Has anyone actually walked away from Sunset World membership?

[giapet27]

I've seen a lot of posts and recommendations to walk away from a membership fee with a fully paid-up contract, however, I have not seen a response from anyone who has actually stopped paying their membership fees and lived to tell about it. I've already tried to give back (deed-back) my membership, and of course the resort told me no, it was for life. I've also offered to give away my timeshare to someone who might enjoy it. I recently researched PROFECO's site and learned that Articulo 85 states that contracts must be in Spanish (ours is only in English) to be valid. Not sure if that's true for our contract but might be an out? Looking for a way out without risking liens or judgements on my actual property (condo) owned in Mexico in the event we simply stop paying on our contract. If I were just living in the US with no Mexican property, I would just walk away, however, I'm not sure of the additional risk to my investment in Mexico if I do that. Any experience or advice would be most appreciated. Thank you!

 

[VanX]

What is it that you have and what’s left owing? It’s likely RTU only so may be transferable if there is any significant use for it.

I am at least interested to learn what you’ve got and why you need to walk away from it

With other property there I wouldn’t walk away from it if I were you.
Thanks

 

[giapet27]

We only owe annual maintenance fees, (we are paid through 2020 with no loans or additional funds owed). It's RTU, so no deed or real property. We have enjoyed the resort for years, and loved the area so much we now own a condo in Mexico. I lost my job in September and we no longer want the annual payments.

 

[Karen G]

You might offer it for free on the TUG Bargain Deals forum. Instructions here: https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/how-can-i-give-away-my-timeshare-on-tug.132509/

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

We only owe annual maintenance fees, (we are paid through 2020 with no loans or additional funds owed). It's RTU, so no deed or real property. We have enjoyed the resort for years, and loved the area so much we now own a condo in Mexico. I lost my job in September and we no longer want the annual payments.

Karen's idea is a good one. Start in the Bargain Deals Forum in TUG.

Another suggestion: Go to Craigslist in Mexico and post it in the "FREE" section. Mostly that section has couches, chairs, televisions, etc. so yours will be the first Real Estate offering there. You never can tell, someone just may jump at it and you will finally be done with it. Nothing to lose.


.

 

[Seadog13]

We are also considering walking away from our Sunset World membership. Our contract stated it was for 20 years and now they are saying it was lifetime. We tried giving it back to them and they wanted five years of maintenance fees! We feel it's not even worth trying to give it away. Not worth the transfer fees we'd be charged. Everything is paid up and we have surpassed the 20 years. I can't report what the consequences have been yet for just not paying the fees. That remains to be seen.

However, a friend of ours surpassed his 20 years with Sunset World over two years ago and just quit paying. I spoke with him at length and he said he was never contacted by a collection agency, his credit rating was not affected and the emails from Sunset quit. We are hoping for the same - time will tell.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

We are also considering walking away from our Sunset World membership. Our contract stated it was for 20 years and now they are saying it was lifetime. We tried giving it back to them and they wanted five years of maintenance fees! We feel it's not even worth trying to give it away. Not worth the transfer fees we'd be charged. Everything is paid up and we have surpassed the 20 years. I can't report what the consequences have been yet for just not paying the fees. That remains to be seen.

However, a friend of ours surpassed his 20 years with Sunset World over two years ago and just quit paying. I spoke with him at length and he said he was never contacted by a collection agency, his credit rating was not affected and the emails from Sunset quit. We are hoping for the same - time will tell.

If you're contract says 20 years then you are done! Don't let them scam you into believing it is lifetime...... It's your money; why give it away if you don't have to!


.

 

[Passepartout]

You don't really 'OWN' anything. Stop paying when you don't want it. They'll cancel your membership and you're done. They have no hold on you.

 

[Patricia9]

I can barely read our contract with Sunset, it is so faded, wasn't good from day 1 and has gotten worse. I have no idea how long it is for. We are paid in full also and want to walk away from the maintenance fees. I considered writing them and letting them know that we are relinguishing our membership with them though before we just stop paying the fees. Also saw on another forum that Sunset may be selling or has sold the resort we use (Fishermans). We are not interested in their other resorts.

