Is Timeshare a scam? Some questions

[Kenya]

Dear All,

My name is Kenya and this is my first posting on TUG. The following is neither uplifting nor very enthusiastic about timesharing as I feel I have been scammed. Feel free to prove me wrong and tell me why. I am asking three very candid questions at the end and I am hoping some of you will answer them. Without further ado, I’ll cut straight to the chase...

Last December, my wife and I were on vacation in Bali, and on our way to the beach we were accosted in the street by a gentleman who told my wife she had won something big (I forgot what it was) provided we’d go to some fancy resort (cab and lunch covered) to spend a morning with a marketing agent in order to discuss some vacation deal. Here are some useful details:

The agent:
Elle. No last name and no name card, even though I asked for one and were promised I would get one.

The condition:
You buy today or you don’t buy (no time for reflection or investigation).

The deal:
Lifelong studio ownership (for 2 persons) with one annual entitlement week.

Our exchange companies:
Dial And Exchange (DAE) and Interval International (II).

The price:
$14,200 and an annual fee of about 3,450,000 Indonesian rupiahs ($375 at the current rate).

Although not familiar with the arcane mysteries of the business world (we teach literature at the university), my wife and I do not think of ourselves as particularly gullible. And yet, we feel like real suckers.

So, what happened? Elle, our agent, was, of course, very nice. Her demo was very clear and she answered any question we had. But here is the trick: she carefully omitted what would have tipped the balance the wrong way.

The free annual week at the resort in Bali is a nice perk, but what seemed terrific to us is that we could, according to Elle, stay in great resorts in such places as Paris, France, at an incredibly low price (something like $150 a week) for 4 weeks. At the risk of telling you something you already know, this system is called “Bonus Week.” We did not really believe it was possible and so, we asked Elle to do a case scenario. I purposefully picked a beautiful Parisian hotel I had spotted on the Interval International website. Elle confirmed that we could stay there for a month at the price quoted above ($150 per week). BUT Elle forgot to specify one thing: the Bonus Week system only works with Dial And Exchange—NOT with Interval International. And—surprise-surprise!—DAE has no such accommodation in Paris or in any major European city for that matter! In addition, Elle forgot to tell us that the Bonus Week from DAE can only be checked 8 (eight) weeks prior to the travel date. With this in mind, and knowing that such weeks are subject to availability, we now realize that our chances of enjoying such bonus weeks are scant or inexistent.

No need to say, we would not have signed up had Elle been honest about this for it is this concept (as presented to us by Elle) that won our adhesion in the first place. I have no doubt many of you on this site have experienced something similar. I do not mean to rant and I am not asking for commiseration. Rather, I would like to know a few things:

1/ Does anyone out there know a (legal) way out of this mess? Arguing that Elle said this or that will not work in a court of law—we know that much. But is there a legal recourse that I am not aware of?

2/ If you are satisfied with your timeshare deal, can you tell me why? In what sense is it a great deal? As far as I can tell, I gave these people $14,200 for nothing much in return.

3/ Is there a way to sell our Timeshare ($14,200) without losing money?

I am looking forward to hearing from you all.

Sincerely,

Kenya

 

[Patri]

So sorry you were taken advantage of. Your story is all too familiar. Did you pay the entire $14,200?
I don't know the law in your country, but especially if you are young, it is not wise in the U.S. to just abandon a timeshare. It will hurt your credit rating, which will affect the interest rate at which you can borrow money for a home, car, etc. Stay tuned. Others will chime in with useful advice.
And I don't know a thing about your resort, but if you sell, you will likely not get much for it. As a last resort, learn to enjoy timesharing, even if not to the most deluxe places. Traveling is fun!

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

It depends. Look at all your paperwork, it should tell you how long after signing that you can cancel (rescind). If it's past that date, you can't sell it. Most timeshare brokers will not accept a timeshare if there's a mortgage on it. Scammers will come knocking, saying they will take it off your hands for a fee (don't do it).

TS

 

[DaveNV]

Timeshare sales people tell lies to make sales. They have no scruples, and it's very difficult to get them to commit in writing to anything. Whatever she told you is hearsay, and won't be proven in a court of law. It's your word against hers. Her promises mean nothing. The paperwork you signed is all you have to go by.

