Want to get rid of Westgate Town Center Timeshare. Based in the UK.

[Aegis]

My parents were suckered into purchasing a timeshare about 11 years or so ago and we've finally come to the realisation that the whole timeshare business is a massive massive scam. Us being based in the UK means that we can't really afford the time/money to really make use of it and we really want to rid ourselves of it as its become clear that it's a black hole that we're dumping our money into.

In short, the mortgage is paid off but we owe a few years maintenance fee on it which has accumulated to about $5k USD to the point that they've sent a debt collection agency after us.

What are some of the options we can take? I spoke to someone from Finn Law group and they said they may be able to help us out (for a fee of course, she quoted around $4500 USD but may be more), but another option I've come across on these forums is to just ignore the debt and eventually force them to foreclose, though the Finn Law representative warned us that they might be able to put us in jail or something equally as horrible.

I'm not sure what they can really do to us since we're not based in the US, does anyone here have any experience dealing with this scenario? Things like dinging our credit rating etc.

Thanks

 

[bluehende]

Do not pay anyone an upfront fee to get you out of your timeshare. And you know that there is no debtors prison anymore so anyone telling you that is just trying to scare you with lies. Being as the credit hit has mostly been taken your best option might be to just ignore them until they take it back. Hopefully someone with more specific experience can give you more specifics on the cross atlantic situation. The correct way would be to pay off the maintenance fees and try to give it away. Unfortunately with Westgate there is little chance you can even give it away. A quick talk with a legal professional may help define any risks or rights you may have.

 

[RX8]

Call Westgate and tell them you won’t pay another dime and you would be happy to deed it back to them to spare them the expense and time of foreclosure. If they say no tell them they can foreclose.

 

[moonstone]

Call Westgate and tell them you won’t pay another dime and you would be happy to deed it back to them to spare them the expense and time of foreclosure. If they say no tell them they can foreclose.

Would Westgate really go after somebody on another continent? It seems like it may be more trouble than worth on Westgate's part.
Just curious, as I've read about Mexican timeshare companies not going after debtors in Canada & the USA & they are a lot closer.


~Diane

 

[Passepartout]

It's probably out of Wastegate's hands now anyway. They got paid for the mortgage, and have now sold the debt for the MF (or given it to one of their minions) for pennies in the hope that the collections agency can extort some funds and profit from the OP.

I think I'd call their bluff. Don't pay a single penny. The purchase was a mistake, and the bigger mistake was paying it off. This debt will have zero effect on visiting the U.S. and no one will be checking the OP's or his parents' credit rating.

Forget it and move on. With (almost any) timeshare outfit, I'd say this was a mistake. With Wastegate, it's fraud and extortion.

All the Best!

Jim

 

[Aegis]

Would Westgate really go after somebody on another continent? It seems like it may be more trouble than worth on Westgate's part.
Just curious, as I've read about Mexican timeshare companies not going after debtors in Canada & the USA & they are a lot closer.


~Diane

That was my line of thinking. We received a letter from from the debt collection agency they hired to collect money. Is there anything else they can do against us to get us to pay? Surely not take us to court or anything like that?

I want to get some legal advice here in the UK but not really sure who or where I should be looking for that would know enough about US timeshare to give a decent answer.