 

[Grammarhero]

I can barely read our contract with Sunset, it is so faded, wasn't good from day 1 and has gotten worse. I have no idea how long it is for. We are paid in full also and want to walk away from the maintenance fees. I considered writing them and letting them know that we are relinguishing our membership with them though before we just stop paying the fees. Also saw on another forum that Sunset may be selling or has sold the resort we use (Fishermans). We are not interested in their other resorts.

Out of 8 defaults by US citizens on MX timeshares (please see below), four resulted in credit drops, including two (2) resulting in collections (Wyndham and El Cid). Depending on the terms of your TS contract, the MX resorts might be able to place a lien on your or garnish your wages, but that hasn't happened with the 8 aforementioned defaults.

If you make the hard decision to default, please kindly let us know if your credit got affected. It would help tuggers in similar situations moving forward.

[ 2020 ] Timeshare Default Credit Report/Collection Tracking
Some of you know I have been tracking this. Out of four (4) more TS defaults reported on TUG Facebook, one (1) got his credit affected. It’s a start, but I have tabbed the following stats: 1) out of 43 reported defaults, 13 got reported to the credit agencies 2) out of 26 MF defaults, 4 got...
tugbbs.com

New User, Want out of Mexican TS
Hi guys (From Sunny California), I am new here and this is my first post, so I sincerely apologize upfront if I am posting this in a wrong section of the Forum/boards. I also apologize for this being a longer type of post. Last November my wife and I purchased an El Cid Vacations Club...
tugbbs.com

[ 2020 ] Timeshare Default Credit Report/Collection Tracking
Just some trends I noticed. Out of 50 data points, 14 percent of MF defaults get reported to the credit agencies, while 59 percent of mortgage defaults do. Canadian or foreign owners of US TS have less reason to worry about credit score drops. Wyndham and Vacation Villages seem reasonable on...
tugbbs.com

New User, Want out of Mexican TS
Hi guys (From Sunny California), I am new here and this is my first post, so I sincerely apologize upfront if I am posting this in a wrong section of the Forum/boards. I also apologize for this being a longer type of post. Last November my wife and I purchased an El Cid Vacations Club...
tugbbs.com

https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/t...eport-collection-tracking.304138/post-2622684

[ 2019 ] anyone has stopped paying maintenance fees, what happened ? | Page 4 | Timeshare Users Group Discussion Forums (tugbbs.com)

Stop paying maintenance fee almost 4 years at Club Sunset Mexico.And I got this email today. Any suggestions what’s my next move? | Page 2 | Timeshare Users Group Discussion Forums (tugbbs.com)

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

I can barely read our contract with Sunset, it is so faded, wasn't good from day 1 and has gotten worse. I have no idea how long it is for. We are paid in full also and want to walk away from the maintenance fees. I considered writing them and letting them know that we are relinguishing our membership with them though before we just stop paying the fees. Also saw on another forum that Sunset may be selling or has sold the resort we use (Fishermans). We are not interested in their other resorts.

Welcome to TUG
@jules54 is a TUG member who is also an owner at your resort & may be able to give updated information on Fisherman & Sunset World

 

[jules54]

Hi all. Here is my history and what I know for certain. Sunset Fishermens has not been sold. There is a Fishermens Facebook page owners may ask to join. You must be able to prove your an owner to moderator before you are accepted.

There was some talk of a sale last winter, but everyone I contacted said no such thing was happening. Fishermens has 62 timeshare units the rest of the condos are privately owned which in a sale the full time owners would have to have knowledge.

I own 11 contracts with Sunset Fishermens and we spend the winter there out of the Midwest cold. I also book condos and rent to friends, family, other owners, strangers. I did buy 2 of my contracts resale in 2005,2006 the rest were given to me free of charge with the owners paying all transfer fees.

