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Friend bought a timeshare in Fl--how long does she have to rescind?

KarenP

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The Westgate people typically said that she couldn't rescind. :rofl:

She signed the contract last Wednesday, a week ago tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's help!
 

Talent312

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The Westgate people typically said that she couldn't rescind. She signed the contract last Wednesday, a week ago tomorrow.

Florida Statute 721.10 governs the cancellation of timeshare purchases.
It provides:

(1) A purchaser has the right to cancel the contract until midnight of the 10th calendar day following whichever of the following days occurs later:
(a) The execution date; or
(b) The day on which the purchaser received the last of all documents required to be provided to him or her...

This right of cancellation may not be waived by any purchaser or by any other person on behalf of the purchaser. Furthermore, no closing may occur until the cancellation period of the timeshare purchaser has expired. Any attempt to obtain a waiver of the cancellation right of the timeshare purchaser, or to hold a closing prior to the expiration of the cancellation period, is unlawful...
--------------------
She needs to _read_ the contract that she signed to find the rescision instructions (usuallly near the end). She must follow those instructions to the letter, even if she thinks there's a better way. Some folks think that "certified mail, return receipt requested" is needed. She can do that, but some offices refuse to sign for certified mail, so a second letter with "delivery confirmation" only should be used.

Westage has several corporate offices. If the address is not specified in the contract, she should send a copy of the letter to every address she can find in the materials they gave her.
 

timeos2

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Still has time but RESCIND NOW!!!! DO NOT WAIT! It will be the worst buy they have ever made if they don't.
 

KarenP

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TUG rocks! Thank you so much for your quick reply. She was devastated when I told her that the salesman gave her a completely made up story to get her to buy. She had bought a "right to purchase" a one bedroom for $18000 several years ago for $900, which included a timeshare week. She used the week last week and met with the "counselor" who said they didn't expect so many people to actually go through with the deal and had run out of one bedrooms! He even went so far as to say that a lady said she wanted to buy 10 units and they had to go to court where the judge eventually said she could buy 10 (for $180,000?). So they were offereing 2 bedrooms at the 1 bedroom price. My friend did ask them for a copy of the judgement, but they said she could get it at the courthouse.

Anyway, looks like TUG has come to the rescue again! Also, I have already gotten in touch with some TUGGERS who have FREE Westgate units to give away and will be giving her that information. :cheer:
 

timeos2

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Not that I would recommend any Wastegate in any case (see the lie above about "no rescind rights" as a typical example of Wastegate lies - they only get worse if you own) but here is a great example for why it makes no sense to pay Wastegate (or most others) retail for timeshares you can literally own for free:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171363

Yes, there are still annual fees to pay but they are the same retail or resale so why pay thousands you don't have to?

Tell them to rescind & then if they still want to own go resale.
 

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If I remember correctly, Westgate used to have their own cooling off period which was longer than the Statute's maximum period. Don't waste time. Check it out now and get her to get out of it if she can!
 

KarenP

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She is drafting the letter right now! Thank you so much everyone!
 

Jennie

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Make sure she reads and exactly follows all the instructions for rescinding, as written in her contract, usually close to where she signed the contract.

If it specifies that it is to be sent by US postal mail, do so. Do not use UPS or Fedex. Obtain a proof of mailing receipt from the post office. But, as mentioned above, do not send it certified because the resort would have to sign for it and may very well refuse to do so, causing it to be returned to the sender and thus not arriving at the resort within the legal rescission period.

If the rescission rules say that all materials need to be returned, make sure to enclose them with the letter. If there is a relevant fax number listed on the contract, or perhaps on the business card of the sales person, she should consider faxing a copy of her rescission letter and a copy of the mailing receipt as soon as she returns from the Post Office. This would be further proof of the fact that she rescinded in time in case they try to "play games" about it.

Good luck! Please let us know how it turns out.
 

