I know better... but got sucked in anyway... will cancel. Spinnaker

[rsmartin61]

Just rejoined TUG. Was member years ago. Unbelievably I fell for the spiel again!

We've owned at Waterside Hilton Head since 2001. We've used it and enjoy the resort when we go. Since moving to Texas last year, our usage will certainly decline I believe.

Recently Spinnaker called and called hounding me to attend a VIP Owner Reception. I finally relented after a few weeks of repeated calls and showed up this weekend.

Once there we were told, we are not trying to sell you anything. We just want to go over your account with you. (should have stopped right there!)

Once we were paired up with a Spinnaker rep, they proceeded to tell us how Fixed Weeks are no longer being used and that Waterside will be trying to force owners out by hiking maintenance fees and that there will be special assessments of $5000 plus coming and that they need to move us to the Spinnaker Premier ownership at their newest resorts, Palace View Heights, Bluewater, and Royal Floridian. And they would help us get out of our other timeshares for no cost. (resort transfer fees, MF, etc. paid by us of course)

We were so overwhelmed and ultimately confused by all of this. We were actually happy being at Waterside and our MF are current, so not sure why our account was "flagged" other than we were labeled as VIP which I now believe stands for Very Important Pigeons.

So the end result of them not selling us anything and just reviewing our account and helping us with our "bad" Waterside deal is we are back in the Timeshare payment mode again. How that helps us and is a better deal for us escapes me now that sanity my has returned.

What just happened??

Is Waterside going down the "tubes"? Are owners really getting ready to be hit with thousands of dollars of special assessments? Is Waterside really trying to push their owners out so they can turn it into a rental property?

Anyone know?

We will cancel this deal BTW. You can count on that.

thanks for any comments or help

 

[WinniWoman]

I know nothing about Waterside but I do know you have been HAD. Just cancel immediately. And continue to enjoy your fixed week and when you can no longer use it give it away.

 

[Passepartout]

Like Mary Ann, I know nothing about your TS., But I DO know that your contract is valid and will explain your ownership and rights. TS developer's have all brought out points to create a level cash flow of income. Fixed weeks in bad season don't pay them as much as in prime season. And I also know that nobody is immune from the dreaded Special Assessment. In a TS with owner control of the HOA and proper insurance, the chance of a painful SA is reduced.

 

[PamMo]

...We were so overwhelmed and ultimately confused by all of this. We were actually happy being at Waterside and our MF are current, so not sure why our account was "flagged" other than we were labeled as VIP which I now believe stands for Very Important Pigeons.

I love your definition of timeshare VIP's. Reading it made me laugh out loud!

And to add, don't wait to rescind on this "fantastic upgrade" - do it now! I'm pretty sure there are other Waterside owners on TUG who might be able to answer your questions about the resort and Spinnaker.

 

[tschwa2]

How much is the MF on a 2 BR at Waterside these days. The Marriotts in HHI are probably around $1400. Waterside looked a little tired 4 years ago when I was last there. There isn't going to be a $5000 assessment. MF will go up some and maybe even take a bigger jump by $100-$150 if they want it at gold crown/premium standing. There could be a smaller SA. I couldn't imagine more than $1500 per unit. Unfortunately Spinnaker controls the board and probably has the votes if they wanted to this. This doesn't mean the sales person has any idea what the board at Spinnaker is planning to do. The saleperson does know that the fear of a special assessment can cause owners to re-evaluate and buy to prevent the fee. Buying or changing does nothing to prevent a Special Assessment being levied on what you change to although when you give up your deed and buy into their deeded trust you somewhat soften the effect of a special assessment at a single resort when the trust contains multiple resorts.

I would stick with what you have if you still enjoy it and actively seek to give it away if you do not.

 

[pedro47]

I feel that salesperson was only looking to fill their pocket with a huge sales commission.
We do not own at Spinnaker @ Waterside, but we have visited HHI for the passed twenty (20) years and all that we have every heard that Waterside was a very nice resort and a very well run resort by their management team. Rescind, ASAP if you can and good luck.

 

[Egret1986]

Just rejoined TUG. Was member years ago. Unbelievably I fell for the spiel again!

Welcome back to TUG!

Once there we were told, we are not trying to sell you anything. We just want to go over your account with you. (should have stopped right there!)

This is just one of the ploys they use to get you to listen to their spiel. Yes, they were trying to sell you something and they succeeded.