1)I had 12 contracts in 2020 one of contracts was set to expire. It was a 10 yr contract given to me by a real estate agent that lives in the USA. When Sunset put a hold on all my 2021 and 2022 reservations because I had not paid maintenance fees for 2021 on the contract that was supposed to be expired I started to fight it. Sunset told me it was a lifetime contract also. I said NAWWWW. I read my contract again found the clause number and notations that stated it was a 10 yr contract. Exchanged a few emails with the financial and contract dept and yes they agreed I was correct and my contract had expired. So if your contract was set to expire in 20 years it has. Unless somewhere along the line you signed the agreement to extend it for lifetime. Send the letter stating the facts and you will no longer be paying because your contract has expired PERIOD. If I had not owned 11 other contracts I would have done exactly that.

2) If an owner wants to sell or give their contract away they only pay the transfer fees 150.00. Or whatever it says it is in your contract might be less. No paying 5 yrs maintenance fees to dump it. That 5 yr fee prepayment is for commercial resale companies to keep them from default.

3) If I owned property in Mexico I would also stop paying the contract if I could prove I had tried to get rid of it in others ways. Obviously I am not a Mexican attorney so this is my opinion. If there is trouble down the road you can deal with it then. Sunset really does not want to get collection agencies and lawyers involved for something that is worthless. The worth to the organization is the yearly fees.

4) If I lived in the US and wanted out I would send the letter informing Sunset you would no longer be paying. As others have stated it’s a RTU contract not deeded. If collection agencies become involved which I think is doubtful I would just ignore it. Credit report companies do understand what a timeshare is. Especially if your credit is strong otherwise.

Here are my final 2 cents it’s understandable that financial circumstances do change over the years. On the other side of this debate is you did sign a contract to purchase something. You used it for many years and now don’t want it any longer for whatever reason. To simply default puts your obligation on the shoulders of the rest of the owners of that resort. The resort company never loses they just pass the costs on to the owners in higher maintenance fees. If you tell yourself that you’ve tried everything to get rid of your contract and Sunset has been unfair to you a default is a decision each owner has to make for themselves.
Sunset is a difficult organization to work with. My experience comes from Fishermens only not the other Sunset resorts.

 

[jules54]

I can barely read our contract with Sunset, it is so faded, wasn't good from day 1 and has gotten worse. I have no idea how long it is for. We are paid in full also and want to walk away from the maintenance fees. I considered writing them and letting them know that we are relinguishing our membership with them though before we just stop paying the fees. Also saw on another forum that Sunset may be selling or has sold the resort we use (Fishermans). We are not interested in their other resorts.

FYI Sunset financial dept will email you a copy of your contract in a PDF. This copy will be clear and easy to read. Whenever I take contracts I ask Sunset to email me the original contract and they always do.

 

[RTVA]

Out of 8 defaults by US citizens on MX timeshares (please see below), four resulted in credit drops, including two (2) resulting in collections (Wyndham and El Cid). Depending on the terms of your TS contract, the MX resorts might be able to place a lien on your or garnish your wages, but that hasn't happened with the 8 aforementioned defaults.

If you make the hard decision to default, please kindly let us know if your credit got affected. It would help tuggers in similar situations moving forward.

[ 2020 ] Timeshare Default Credit Report/Collection Tracking
Some of you know I have been tracking this. Out of four (4) more TS defaults reported on TUG Facebook, one (1) got his credit affected. It’s a start, but I have tabbed the following stats: 1) out of 43 reported defaults, 13 got reported to the credit agencies 2) out of 26 MF defaults, 4 got...
tugbbs.com

New User, Want out of Mexican TS
Hi guys (From Sunny California), I am new here and this is my first post, so I sincerely apologize upfront if I am posting this in a wrong section of the Forum/boards. I also apologize for this being a longer type of post. Last November my wife and I purchased an El Cid Vacations Club...
tugbbs.com

[ 2020 ] Timeshare Default Credit Report/Collection Tracking
Just some trends I noticed. Out of 50 data points, 14 percent of MF defaults get reported to the credit agencies, while 59 percent of mortgage defaults do. Canadian or foreign owners of US TS have less reason to worry about credit score drops. Wyndham and Vacation Villages seem reasonable on...
tugbbs.com

