How to quit Club Wyndham

[chowhound]

They described a PIC Plus membership but gave me a PIC Express membership. They just called it a PIC in the presentation and never mentioned "Plus" or "Express". I paid the full amount, around $15,000, and started making the approx $89/month maintenance dues while trying to get them to give me the "Plus" membership like they described. The "Express" is useless to me. They ignored me. I closed my bank account and quit paying the dues 3 months ago and told them I would deed it back or they could foreclose on me. I don't care about my credit rating if they ding it. Now they have sent me to Pinnacle Collections for the monthly dues. How do I get out of this thing?

 

[bnoble]

Do you still owe on the purchase, or is that part paid off?

 

[TUGBrian]

I would deed it back or they could foreclose on me. I don't care about my credit rating if they ding it. Now they have sent me to Pinnacle Collections for the monthly dues. How do I get out of this thing?

your current plan seems to be working as intended.

did you default on the loan too? or just the monthly dues?

 

[bnoble]

Brian makes a good point.

One other question: where is the property you bought located?

 

[Jan M.]

@chowhound said they paid in full.

If they own more with Wyndham than just that purchase with the PICs not paying will be a problem for them. Not paying will shut down their entire Wyndham account.

Would having a lawyer send a letter about this being a bait and switch situation help? Or first contacting Michael Brown's office? Would the appropriate state's Attorney General's office help?

 

[chowhound]

I own 27,000 points with Worldmark by Wyndham and am happy with it. They have always told me the truth, so far, and they have an exit plan that I will use eventually. I'm 78, live in Tucson, and just drive to San Diego to use the points. I don't travel much anymore. I own a week at Sheraton Desert Oasis in Scottsdale (which is Vistana, I believe), and have written them that I want out of it and would deed it back so they could re-sell it and did not pay my annual maintenance fees on January 1st. They sent me a form letter about my default and that they would try to rent it. (Of course they all say I can't book anything because I haven't paid my maintenance fees, like that is a big threat. That is the whole point! I want out! I own a week at the Bay Club (Hilton group) in Waikloa (every other year) and I don't owe fees until January 1, 2024, but wrote them a letter that I want out of it and would deed it back so they could re-sell it, and that I won't be paying my maintenance fees on January 1, 2024. I figure they will all ding my credit score, but at 78, who cares! The only thing I am worried about is getting a judgment against me for maintenance fees and then having it taken from my bank account. About 4 years ago I quit paying my annual maintenance fees to a Vistana group timeshare in Palm Springs (which I can't remember the name of) and they kept billing me for a while and then did a foreclosure which never showed up on my credit report and that was the end of that one.
Boy do I need advice!

 

[chowhound]

My first timeshare was at the Bay Club purchased in 1995. The next one was the Sheraton/Vistana one in Scottsdale, followed by one in Tucson (now a Worldmark), then the Sheraton/Vistana one in Palm Springs that they foreclosed on, then I got suckered with a bait and switch by Club Wyndham. Once I discovered I didn't get what I thought I was getting, I was livid. since I had put it on a credit card and they already had all my money. I outlined the whole sales event to a "Owner Resolution Specialist" who said she verified that my docs were a PIC Express, and there was nothing she could do for me . I paid the monthly maintenance fees for a year, and then closed out the bank account they were coming from. That got their attention - they sent me to Pinnacle, I guess. I don't owe anyone for the purchase contracts, just the maintenance fees. I believe there is a big difference between a timeshare tied to a location, versus one that is just points. You can do a deed back or have a foreclosure on the former - what happens with a points purchase? The older timeshares did not have a clause in them that prohibited selling to someone else yourself. It seems the newer ones state if you do that, the new owner doesn't have all the privileges that you had, and therefore you are forced to give it back to them so they can resell it.

 

[chowhound]

By way of clarification, I have already paid for 105,000 points with Club Wyndham and have $89/month maintenance fees. I do not owe them anything on the loan, just on the MF. It would seem when you default on a timeshare that is a brick and mortar location, you can deed it back or they foreclose when you default on the MF. They usually don't come after you with a debt collection service. (That's what happened when I got rid of the Vistana one in Palm Springs - didn't pay the YEARLY MF in January for a couple of years and then they foreclosed and it never showed up on my credit report). However, when you have just purchased "points" that are not tied to a location, and you are paid in full, but default on the MF, do they eventually foreclose? I don't think it would be a foreclosure - it would be a rescission of the contract. But if they don't rescind it, then your MF obligation just gets bigger and bigger FOREVER. So do they eventually stop the clock and sue you for the balance, and at what point? I can screen and ignore bill collectors but I am worried they could get a judgment for some amount of MF and then try to execute on the judgment and garnish my bank account. Is this out of the question?
Silverdollar gave me the name of a contact in the Certified Exit program and I am going to contact her. I am only 3 months behind. If I could get assurance that they will rescind the contract by a certain date, I would bring the MF current to that date, just to get this over with but I would have to have it in writing as to when it would be rescinded. If they refuse, then I'll just do nothing and wait and see what happens.
YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT THEY DID at the sales presentation - a detailed description is attached - I sent it to an Owner Resolutions Specialist a year ago but nothing came of it. She just said she looked at my contract and we signed for a PIC Express, not a PIC Plus, and there was nothing she could do. So I paid the dues for a year, and I'm still LIVID and I want out. See attached.

 

[TheHolleys87]

Silverdollar gave me the name of a contact in the Certified Exit program and I am going to contact her. I am only 3 months behind. If I could get assurance that they will rescind the contract by a certain date, I would bring the MF current to that date, just to get this over with but I would have to have it in writing as to when it would be rescinded. If they refuse, then I'll just do nothing and wait and see what happens.

I can’t offer anything on other questions you have, but I can tell you that we successfully deeded back our Shell Vacations Club ownership several years ago via Wyndham’s Certified Exit program. They told us over the phone on first contact that our ownership was eligible for the program, and once we confirmed with them that we wanted to proceed it was just a matter of executing paperwork and waiting for everything to be processed by relevant authorities (our ownership was in Hawaii). They couldn’t give us an exact date for completion, just an estimate of how much time it would take, but it was only a few months. We had to pay the MFs monthly until the process was completed.

IOW, we did receive confirmation in writing at the beginning of the process that they would take it back, but they couldn’t/didn’t give us an exact date for completion. And in actuality it took less time for our deed back than it did to process my dad’s gratuitous transfer of his Wyndham ownership to my brother!

BTW, have you seen this sticky thread at the top of this forum: https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/s...vations-wyndham-cares-certified-exit.237533/? Our story is in there along with others.