Once we were paired up with a Spinnaker rep, they proceeded to tell us how Fixed Weeks are no longer being used and that Waterside will be trying to force owners out by hiking maintenance fees and that there will be special assessments of $5000 plus coming and that they need to move us to the Spinnaker Premier ownership at their newest resorts, Palace View Heights, Bluewater, and Royal Floridian. And they would help us get out of our other timeshares for no cost. (resort transfer fees, MF, etc. paid by us of course)

We were so overwhelmed and ultimately confused by all of this. We were actually happy being at Waterside and our MF are current, so not sure why our account was "flagged" other than we were labeled as VIP which I now believe stands for Very Important Pigeons.

So the end result of them not selling us anything and just reviewing our account and helping us with our "bad" Waterside deal is we are back in the Timeshare payment mode again. How that helps us and is a better deal for us escapes me now that sanity my has returned.

No, you're not back in the Timeshare payment mode again as long as you rescind their "deal," which your renewed sanity now tells you.

What just happened??

Is Waterside going down the "tubes"? Are owners really getting ready to be hit with thousands of dollars of special assessments? Is Waterside really trying to push their owners out so they can turn it into a rental property?

Anyone know?

We will cancel this deal BTW. You can count on that.

thanks for any comments or help

No, I don't believe Waterside is "going down the tubes." I haven't owned at the resort for several years. This sounds like the current tactic used in order to resell you on a different take on what you already own. Diamond Resorts uses this also, as well as many others. DR acquired my group of resorts. I won't ever attend another "update" or "account review" again. I've heard from others about this ruse that the salesmen use to get fixed weeks owners to give up their deeded weeks (and money) in order to become a member of the new and much improved points system. They allude to much increased maintenance fees and special assessments, which you can avoid by spending thousands now to get out of your antiquated fixed week and into their shiny new points system. They are just there to help you out of the goodness of their hearts.

As they say, "how do you know if a timeshare salesman is lying? His/Her lips are moving."

Rescind now. If you find you're not using your fixed week at Waterside, get rid of it; but don't buy into the BS.

 

[dougp26364]

We’ve heard the EXACT same scare tactics used by other timeshare developers who moved to a points based reservations program, trust based ownership or whatever sort of internal club they came out with. To date none of the scare tactics ever came true. Eventually DRI increased their THE Club membership to the point that MF’s on deeded weeks was as high as the fee’s on their trust ownerships, but they were never higher and, if we’d have dropped out of THE Club, our cost would have been less than those who owned trust interests.

Marriott used this sort of deception on us when they changed their program to a trust point based system. We needed to “buy more” to “supercharge” our “old” ownership or we’d be left out in the cold. I’ve usually responded why would I give money to liars, because either the original salesperson lied about how great what we own is or your lying about how bad what we own is. Either way, I’m not throwing good money after bad.

Don’t don’t worry about what a Spinnaker salesman told you. We own a French Quarter week in Branson and have heard some whoppers anytime we sat thru a Spinnaker presentation, although it’s been awhile. We were even told they’d be flying 747’s into Branson’s small airport because, “The whole world is coming to Branson.”

 

[rsmartin61]

thanks for the comments... i have my cancel letter all prepared to be mailed tomorrow.

they didn't sell us a points system... it's an internal ownership program. they sold us Palace View Heights (new development in Branson) with the ability to use the units 2 BR lockout at Bluewater (HHI) and Royal Floridian (FL) interchangeably, at least that's my understanding.

the thing I discovered as I was going through the paperwork, which we signed in a dimly lit hotel restaurant at Embassy Suites.. is that the Waterside deed transfer was actually dated January 18, 2018, yet everything was done yesterday Feb 3, 2018. The notary statement says we even appeared before her on January 18, 2018, which is blatantly false and I think illegal under the notary rules.

This whole thing has been so nefarious. We've always been happy with Spinnaker and Waterside, but this experience has shown them to be total snakes.

I sure hope it all works out.

I feel so stupid.. I know better than this! I'm still wondering what happened to my brain last evening!

I have to wonder how these people go to sleep at night... totally devoid of any integrity.

 

[PamMo]

..the thing I discovered as I was going through the paperwork, which we signed in a dimly lit hotel restaurant at Embassy Suites.. is that the Waterside deed transfer was actually dated January 18, 2018, yet everything was done yesterday Feb 3, 2018. The notary statement says we even appeared before her on January 18, 2018, which is blatantly false and I think illegal under the notary rules...

