. Broken down to monthly payments and split between a couple of financing options it didn't sound that bad, but they were very fast with the numbers and didn't want to spend too much time going over all the details. We were told we could get the payments down to an affordable amount if we just refinanced the amount through our local bank since we had A++ credit (starting to sound familiar??)...
Also we were enrolled in RCI where we could get 1 week hotel stays for $199 anytime, LeisurePlan that saves us 50% on hotels, VIP status since we got 195,000 bonus points good for 2 years, and some rewards thing. To me it was just a lot of extras designed to look and sound good but actually confuse you.
So, we ended up saying yes. Immediately we get the sparkling cider, cheese & crackers, and our pictures taken...
Now it's about 4 hours in. Since about 3 hours in we're were told "it will only be a few more minutes..." Kids are still doing pretty good, but getting a little fussy.
Now, we are taken downstairs and have to sign a mountain of paperwork.

Long story short, my wife and I got out in the parking lot (almost 7 hours later) and were like "What did we just do???" Besides, we just lost most of our last vacation day.

Thanks to this BBS we see others who have gone through this and realize it's possible to cancel the contract (we are only 3 days in since signing). So Monday I'll send the rescission letters out and hope everything goes well.

We normally don't fall for this stuff, but they are quite friendly, everything looks nice, and they move very quick.

PLEASE, ANYONE GOING TO THE TOUR, DO NOT GO THROUGH WITH THIS UNTIL YOU'VE DONE SOME HOMEWORK!!!

I never considered buying a time share until this, and I wish I would have just said NO, and taken my $100 and 2 night hotel voucher.

I hope this story helps others who have just signed with Wyndham and are wondering, what the heck did we just do and can we get out of it?
They didn't tell us that we had 10 days to cancel for a reason.
Oh, and we were promised a 5day/4night Orlando vacation if we sign, which we cleverly did not get with our gifts, they told us they would mail it.


I have some questions:
- Does rescinding on a contract like this have any negative effects on our credit?
- The re-sale offers for a fraction of the price, do you own the timeshare or are you just renting? How does this work, where are some good resources for more info?
- Do you think we still get to keep the $100 and 2night hotel voucher, which were "free gifts"

I'll keep you posted on our situation. I read the post from Brian who went through the same ordeal last month and it was very helpful.

THANK YOU!!
 

Carol C

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Definitely rescind and send your letter to them certified mail on Monday. If you put a downpayment on a credit card, proactively put that charge into dispute. Don't worry about your credit rating. And yes you can keep the free 2 night stay they used to entice you to their sales room. I bought from developers in Mexico before I ever heard of TUG, so I've been in your shoes and know the feeling of "what did I just do?" Btw, did you find TUG before or after you went on vacation and signed up for a timeshare purchase? Just curious. :hi:

P.S. You can find good deals on ebay for Wyndham pts plans. I bought my first batch, 105K pts, for 1 grand plus closing costs. I now have 364K pts, all bought resale. Points are points so don't worry about them being "used".
 

bnoble

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- Does rescinding on a contract like this have any negative effects on our credit?
Nope! Be sure to follow the directions in the contract precisely.

- The re-sale offers for a fraction of the price, do you own the timeshare or are you just renting? How does this work, where are some good resources for more info?
There is a great Wyndham owners forum at forums.atozed.com You own it. Resale points are generally not eligible for Plus Parnters (almost totally worthless) and cannot be counted towards VIP status (some value, but no where near what it costs.) Otherwise, they are exactly the same as those from the developer.

- Do you think we still get to keep the $100 and 2night hotel voucher, which were "free gifts"
You bet!

Welcome to TUG! I'm a Wyndahm owner (resale) and have been 100% happy with my ownership. It's a good system, and on the resale market a tremendous value; perhaps one of the best in timeshare.
 

CampingMan

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Carol C,

We only found TUG BBS after we bought and returned home and immediately started researching WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET OUT OF THIS?? :)

Thanks!
 

CampingMan

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Thanks bnoble.

I will deffinitely look into buying points resale and probably will have some questions about this.

Also curious if anyone has used RCI "Last Call" to actually book a 1 week resort stay for $199, or was this just BS?
 

lengels5

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I used RCI to book a week. I don't know if it was last call, however, it only cost me $165. I am also a Wyndham owner and we love the program. If it were not for Wyndham, we would not vacation the way we do now. I totally understand your "What did I just do?". If you're more comfortable rescinding, then do it. If you ever decide to become owners, these forums are very helpful.
 

bnoble

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I got a last call at the tail end of ski season in northern lower Michigan, just to use a couple of weekend nights. Worked out to be a pretty good deal.

It's generally offseason, low-demand stuff, but sometimes you can find something you can use.
 

AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
Last Call & Instant Exchange Are Both The Real Deal.

Also curious if anyone has used RCI "Last Call" to actually book a 1 week resort stay for $199, or was this just BS?
Last Call rates vary with unit size, but Last Call is for real -- luxury timeshare accommodations for roughly Motel 6 & Super 8 rates. We use Last Call frequently & we love it.

Ditto RCI Instant Exchange reservations -- a whole week in an RCI Weeks timeshare resort for no more than 9,000 points + exchange fee when the reservation is made within 45 days of check-in.

