Capital Vacations Nightmare

[Momentos67]

Hello all, I just joined this forum and I wanted to make my first post about Capital Vacations, as I recently had dealings with them and need help. I have this forum to thank for helping me discover more about them as well. So I had booked a trip at my home resort sometime ago to travel to Breezy Point, MN. I had points banked and decided to go the second week of May. I was aware this resort was acquired back Capital Vacations late last year and I had thought they had shown some promise in getting the resort some of the tlc it direly needs. Little did I know I was about to get involved with some heartless crooks. I arrived on a Friday and check in was like usual. Then the man at the desk said I needed to get a parking permit from the lady behind me. I thought ok, no big deal and I talked to her. She looked my room number up and verified my information. She then tells me if I go to the new owners update meeting I’d receive a $125 AMEX gift card, plus a free week stay wherever I wanted to go. I agreed to it because I wanted to know what these people had planned for our resort and I was wondering what else they provided.

So this lady penned me in for a Mon and I arrived on time and did everything I was supposed. Lady at the computer says they aren’t sure if they can get me in today. I said that’s ok and I can go another day. That was after a half hour had passed. She said to hang around a little longer and I did. The lady that I met for the parking permit; Rhonda came and spoke with me and was very cordial. I watched this figurehead come out of the office and chew her out in front of me and then she told she was sorry for wasting my time and I could have my gifts still. Puzzled I accepted the gifts and then I watched that figurehead guy come out again his name was John. He looked very irritated he smiled for two seconds at us as I was another elderly couple waiting. Then I watched him turn his face back to anger and that gave me a bad vibe itself. I left and they had wanted me to reschedule and I agreed to the next day.

So the next day I met with a guy named Sean that had transferred from Boston to MN. He seemed polite initially, he proceeded to tell me what Capital Vacations was about and how fast they were growing. Then showed me this slideshow of all the unique places you can travel to and hey had a point system. There was an elderly couple he also had waiting for him at his other desk. I didn’t appreciate this as they were there first. I watched this woman’s mouth drop when he gave them the bill to switch to capital to give up there deed. I heard her say they wanted over $17,000 from her and wanted $7,000 right up front. The guy was hell bent on getting her to do the sale. It was disgusting, I then watched her husband begin to shake because he was diabetic. She then explained they can’t stay and have get food otherwise he will get very sick. The other guy John was insistent that it would be over quickly if they waited around a few minutes longer. She said to give back her credit cards and drivers license. Then they did and they convinced her to comeback after that.

After they leave, Sean comes back determined to get me to sign over my deeds and have me buy into there program. I said I needed time to read over the contract and wanted to think about it. He got angry and said that the deal won’t last if I walk out and it will go up. He also slammed his hand down on the counter when I was taking my time reading the papers and wasn’t signing anything. He then told me the resort was going to be getting remodeled and that if I kept my timeshares I can expect a 15% increase every year for maintenance fees. I kept telling him I needed time to think about everything and he kept telling me I can do so much with the points. He said I could have all my maintenance fees paid off if I were to surrender some of my points yearly. They wanted me to pay nearly $3,600 in maintenance fees alone yearly. Then told me I could stay at places for long periods of time with minimum points and get multiple rooms at no extra charge. Which are all lies, these people will flat out lie to you. Like an idiot and feeling pressured I signed the papers. They wanted over $19,000 from me just to convert to Capital plus all these other fees. That was if I paid it off in 30 days otherwise I pay nearly $8,000 today and then pay $200 a month for the next 10 years at a 13% interest rate. It was insane and not to mention I pay $2,000 more than the other lady, why? Also, why these random numbers?

Upon gathering my license and cards from me, I asked why they needed them. He explained he needed the card for the down payment and then license to verify identity? Not a big deal, I regretted the decision immediately. Then I signed my deeds over to them and then waited another 45 min for John to come out. He had a tape recorder and wanted me to sign all these papers. Things wrapped up and I felt sick to my stomach and stressed out. It took almost 4 hours to get out of there. The next day I immediately read through the contract and then got a certified letter to rescind the contract. I followed the instructions to a ‘T’. Suffice to say after all said and done, it ruined the remainder of my trip.

So last Monday the letter arrived, I sent the letter out less then 24 hours after the I signed the documents. So I do know I took care of the matter within the recession period. I called over to Capital and they said the letter will be reviewed and can take between 30-90 days. I am beyond pissed as they are holding my money hostage, wish I could charge them interest for it. Is there another method I can do? Also, they sent a credit in the mail I DID NOT apply for. I told them I didn’t want or need financing and yet I received a credit I didn’t want from them. Isn’t that criminal? Lastly, since this awful company bought my resort what should I do with my timeshares? One is a prime week in the summer. Thank you for any help and sorry for the long story. I want people to know what kind of trash these people are.