Presuming you cannot get out of your ownership, the best thing to do is learn how to make the most of what you bought. If you aren't interested in using your week at the resort where you purchased it, the only options are to rent it to someone (hopefully for your annual maintenance fees or more), or to exchange it for a usage week at another resort. Chances are quite likely this second choice will work best for you.

Depending on the trade value of what you own, you may or may not be able to get an exchange you'd like into a resort elsewhere. If your resort is affiliated with II, then your exchange options will be with them first, but you should also have the option to deposit your week with another exchange comany, if you wish. Companies like DAE exist for this purpose. There are other indepedent exhange companies, too, that may be interested in your week. You'll have to do some research.

Selling your week for what you paid is very unlikely. The resale market has little to no value. Many owners are giving away their weeks for free, and a lot are also paying the fees associated with the sale, just to get the ownership out of their name. If you still owe money on your purchase, this option won't work for you, because you'll need a clear deed before being able to sell it to someone else.

At the risk of making things even worse, some timeshare sellers will agree to take your week if you agree to buy something bigger from them. This is a double-edged sword, since it could get the Bali week out of your name, but you could end with even greater debt with the second purchase. You'd have to be very careful to ensure you bought the right timeshare that truly suited your needs.

But before throwing away your money or ruining your credit, take time to learn how to use your week. You may be able to turn it to your advantage for several years, and perhaps sell it or give it away then, after you've gotten your money's worth from it. It will take research and planning to make the most of things, but you could end up enjoying timesharing. (And don't feel bad -- you're in very good company -- many timeshare owners bought their first timeshare from a similar salesperson. We call them "salesweasels.")

Good luck!
Dave

 

[MaryH]

Kenya,

I am sorry you got taken by an unethical timeshare sales person. If you bought in December, I doubt if you can cancel or Rescind the contract.

How to cancel would be in the fine prints of the contract you signed but usually it is only 7 days or 14 day, I doubt if it would be over 30 days and seems you purchased 3 months ago.

Sometimes if it sounds too good to be true, likely it is not true. Most hotels in Paris cost more than $150 per night some can be several hundred euros per night or more so the $150 per week was too good to be true. Even renting a private apartment is not cheap. My sister rented a 1bdrm apartment in Paris for her family 4 or 5 years ago and it was US$1500 for the week. Admited it was near Place de Vosge so a very nice area but even a quick check at www.vrbo.com typically find accomodation in the 100 Euro and higher per night range.

I have a points program that allows me to book the Citidines apartment hotel in Paris that is much less than the 200+Euros / night the hotel charge themselves but my costs is many times the $150/per week.. To be honest, I think we paid more for a hostal in Paris many years ago then the prices quoted.

Resales of the week would be a small fraction of what you paid for it. Althought it would be hard to comment on if the timeshare week have some small market value or not when we don't know the resort.

You need to do some research to see if
1) you can rescind/cancel the contract. Try to google the name of the resort with cancel or rescind to see if someone have gone through the process before and if they have any concrete suggestions on what you can do.
2) Sell it at a loss.
3) Learn the particulars of your week and see if you can get some reasonable use of it.

Hope this helps.

Sorry the news are not better.

 

[MaryH]

Since the timeshare was in Bali, it is likely under Indonesian law..

If you did not find much information, another investigation option is to make a long distance phone call to the Japanese Embassy in Indonesia (Jakarta?) to see if they can point you in the right direction or refer you to someone who might be versed in this topic.

 

[ronandjoan]

So many of us have had the same thing happen with the purchaseof our first timeshare and we are no exception.

But, as others have stated in several threads over the years, we decided to go ahead and try to enjoy what we had, since there was no way out which made sense. $375 is actually a low annual maintenance fee, granted that it is for a studio.

And we have enjoyed timesharing (obviously.) It is better to own more than one, I think, then you can go for a longer time when you have put out the airfare or other travel expenses, but buy the next timeshare on eBay or here on TUGS bargain deals for little or no $$.

Trading the studio in DAE will mean a $50 upgrade fee for a 2 Bd unit but that is still a prertty good price for a week, the $375 + $50 + their low exchange fee.

Is where you own a place you would like to visit? That is important, then you have no exchange fees./ Do I understand it is in Bali?

I would suggest joining DAE and Platinum Interchange (both free memberships) and searching their availability lists to exchange other places. Platinum has Hawaiian places which we have enjoyed, DAE has good Mexican places, etc, etc., Look around, accept that you have it, and you may be happier.