New User, Want out of Mexican TS
Hi guys (From Sunny California), I am new here and this is my first post, so I sincerely apologize upfront if I am posting this in a wrong section of the Forum/boards. I also apologize for this being a longer type of post. Last November my wife and I purchased an El Cid Vacations Club...
tugbbs.com

https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/t...eport-collection-tracking.304138/post-2622684

[ 2019 ] anyone has stopped paying maintenance fees, what happened ? | Page 4 | Timeshare Users Group Discussion Forums (tugbbs.com)

Stop paying maintenance fee almost 4 years at Club Sunset Mexico.And I got this email today. Any suggestions what’s my next move? | Page 2 | Timeshare Users Group Discussion Forums (tugbbs.com)

You've done such a great job tracking credit drops/collections, but have you tracked liens/lawsuits, as well? Ours is RTU, Mexican, fully paid, MF default with credit score drop/collections (we're presently disputing). I'm worried about them trying to sue us and actually reached out for a legal consultation (O'Grady Law in NV)I have to remind myself that I've never attempted a social media operation yet. Also, I could just pay it, and vacation there again, wearing a "do not sign anything!" t-shirt and spreading the news to other vacationers... granted, that could be physically scary.

 

[Patricia9]

FYI Sunset financial dept will email you a copy of your contract in a PDF. This copy will be clear and easy to read. Whenever I take contracts I ask Sunset to email me the original contract and they always do.

I've read both your recent posts and conclude: 1. Obtain a readable copy of the contract (PDF). 2. Advise Sunset that you are looking for a new owner for your membership and ask how much the transfer fee is. 3. Make an attempt to sell or give it away to show you tried (Probably here on TUG). 4. Last but not least if selling/giving it away fails then walk away.

 

[jules54]

Once again that is only my opinion. By no way am I saying it’s ok to walk away and I don’t know how it will affect your credit score. I only would roll the dice if doing for myself. Transfer fee should be in your contract. Right now Sunset is offering a great discount on maintenance for 2022 if you pay them by 10/30. If you do sell or give away your contract it has to be paid up. Sunset has all the power if they approve the transfer. If your not current on maintenance fees Sunset won’t allow the transfer. You can ask for 2022 maintenance fees back from the buyer. You do know if you pay your maintenance fees and don’t use your week you can roll it over within Sunset not bank with RCI and have 2 more years to use it? If you have been paying yearly, but not using your week if your banking it with RCI it’s just sitting in your account. I’ve taken contracts that have 5 paid weeks on them. If knew the right thing to ask and I was able to recover all the past weeks and use them to book the next year.

 

[Patricia9]

Once again that is only my opinion. By no way am I saying it’s ok to walk away and I don’t know how it will affect your credit score. I only would roll the dice if doing for myself. Transfer fee should be in your contract. Right now Sunset is offering a great discount on maintenance for 2022 if you pay them by 10/30. If you do sell or give away your contract it has to be paid up. Sunset has all the power if they approve the transfer. If your not current on maintenance fees Sunset won’t allow the transfer. You can ask for 2022 maintenance fees back from the buyer. You do know if you pay your maintenance fees and don’t use your week you can roll it over within Sunset not bank with RCI and have 2 more years to use it? If you have been paying yearly, but not using your week if your banking it with RCI it’s just sitting in your account. I’ve taken contracts that have 5 paid weeks on them. If knew the right thing to ask and I was able to recover all the past weeks and use them to book the next year.

We did get an email about the discount on the 2022 fees, we only pay them every other year. We did know we could roll our week over, but thought is was only for the next year. However banking it with Sunset doesn't really change our situation, we will be even older and even less likely to go there.
I would think that since we don't owe a MF until 2022, that our contract would be considered paid up until the end of 2021?