BevL

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TUG rocks! Thank you so much for your quick reply. She was devastated when I told her that the salesman gave her a completely made up story to get her to buy. She had bought a "right to purchase" a one bedroom for $18000 several years ago for $900, which included a timeshare week. She used the week last week and met with the "counselor" who said they didn't expect so many people to actually go through with the deal and had run out of one bedrooms! He even went so far as to say that a lady said she wanted to buy 10 units and they had to go to court where the judge eventually said she could buy 10 (for $180,000?). So they were offereing 2 bedrooms at the 1 bedroom price. My friend did ask them for a copy of the judgement, but they said she could get it at the courthouse.

Anyway, looks like TUG has come to the rescue again! Also, I have already gotten in touch with some TUGGERS who have FREE Westgate units to give away and will be giving her that information. :cheer:

This is pretty sleazy even for a timeshare salesperson.

If their lips are moving ...

Glad your friend is dodging the bullet.
 

djs

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Make sure she reads and exactly follows all the instructions for rescinding, as written in her contract, usually close to where she signed the contract.

If it specifies that it is to be sent by US postal mail, do so. Do not use UPS or Fedex. Obtain a proof of mailing receipt from the post office. But, as mentioned above, do not send it certified because the resort would have to sign for it and may very well refuse to do so, causing it to be returned to the sender and thus not arriving at the resort within the legal rescission period.

If the rescission rules say that all materials need to be returned, make sure to enclose them with the letter. If there is a relevant fax number listed on the contract, or perhaps on the business card of the sales person, she should consider faxing a copy of her rescission letter and a copy of the mailing receipt as soon as she returns from the Post Office. This would be further proof of the fact that she rescinded in time in case they try to "play games" about it.

Good luck! Please let us know how it turns out.

The bolding above is mine. I have to disagree with this; especially if the instructions say to send via Certified Mail. If they were to refuse to sign the letter, you are correct in that it would be returned to her; however she would then have proof that delivery was attempted within the timeframe and the resort refused delivery. Left unopen, any court could clearly see that she had complied and it was the resort that attempted to circumvent her rights. I doubt it would get that far though, and since businesses recieve certified mail on a daily basis I doubt they would refuse to sign.
 

KarenP

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UPDATE: She couldn't find a copy of her contract in all the stuff they gave her, so she sent a letter to every address she could find, return receipt requested and certified mail. After the ten days was over, she found the contract folded into fourths in an envelope stuffed in a hidden pocket of the material folder (faux leather) they gave her. It had an entirely different address for the recission, but they have already called her trying to get her to change her mind. Hopefully they won't try to hold her to the contract.
 

Hobo1

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Make sure she reads and exactly follows all the instructions for rescinding, as written in her contract, usually close to where she signed the contract.

If it specifies that it is to be sent by US postal mail, do so. Do not use UPS or Fedex. Obtain a proof of mailing receipt from the post office. But, as mentioned above, do not send it certified because the resort would have to sign for it and may very well refuse to do so, causing it to be returned to the sender and thus not arriving at the resort within the legal rescission period.

If certified mail is refused the post office marks it as such when it is returned to the sender.

There is sufficient case law in the U. S. that says certified mail has been delivered and received when the recipient refuses to accept the mail.

Legal documents, especially those with time constraints should always be sent certified or express mail.
 

theo

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"Hopefully" is the operative word here...

UPDATE: She couldn't find a copy of her contract in all the stuff they gave her, so she sent a letter to every address she could find, return receipt requested and certified mail. After the ten days was over, she found the contract folded into fourths in an envelope stuffed in a hidden pocket of the material folder (faux leather) they gave her. It had an entirely different address for the recission, but they have already called her trying to get her to change her mind. Hopefully they won't try to hold her to the contract.

I sincerely wish your friend good luck, but Westgate is really and truly a despicable batch of pond scum and, in the final analysis, she did not follow the written cancellation instructions provided to her, in writing, at the time of contract execution. Nonetheless, I too "hope" that her rescission efforts are successful, even if her cancellation was sent to an address other than as clearly provided and instructed in the contract cancellation instructions.
 
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