Canceling Timeshare

[IamB4]

I have read extensively but this is just peace of mind for me. I sent the letter of cancelation with the template given on here. I had five days. It was certified and everything. I just wrote out the letter by hand with our contract # and both of our signatures. We mailed it on Friday and our fifth day was Tuesday. We sent letters to both addresses on the contract. Both have shown that they were recieved. I emailed using the email given on here but have not received and notification that the cancelation is in process. We got a Notification that our auto payments have been canceled for that account. They still have the money on the card they gave us. In the contract it says "all payments made by you before cancelation shall be refunded within 20 days after receipt of the notice of cancelation..." Im not sure what this means? Do they have 20 days to refund what they put on their card that I financed with?

I know the answers are probably here, but this is just peace of mind for me. One letter was received on Monday and the other on Tuesday. Does it usually take the full 20 days to get a refund?

 

[dioxide45]

Yes, it can take them up to 20 days to refund the card which was used for any payments. It probably shouldn't take that long. Come back and let us know how long it actually does take.

 

[basilray]

You can always put in a call and see.

I had to do this, as I hadn't heard anything. Turns out, they had my letter but I hadn't addressed it to the attention of cancellations, so they had to get it in and recorded.

There isn't a direct number to call, from what I was told. Get someone on the line and tell them you need "Owner resolutions". They're the ones you'll want to get things moving/provide updates.

 

[IamB4]

Thanks @basilray. I did call and they transferred me right away. I talked to a super nice rep, and she told me the cancelation had begun on Tuesday and to expect everything back 10-14 days and everything to be finalized in up to 30. I'm very thankful I found this site. It has helped me so much in understanding Time shares in general. Once everything goes through then I will post how much you all saved me.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Thanks @basilray. I did call and they transferred me right away. I talked to a super nice rep, and she told me the cancelation had begun on Tuesday and to expect everything back 10-14 days and everything to be finalized in up to 30. I'm very thankful I found this site. It has helped me so much in understanding Time shares in general. Once everything goes through then I will post how much you all saved me.

If you really enjoyed Wyndham consider purchasing resale instead (for pennies on the dollar compared to what you paid). It really is a a great system, just not worth what they charge to buy from the developer.

 

[IamB4]

Here is my update. They refunded everything 14 days after they received it. We save 17,600. Thank you all for your help. @Fido Chuckwagon We are very interested in buying resale but we want to make sure we fully understand the program and how to use it and make sure it is good for our family. Can anyone throw a link up for us that is good for understanding Wyndham and resale?

 

[andre10056]

Here is my update. They refunded everything 14 days after they received it. We save 17,600. Thank you all for your help. @Fido Chuckwagon We are very interested in buying resale but we want to make sure we fully understand the program and how to use it and make sure it is good for our family. Can anyone throw a link up for us that is good for understanding Wyndham and resale?

I know nothing about Wyndham but I suggest being careful about buying any timeshare. I would say the very worst thing about them is being obligated to travel such-and-such week (either through ownership of a specific fixed week of the year or through having reserved a specific week many months in advance) and then not being able to go due to something coming up at work or somebody getting sick or your kids having to participate in some activity, etc.

Just canceling and getting your money back is generally not possible with timeshare ownership.

As a result, many people pay their annual maintenance fees (the ever increasing annual maintenance fees) but their week's condo sits empty.

So if your schedule will never have unexpected things arise, and you love the resort into which you're buying and/or you can always achieve an optimal exchange, perhaps it will work out for you. But it doesn't work out for everyone.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I know nothing about Wyndham but I suggest being careful about buying any timeshare. I would say the very worst thing about them is being obligated to travel such-and-such week (either through ownership of a specific fixed week of the year or through having reserved a specific week many months in advance) and then not being able to go due to something coming up at work or somebody getting sick or your kids having to participate in some activity, etc.

Just canceling and getting your money back is generally not possible with timeshare ownership.

As a result, many people pay their annual maintenance fees (the ever increasing annual maintenance fees) but their week's condo sits empty.

So if your schedule will never have unexpected things arise, and you love the resort into which you're buying and/or you can always achieve an optimal exchange, perhaps it will work out for you. But it doesn't work out for everyone.