 

[jrb916]

Glad you found tug & already rescinded as that is the first step. CV did the same to us in 2020 when they purchased Stormy Point in Branson & they are a TERRIBLE TS company. Luckily I was warned about them before our first ‘owners update’ & was ready for their high pressure. You didn’t have that warning. They will scare you with MF hikes & special assessments but they fail to tell you they would have to pay those as well for the deeds they own, so those are just threats.

Unfortunately you will need to wait til the rescind is processed but you will revert back to what you owned previously. Continue to use your week as you have or trade it (use RCI/II, if you can.) CV also bought Trading Places and if you search it on here you will see they have ruined it as well.

The CV point program has very high MF and they may give you 7000-10000 points for your week, but that exact week may cost 11,000-14,000 based on their point tiers....what a rip-off. No wonder you can pick up free points online & no one bids on CV eBay listings.

The other advise is to avoid any meetings w/ them & research an exit plan. Stormy Point was our first TS, but we are willing to give it up if our MF continue to go up & the service goes down.

 

[rickandcindy23]

If they don't refund your money quickly, I would write to the Minnesota State's Attorney General's office. Tell them you rescinded right away and the company is keeping your money for a very long period of time.

VRI selling out to Capital Vacations was a huge mistake. I have received phone calls from them because we still own a Foxrun week. I have become quite rude after getting many calls to get a "free stay" to see what they have to offer us.

These new companies that make up some point system to sell to legacy resort owners is not impressive. Quite tacky, actually, especially with the nasty behavior this guy presented. That's duress, and it's illegal.

 

[TUGBrian]

very happy you cancelled that 19k mistake!

 

[theo]

I want people to know what kind of trash these people are.

That is just "par for the course" with Capital Vacations, frankly. The good news here is that you are promptly rescinding the contract and a 100% refund of your deposit must be issued within 45 days, by (Federal) law. Speaking of law, the CV person with whom you spoke by phone reportedly made reference to “reviewing” your letter. The simple and straightforward fact is that they are legally obligated to process your timely and properly submitted contract cancellation; it’s not just a “request” and they cannot ignore it or decline it. They may “review” your submission, but in the final analysis they must process a timely and properly submitted cancellation and issue a 100% deposit refund within 45 days — period. It's the law and even shady Capital Vacations will not dare to violate it and invite state Attorney General intervention and action.

P.S. Don’t call those CV hyenas again — no possible good can come from any such phone conversations. Also, don’t answer any incoming calls from them either; they may call to attempt to try to salvage this rapidly dissolving "transaction". Let the law do its’ work for you without muddying the waters.

Congratulations on successfully evading the slimy clutches of the despicable Capital Vacations sales hyenas! Having an unwelcome CV presence at your resort now is clearly a separate problem and one that likely does not bode well for the future, but you are wisely tackling one unwelcome CV hurdle at a time. Well done!

 

[tonyg]

A few years ago at a VRI resort I exchanged into they had everyone see a Capital Vacations representative to try to schedule an appointment. I knew very little about Capital Vacations so I signed up. The meeting was at another VRI resort and centered on all the points I would get for giving them my resorts. The quickest way to get me disinterested is to talk about "points" as they lost me when RCI went to points. We were there about an hour and a half before we convinced them that we had no interest and didn't believe their speil on how we could vacation more and cost us less. We got our $ 125 gift card and other perks and left. I didn't feel much pressure and pretty much questioned all the advantages they were trying to sell.

 

[AnnaO]

Little did I know I was about to get involved with some heartless crooks.

So glad you found TUG and rescinded in time. Capital Vacations are a bunch of crooks. They took over management of my beloved Powder Ridge Village where my family went skiing every year for the last 15+ years. Then they proceeded to bankrupt the resort. Part of their contract was purchase of 350 units in the resort. But within a year they only purchased 100, refused to buy the rest and stopped paying the maintenance fees on their 100 units. Their "reason" bankruptcy of MROP. To the tune - "if they are not paying neither will we". That pretty much deemed the resort insolvent. We had no debts but 35% of units not paying maintenance fees deprived the resort of operational funds and it had to close. All the long time owners are in mourning...

 

[jackio]

So glad you found TUG and rescinded in time. Capital Vacations are a bunch of crooks. They took over management of my beloved Powder Ridge Village where my family went skiing every year for the last 15+ years. Then they proceeded to bankrupt the resort. Part of their contract was purchase of 350 units in the resort. But within a year they only purchased 100, refused to buy the rest and stopped paying the maintenance fees on their 100 units. Their "reason" bankruptcy of MROP. To the tune - "if they are not paying neither will we". That pretty much deemed the resort insolvent. We had no debts but 35% of units not paying maintenance fees deprived the resort of operational funds and it had to close. All the long time owners are in mourning...

