To who ever may be able to help us ?.
Without going into to much detail, in 1997 we purchased a weeks time share with Silver lakes vacation club in california with this membership we were able to either visit the the resort or most importantly to exchange our weeks via RCI,
It was a life of the trust membership. In 2001 we were advised that we could up grade to perpetuity membership, with all its advantages, and benefits, we decided to upgraded, again we were able to either visit the the resort or most importantly to exchange our weeks via RCI.
In 2005, we were advised that RCI were no longer accepting exchange weeks from Silver lakes vacation club, but from 1/1/2006 we would be able to bank our weeks with Donita's dial an exchange, at San Diego California, again with many more advantages and benefits, this as worked very well for us, as we live in the United Kingdom [ Britain], we have only returned to the resort on one occasion, so it is important that we are able to exchange our weeks.
In 2008 we have been advised that RCI are returning to Silver lakes vacation club, but this will be by the points system, and that we would have to to upgrade to the points system to enable us to exchange. The cost to upgrade is huge, and as both my wife and I are 70 year old, and pensioners, and live in the UK, we are unable to afford to do this, if we do not join the points system we are told that we will have to pay a special assessment fee of $1500.00, and still have to pay our maintenance fees, for which we will only be able to visit the resort, this is some thing we will be unable to do. This , in our opinion defeats the objective of time share ownership.
It appears to us that they are changing the rules of the contract we have with them. [They appear to have down graded us, to right to use membership only] we have the contracts, and all the letters that they have sent us proclaiming the benefits we would have from being members of the Silver lakes vacation club, as in the original life of the trust membership and then as perpetuity members.
We have sent them a number of letters, pointing out our situation, but they have only replied via telephone calls, telling us that this is the situation and that we have to accept it.
This is not about us wanting to sell the time share, in fact we have offered them to have it free of charge, but they want $4114.00 to sign a release agreement, we are also prepared to pay our annual maintenance fees, as long as we are able to exchange our time with somebody. We have recently paid the 2008 maintenance fees, and asked them to bank a week for us, which they said they would do, but to date have not done so.
We hope that some one within your organization will be able to help us .if not advise us of somebody who may be able to help us.
[ Earlier in the year we were told, in a telephone conversation that it would cost about $2500, 00, to be released from our agreement, later we were told it would $3000,00,now they have sent us a letter asking for $4114,00, they seem to be saying ,think of a number and this what we will charge, we are very concerned, that time is running out, they want this money by 31 - 12- 2008, so we need to resolve this as soon as possible ]
Quite the dilemma