Wyndham has a free certified exit program (you can give back most deeds to the company), and many/most deeds can also be given away. It’s relatively low risk as far as timeshares go if you pick up a cheap resale deed.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Here is my update. They refunded everything 14 days after they received it. We save 17,600. Thank you all for your help. @Fido Chuckwagon We are very interested in buying resale but we want to make sure we fully understand the program and how to use it and make sure it is good for our family. Can anyone throw a link up for us that is good for understanding Wyndham and resale?

This is where I started my research before I bought my first Wyndham resale: https://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/wyndham_points_introduction.html

Read all the articles in that link.

 

[andre10056]

Wyndham has a free certified exit program (you can give back most deeds to the company), and many/most deeds can also be given away. It’s relatively low risk as far as timeshares go if you pick up a cheap resale deed.

What I meant with my "Just canceling and getting your money back is generally not possible with timeshare ownership" in my discussion about "things coming up" preventing one from going to THEIR week was to contrast a hotel (or timeshare) booking site reservation in which you can cancel free of charge and get 100% of your money back up to such-and-such days before the start of your week. Generally not possible with a timeshare.

Somewhat similar exceptions might be paying for a $45 cancellation policy with Platinum Interchange whereby you can cancel no questions asked and get your credited week back up to 48 hours prior to the exchanged resort check-in date. Unfortunately, Platinum Interchange has very poor exchange opportunities but I wish all exchange companies had such a policy.

Interval International, of course, has its E-Plus which allows one to cancel an exchange up to fourteen days prior to the check-in date and simultaneously re-reserve something else. At least a timeshare owner has some flexibility in that case.

But those are exchange "cancellation" opportunities. If you find out you can't go to "your" owned week during the final days before check-in, not much can be done to get any or much value out of your annual maintenance fees.

But, in further response to your post, I think any resort family that offers a free timeshare exit is a fantastic policy, almost too good to be true given most resorts' cutthroat policies. If Wyndham allows for that, kudos to them.

 

[paxsarah]

What I meant with my "Just canceling and getting your money back is generally not possible with timeshare ownership" in my discussion about "things coming up" preventing one from going to THEIR week was to contrast a hotel (or timeshare) booking site reservation in which you can cancel free of charge and get 100% of your money back up to such-and-such days before the start of your week. Generally not possible with a timeshare.

Any Club Wyndham owner can cancel as late as 15 days prior to check-in and get 100% of their points returned (and we're talking points, not fixed weeks). If you purchased points protection ($149), you basically have until the day of.

 

[jeffox]

Any Club Wyndham owner can cancel as late as 15 days prior to check-in and get 100% of their points returned (and we're talking points, not fixed weeks). If you purchased points protection ($149), you basically have until the day of.

Any restrictions on those points after they are returned?

 

[paxsarah]

Any restrictions on those points after they are returned?

Not directly. If you've cancelled and had the points returned late in the use year, you may have fewer options for what you can do with them at that point if you can't squeeze in another trip before their expiration date. For instance, my deadline to move points to the next year and keep them in Wyndham is 3 months into the use year. If I cancel later than that and can't fit in another trip, then my only real option is to deposit the points to RCI (which isn't a terrible option but not my first choice, either).

 

[IamB4]

We are mostly interested in Wyndham because they give access to the Wilderness in the Dells, and we go there 2-3 times a year and we have a very young family so this is nice to stay close to home. We can-do off-peak times of Monday-Thursday. I rarely can-do weekends anyways due to my job. I've been reading a bunch and what is with the housekeeping. I read the article, and it said there were maid tokens that you have to pay for if you run out. I don't think we would need 200k points but I'm still trying to figure out what a good number would be for us. I like Wyndham because I sense that we could use the program well and be spending the same as we would do with the monthly maintenance but be able to get nicer accommodations.
If you buy resale then what level do you come on as? I know you don't get VIP but is it the basic level and does it give you good access to units? We can purchase pretty late if needed as I can move my days off around in the job I work.

I will have more questions as I research. Sometimes I'm a bit slow at understanding things so thank you all for your help