Something similar is happening to us at Hawaiian Sun Holidays. They held a vote for a special assessment that miraculously passed but gave us no tally, information ,etc. apparently 60% of the owners are in default and CV bought the rights to many of the units. I am expecting one more assessment next year then the closure of the timeshare. We still need to keep our excellent credit rating so we will pay, but I’m thinking a lot of current owners will refuse.

 

[TimMikel]

I'm happy for you that you were able to rescind in time. Hopefully, you see your money very soon. However, I am very disheartened now as CV recently took over management of our resort in Ft Myers Beach when they purchased VRI. VRI did a wonderful job. Sounds like our success as a legacy timeshare may be in jeopardy.

 

[theo]

I am very disheartened now as CV recently took over management of our resort in Ft Myers Beach when they purchased VRI. VRI did a wonderful job. Sounds like our success as a legacy timeshare may be in jeopardy.

As much as I despise Capital Vacations, the post-Ian rebuilding problems at your Windward Passage Resort in Fort Myers Beach (and also at Bonita Resort in nearby Bonita Beach, also historically well managed by VRI) may also be due in large part to *contractor* related issues — *Belfor*, in both instances.

That aside, it remains to be seen whether CV will attempt to bring its’ $h*t show into either or both of those two properties, to aggressively peddle their “convert your deeds to our nearly worthless internal points” pitch once those resorts reopen (neither one has actually reopened yet since Hurricane Ian and neither one seems particularly close to reopening, afaik). Both properties have long been well managed by VRI. With luck, that history could continue, but Capital seems to work extremely hard at establishing a solid, well deserved reputation for “fouling the nest” at independent Legacy resorts where they muscle their way on site, aggressively peddling their crappy internal points product, having gained that “new access” from CV acquiring VRI in 2022.

 

[Larry M]

Something similar is happening to us at Hawaiian Sun Holidays. They held a vote for a special assessment that miraculously passed but gave us no tally, information ,etc. apparently 60% of the owners are in default and CV bought the rights to many of the units. I am expecting one more assessment next year then the closure of the timeshare. We still need to keep our excellent credit rating so we will pay, but I’m thinking a lot of current owners will refuse.

It's a VERY good idea to keep paying. Eventually, the property will be sold and all the owners who are paid up will share the proceeds. I bought a timeshare in 2010 for$1000 ($1500 by the time fees were paid). It had a Sunset Date of January 2026, so I knew I had an exit plan. This was a small independent with its own board composed of owners.

In 2016 there were damage from Hurricane Matthew and some relatively small assessments. Maintenance lags became obvious. (We received a letter informing us that we could have a winter week for $300 or for free if we would paint the interior of another unit.) Then the board sent a letter informing us that the financial status was dire (The treasurer felt bad for owners who had gone into arrears and never foreclosed anyone.) and included a non-binding poll asking our preference on moving the Sunset date up (closer in). The response was overwhelmingly positive. A formal vote took place. The property was sold. The settlement was different for each unit. A figure was established for the complex (around 18 units, IIRC). That figure was divided. The buyer would renovate each unit, deduct that cost from the unit's figure, and split the remainder among the PAID UP owners only. As I stated, I bought the unit from the original owner for $1500. The payment I received was a little over $5500.

If your timeshare ends up like mine, the more of your fellow owners drop out, the better off you will be.

 

[Larry M]

So glad you found TUG and rescinded in time. Capital Vacations are a bunch of crooks. They took over management of my beloved Powder Ridge Village where my family went skiing every year for the last 15+ years. Then they proceeded to bankrupt the resort. Part of their contract was purchase of 350 units in the resort. But within a year they only purchased 100, refused to buy the rest and stopped paying the maintenance fees on their 100 units. Their "reason" bankruptcy of MROP. To the tune - "if they are not paying neither will we". That pretty much deemed the resort insolvent. We had no debts but 35% of units not paying maintenance fees deprived the resort of operational funds and it had to close. All the long time owners are in mourning...

Keep paying your maintenance fees. Eventually the property will go bankrupt and be sold. Only the PAID UP owners will benefit.

 

[jackio]

Keep paying your maintenance fees. Eventually the property will go bankrupt and be sold. Only the PAID UP owners will benefit.

I'm glad it worked out for you. This timeshare is a leasehold in the Banyan Waikiki hotel. The resort keeps telling us that the Banyan is raising its fees and the resort cannot meet the obligations. They are threatening that the hotel will foreclose on the lease if we don't pay. That's okay with us - there are 10 years left on the lease, but I don't want to pay the assessments prior to the foreclosure. I have talked to some owners who are saying they will refuse to pay, but I don't want to damage my credit rating.