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Rescind help

Akari

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Good morning all,

Both my husband and I are complete newbie when it comes to timeshare and I wish we have found this forum sooner.

We were roped into buying Vacation Village timeshare in Williamsburg on August 6th, 2024. It was not an unpleasant experience, we just didn't do our research and bought into the sales pitch. We immediately regretted after we got home so we wrote the rescind letter and both signed it. According to the contract, we sent the signed resind letter via USPS certified mail with return receipt request. We thought it was easy peasy no need to worry cause USPS got it. We were so wrong.

I was tracking the mail from day 1 on the 7th. It got moved to the distribution center in Merrifield, VA that night and since the 11th the mail has been stuck at in transit to next facility and your mail is delayed phase. My husband has way more faith in USPS than I did and convinced me that the mail will eventually be delivered. After 7 days (past the VA rescind period), I called the post office help line to try to locate my mail. They opened a request for me but to no avail. The Williamsburg post office called me saying there is nothing they can do because they never received the mail so they told me to call my local post office. And when I did, my local post office told me they can't do anything either because the mail has left them and the distribution center never answers any phone. I called back to the USPS help line again and they said the only thing I can do is to open a missing mail search and this was last Wednesday the 14th. I opened a missing mail search and have heard nothing back from that front.


I found a thread on this forum of someone experiencing something similar and was suggested to send two more mails to the resort, one certified and one with proof of mailing. On the 15th, I photocopied the original certified mail receipt and the signed rescind letter and another letter stating that our original mail sent on the 7th might have been lost by USPS and sent two priority mails out. The address is the one they provided on the contact. I, again, being extremely anxious at this point, was tracking the mail since day one. It got to Williamsburg on the 17th morning and was expected to be delivered that morning. I refreshed the tracking page here and there throughout the day. The expected delivery date went from noon to 6 pm. But at midnight when I checked again, it says "No such number" and the mail is being sent back to the sender. I thought I was going to have a breakdown. I know the address is right because I have double checked and triple checked.


I'm furious with USPS and the poor, unreliable service they provide but I'm more anxious about rescinding our timeshare contract with Vacation Village right now and that's my priority. We are planning to drive down to Williamsburg tomorrow to hand deliver everything because USPS has throughly proved their incompetency to me. But I'm worried that Vacation Village won't honor it because the first mail is lost. Any advice is welcomed and much appreciated.

I know the worst case scenario is to either just accept the fate of having to pay off this timeshare but I'm also contemplating to lawyer up if they won't honor it and dreading the possibility of having to do that. My anxiety is through the roof and I really don't know what else I can do. Sorry for the long winded post and thank you for reading the whole thing.
 

TheTimeTraveler

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You have proof that you mailed it within the required timeframe on August 7th. You also believe that it was never delivered. Keep in mind that it is the original Postmark which matters (not when the recipient actually receives it).

That said, make a copy of your original Postal Receipt and again mail it along with your copy of your rescission paperwork via USPS Certified Mail with an explanation as to why you are sending it again. From your posting it appears you have already done this. Please note that Postmarks do hold up in Court and it is highly likely that your evidence is a good indication that you originally did what you were legally required to do within the correct timeframe.

Hopefully the address you placed on the envelope did not have any transposition errors so double check and verify the address you were sending to, send it again, and allow 45 days for a refund.

I think it will all work out for you in the end. Welcome to TUG.









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dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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Outside of Registered Mail, Certified Mail is one of the slowest delivery methods. So it may stil get there. I always suggest a regular letter with First Class stamp as a secondary backup.
 

TUGBrian

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yep, just retain the proof the original was sent within the timeframe stated in the contract/state law and you will be fine!

though sadly it may result in you having to jump through a few more hoops than normal, fingers crossed it wont!

congrats on rescinding your timeshare and finding TUG!
 

WorldT

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I wanted to add that if you made the payment with a card, make sure you open a contest on the charge within the card issuer specificied timeframe (usually 60 days but could be shorter) if you have not received your refund by that time. You will need your original proof of mailing as evidence.
 
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