Wow. That's plain stupid, let alone wrong. That absolutely could get the notary and sales team in trouble. You should definitely report her to your state's Secretary of State.

Make sure you keep records of the meeting, dated receipts, etc. They think they're smarter than their "victims" by putting an earlier date on the paperwork to avoid you rescinding the "agreement". Seems to be out and out fraud.

 

[rsmartin61]

Wow. That's plain stupid, let alone wrong. That absolutely could get the notary and sales team in trouble. You should definitely report her to your state's Secretary of State.

Make sure you keep records of the meeting, dated receipts, etc. They think they're smarter than their "victims" by putting an earlier date on the paperwork to avoid you rescinding the "agreement". Seems to be out and out fraud.

just to be clear, all the agreements for purchase are dated Feb 3, 2018, but the deal was that i was exchanging my Waterside unit plus more money (dumb dumb) for the new unit. What I didn't see until today as I was going through everything was that the deed they prepared to transfer my Waterside unit, was dated January 18, 2018. That's the only piece of paper with that date on it, but I'm a bit worried they could record that deed and I'd be out of my Waterside unit, even though I canceled the Contract. Pretty sure I have enough paperwork and evidence to show that they predated the deed transfer. Hopefully it doesn't come down to it, but if I have to get a lawyer I'll be sure to go as far as I can with it, because that would be outright fraud on the part of Spinnaker and it's agents.

 

[Iggyearl]

IF you are unable to just rescind the purchase (because of dating) and IF you can't get cooperation from Spinnaker on making things right, you might want to engage the local press/news first. A column in a local newspaper, or a 10 minute spot on the local news will go a long way in correcting "bad behavior." No company wants a nosy reporter knocking on their door. And - it's free. Lawyers aren't.

 

[brianfox]

I have to stop reading these "I know better" posts. A few messages in, and I feel like I need to take a shower.

When will Westgate complete the 10th Circle of Hell Resort and Spa, which will house all of the planet's Timeshare Sales Lizards?

 

[rsmartin61]

i wrote the cancel letter patterned after what I found here on TUG and had our signatures notarized.

this may be overkill, but I'm going to overnight copies to put them on notice BUT mail the actual wet-signed letter to them via USPS certified return receipt since the Missouri law I read says the letter needs to be mailed.

I'm including copies of the purchase agreement, the "fraudulent" deed conveyance (with the false dated statement circled and my notation that it is a false statement) and the cash payment I made at the signing on 2/3/18.

Hope this all works out.

 

[Egret1986]

i wrote the cancel letter patterned after what I found here on TUG and had our signatures notarized.

this may be overkill, but I'm going to overnight copies to put them on notice BUT mail the actual wet-signed letter to them via USPS certified return receipt since the Missouri law I read says the letter needs to be mailed.

I'm including copies of the purchase agreement, the "fraudulent" deed conveyance (with the false dated statement circled and my notation that it is a false statement) and the cash payment I made at the signing on 2/3/18.

Hope this all works out.

Good job!

 

[pedro47]

Good luck and kept that receipt and all your documentation in a safe place .

 

[rsmartin61]

looks like all was successful... all funds have been refunded.

 

[Egret1986]

looks like all was successful... all funds have been refunded.

Fantastic! Congratulations on your success and that dodged bullet!

 

[silentg]

We stayed at Waterside when we went to Hilton Head. Nice resort. Glad you were able to recind.
Will you be using your timeshare for trading, now that you have moved?
What week do you own? Would you consider a TUG exchange in the future?
PM me if you like.
Silentg

 

[theo]

I feel so stupid.. I know better than this! I'm still wondering what happened to my brain last evening!

I have to wonder how these people go to sleep at night... totally devoid of any integrity.

Don't beat yourself up; you were obviously smart enough to rescind, so all is now well again. Good on 'ya!

Sales weasels are masters of deceit and psychological manipulation. Just be glad that you don't share those "traits".

Oddly, I get occasional calls from Spinnaker Resorts, despite having never contacted them or ever having even momentarily set foot on any Spinnaker property at any time. Have only even been to HHI once. I have no idea how / where Spinnaker somehow obtained my name and / or (unlisted, unpublished) home phone number, or or how they might know I own timeshares (I frankly suspect a RCI leak, although I haven't belonged to RCI in nearly a decade now). No matter; I certainly know how to hang up the phone. "Goodbye" --- click.

 

[pedro47]

The best thing about this thread is you "Rescind this Contract." To the OP, I agree someone is selling our personal information.