Since joining RCI Points, we've done a straight-points timeshare exchange exactly 1 time, but we've done Last Call & Instant Exchange several times.

For us, timeshare vacationing makes sense only because of buying timeshares resale for nickels on the full-freight dollar, & because of bargain last minute reservations through RCI Last Call & Instant Exchange. Full-freight timeshares for big bux are a non-starter.

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

 

AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
Exactly Right !

I've been meaning to ask: where you are finding a Motel 6 or a Super 8 for only $250 the week?
That's just it -- Motel 6 & Super 8 rack rates are just the baseline for comparison.

With just a bit of craftiness & thriftiness, it's possible to stay in luxury timeshare accommodations for less than Motel 6 & Super 8 rates.

Who'd a-thunk ?

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

luvsvacation22

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We had a similar experience! Rescind now! Here is how we did it. We sent a Express Mail, certified, delivery confirmation and signature to Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Inc. P.O. Box 94443, Las Vegas, Nevada 89183 Attn: Contract Department. I had the Post Office send me copy of signature via email. FYI the Post office told me even though it was a P.O. Box the person picking up needs to sign. If they refuse there is also a record on file. Then I printed and kept a copy. We also sent three faxes to 707-27-3298 and printed the completed transaction record. Here is a copy of the letter I sent: Dear Wyndham Vacation Resorts:
This is a written notice of our right and intent to cancel our contract, application, and membership. We are canceling the contract number XXXXXXXX and the membership number XXXXXXXXX. We are canceling any and all agreements and contracts including the LeisurePlan membership and the Discovery VIP agreement. We had a down payment of $200.00 and would like that credited back to our account immediately. This also voids any authorization for Wyndham to charge any additional charges to our credit card. We would like to receive written confirmation upon receipt of this letter that the membership is canceled.

I never got the letter, but after six weeks the money was credited back to my credit card. We also never received the vouchers for the two night stay in Napa Valley. Oh well, at least we rescinded! Good luck!

Also to rescind does not affect your credit. It is your legal right as a consumer during this cooling off period to "change your mind" as long as it is in the specified time.

Dorene
 

falmouth3

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That was great information that you posted for our new TUG buddy, Dorene. I'm glad that the rescission went as planned.

The only thing everyone needs to be aware of, is that time-sharing is addictive. And the more you look at eBay, the more you'll want to own because the prices are so good. ;)

Sue
 

luvsvacation22

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Thanks, that is a great compliment since I am a newbie too! I have learned everything I know from great people here on the Tug boards! :)

Dorene
 

CampingMan

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Update:
Thanks for the letter Dorene, I used that with some slight modifications. I sent the letter of intent to cancel today via USPS Express, Certified, with signature card to the Las Vegas address, and a CC to the Orlando address via Priority, Certified mail.

We'll see what happens.

I also received a call from my sales agent yesterday (Sunday) asking how our vacation went and if we had any questions. It was a little awkward when I told her we were canceling our contract. She didn't say much and told us to call the other guy if we had any questions.

I received a call from her again today telling me she had some information for me and the other guy has an Orlando vacation for us and that he'll be contacting me in a couple of days.

Anyway,
I'm interested to know if it's possible to get a decent package by way of resale for $500-$800 that would allow us to vacation for 1 week a year during "off-peak" times? (I understand there are MFs and closing costs on top of this)


Is eBay a good place to shop? Seems like there's a lot of Wyndham packages on there.

Thanks.
 

Jya-Ning

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I'm interested to know if it's possible to get a decent package by way of resale for $500-$800 that would allow us to vacation for 1 week a year during "off-peak" times? (I understand there are MFs and closing costs on top of this)


Is eBay a good place to shop? Seems like there's a lot of Wyndham packages on there.

Thanks.

Both are yes.

Jya-Ning
 

luvsvacation22

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Ebay is a good place to shop, but take your time. I would also not buy from anyone that did not have a positive feedback score of 98% or better yet 99%and of course many timeshare transactions. Now that you have canceled your Wyndham contract take a deep breath, and start reading all the boards here about timesharing. Take your time and learn from all the great people here at Tug. Read timeshare 101, and other great resources here at Tug too. I would also consider purchasing a $15.00 membership, it will give you invaluable information such as resort review. This is important so you can see what score the resort has, if it is a gold crown, five star, etc. The reviews will give you great information! Sometimes on Ebay I have seen an ad rating a timeshare a gold crown listing when in actuality was not. Or you might find certain room review; important if you are buying a deed with a certain room number assigned. Another resource is TripAdvisor.com for additional reviews, but Tug is better!

I would advice you to read everything on Wyndham on Tug and for that matter all timeshare systems. You may find once you research, you may find another system that works better for your families needs than Wyndham; or you may find you love Wyndham and you definitely want to buy. Here is a website for additional Wyndham information. http://forums.atozed.com/

Best advice is take your time and learn about the different systems. The deals on Ebay will always be there. That great deal you have to buy will come around again! Except once you have done your homework you will make an informed buy knowing what MF you want to pay and a great price per point and what is really a good deal! Then you can snipe that great deal and laugh all the way to the bank about all the money you saved!:)

Dorene
 
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