These can be a really good thing. My best friend swears by them. However, she is in her thirties and buys them from EBay at a fraction of the original purchase price. And, she and her family actually use them.
An estate planning client came by the other day with the good news that she and her husband, both in their seventies, had just purchased another Time Share. This one was in Oceanside. They were visiting the city over the Thanksgiving holidays and went to the obligatory one hour informational tour. Right.
They were subsequently strong armed into signing the dotted line on an investment of over $20,000 which they neither needed nor wanted. They signed to get the heck out of there. They had the usual slew of people come “talk” to them and weren’t allowed to leave until they said “yes.” Personally, I think this is outrageous behavior by the sales people and the companies they represent, and the behavior should not be allowed by any reputable company.
The contract allowed my clients to cancel it within seven days. Indeed, they attempted to do just that. One stated cancellation method was to contact the sales office. They sent a timely email to the sales person canceling the contract. No acknowledgement or refund. Another stated cancellation method was to send a letter. They sent a timely certified / return receipt letter to the address listed. No acknowledgement or refund. A third stated cancellation method was to fax a notice to a certain number. They attempted to send a fax on numerous occasions. One finally went through after many, many busy signals. It too was timely. Still, no acknowledgement or refund.
One threat letter from their lawyer resulted in no acknowledgment, but my clients most certainly received their refund within 24 hours of my sending the letter – in all three stated manners. I think companies who treat people this way should be acknowledged publicly. This particular company is Fairfield Resorts and the property address is 333 North Meyers Street, Oceanside, California. Maybe this was a fluke. After all, these are the holidays. But, maybe this wasn’t a fluke. After all, my letter didn’t go out until three weeks after my clients’ attempts to cancel the contract.
Be very careful when dealing with these time share sales. Some of the companies are really quite good. It is just a shame that this sector of companies does not police themselves better. The bad behavior by one gives the entire industry a bad name.
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