I have a week in odd years with LOR. The collection company after me as well. I do agree your considerations. But, what are the steps to cease their activities?We now have a second credit company wanting payment, which we will not be doing. Items for consideration:
1.In Alberta the Statute of Limitations changed Dec 15/2019. It is now 2 years.
2. Under the new Consumer Protection Act you have the right to request a statement of you account. We know that the original sale of LOR did NOT include the timeshares. If the accounting is not provided to you within 30 days , the collection agency must cease all collection activity and not resume any activity until accounting is provided. Refer to section 23.2(1) of the Act. We would like to know who are the present owners and how did they get ownership of the timeshares.
3. We got a letter stating that LOR is no longer sustainable as a timeshare community. Por que would we want to pay for something that is not going to exist. There is also an Act called the Fair Trading Act.
4. Judge Young ruled on the interest rate that can be charged on VIAs that predated 2004. Decision date was Feb 28,2018. Only 5% per annum can be charged.
5. It is our opinion that the termination amount ($3,350) is not realistic. There is a provision in the CPA for overcharging for goods and services.
The amount that LOR claims we owe continues to change, however we know what it is worth - tie a quarter to the contract before you throw it away, that way the person finding it has something of value. The place was a dump the last time we were there which was 17 years ago and we are sure that it is still a dump.
I'm surprised by how many variations of leases have been used. I've seen, I believe, 11 agreements so far.
Of those 11, the ones dated before January 1995, do not have a restriction on the increase in annual use fees. Unfortunately, one from September 1994 doesn't have a limit, but yours in January 1995 does.
Then, by 2004, a whole new agreement doesn't have a limit.
Here's where things get even more complicated. There was a dispute at a very similar timeshare at Fairmont Hot Springs. The owners had leases that were almost word-for-word the same as the one lease I saw from 2004, and the company wanted to drastically increase the annual fees. The owners fought the increase, and didn't pay their annual fees while the case worked through the courts. In the end, they lost, had to pay their lawyers and the company's legal fees, had to pay their annual fees plus interest, and were still stuck in the leases.
For anyone with a recent lease, probably anyone after 2004, they should do whatever they can to buy out of the lease. Fighting is very likely to be unsuccessful, for them.
For anyone with an old lease, probably anyone before January 1995, even though the language is quite different than the Fairmont case, they're unlikely to successfully fight it, for the same reasons that the Fairmont owners lost.
That leaves the handful of people between 1995 and about 2002-2004, whose agreements say specifically that the annual fees will not increase by more than twice the annual consumer price index.
For this group, I think the options are to demand that your annual fees do not increase faster than you agreed to, but you still do not have a right to terminate the agreement before its time is up.
Yes- we have the clause which says they can’t raise our fees more than the consumer price index. So we figure why pay them a termination fee? If they really are going to terminate the leases , then we will willingly give ours up, without paying them any money.