 

[Grammarhero]

You've done such a great job tracking credit drops/collections, but have you tracked liens/lawsuits, as well? Ours is RTU, Mexican, fully paid, MF default with credit score drop/collections (we're presently disputing). I'm worried about them trying to sue us and actually reached out for a legal consultation (O'Grady Law in NV)I have to remind myself that I've never attempted a social media operation yet. Also, I could just pay it, and vacation there again, wearing a "do not sign anything!" t-shirt and spreading the news to other vacationers... granted, that could be physically scary.

We received reports of 2 liens about of 95 defaults. In one case, of the Marriott FL, I believe the TS owner unknowingly waived her right of anti-deficiency (i.e. the resort cannot take more than the TS).

https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/s...-notice-of-default-and-intent-to-sell.295884/ https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/a...fees-what-happened.296893/page-5#post-2354414

 

[Grammarhero]

I've read both your recent posts and conclude: 1. Obtain a readable copy of the contract (PDF). 2. Advise Sunset that you are looking for a new owner for your membership and ask how much the transfer fee is. 3. Make an attempt to sell or give it away to show you tried (Probably here on TUG). 4. Last but not least if selling/giving it away fails then walk away.

@Patricia9 If you make the hard decision to default, please kindly let us know if your credit got affected. It would help tuggers in similar situations moving forward.

 

[Patricia9]

@Patricia9 If you make the hard decision to default, please kindly let us know if your credit got affected. It would help tuggers in similar situations moving forward.

I will

 

[Patricia9]

FYI Sunset financial dept will email you a copy of your contract in a PDF. This copy will be clear and easy to read. Whenever I take contracts I ask Sunset to email me the original contract and they always do.

Well it took over 2 months and 3 requests but I finally got a PDF copy of our contract. Now to post it and see if we can transfer it before the current paid up MF expires. If no luck, then we will walk away from it and see what happens.

 

[giapet27]

I started this post in 2020, so I'm checking back in - it's been over a year. We couldn't sell or give away our membership - even our weeks - and Sunset told us the transfer fee was $4000 US. (This was in 2020). Our contract is also lifetime. So far not a peep from Sunset and we did not pay in 2021. We did not receive invoices or anything at all. When they refused to work with us, we wrote to them (1/2021) saying that we would no longer be paying for membership - or expecting to be members, and we would be reporting them to PROFECO. We haven't reported them yet, but if they do try to get us to pay or sue, we do have many things we can share with PROFECO that could be considered a breach of contract. Perhaps we are in the clear? I will post more later - hopefully the same quiet harmony of no membership fees next year too, and an end to paying for something we don't want anymore.

 

[DArk]

I reviewed our contract & noted the membership had an expiry date of Dec 31,2020. Thus, with the help of my friend who is a lawyer, even with an addendum that says lifetime membership, the contract has to be valid.
Thus, I wrote to Sunset stating we’re not interested in extending our membership pass Dec 2020 and that we were giving up our vacation rights to the already paid maintenance fees. I sent this letter via UPS in Miami and found out their office already moved! Thus, I resent it to Mexico instead. ( this was in Oct 2020). I also sent them an email stating the same.
Then, on Dec 2020, I got an email about the benefits of paying my membership in advance. So I resent my email again. This has caused us so much stress that we decided to block their email. So far to date, I have not received any letter from them confirming my cancellation. My credit card numbers have changed so they can’t charge me! I do get calls from different cities in the US which I never answer and subsequently, block those numbers.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

I reviewed our contract & noted the membership had an expiry date of Dec 31,2020.

I do get calls from different cities in the US which I never answer and subsequently, block those numbers.

IMO- those are calls may be from TS buy / rent scammers; and are not connected to the expiry of your Sunset World contract .
Either way you are better off blocking them.

 

[giapet27]

Update - 2023 and one more year after walking away, no collections, no credit bureau issues. I guess we do receive annual emails stating we owe Sunset our back fees, but to date, my husband has ignored them and that's the only contact we've had from them. BTW - I don't think I mentioned in earlier posts, we reached out to give back our membership in 2020 and Sunset told us if we paid the extra (every five years) maintenance fee, they would take it back and let us out of our contract (verbal). We paid it. Then they refused. So if you walk away, just walk because they lie.