Welcome to this week’s Letter from America from Irene Parker, with her own 13 “Secrets the timeshare industry does not want you to know”. These are her own thoughts and follow on from Wayne C Robinson’s book recently published. But first some legal news from Europe.
At the start of the week Canarian Legal Alliance announced they had 23 pretrials or full trials scheduled to be heard this week alone in courts throughout Spain, so it looks like it will be a very expensive week for the timeshare industry. In all there were 44 new cases being prepared and presented to the various courts during October.
They also announced that the Courts in San Bartelomé de Tirajana have once again decided not to send six cases for a full trial at the pre-trial stage, instead the judges will issue sentences themselves. This is very good news for the clients as it will no doubt speed up the process.
It was also announced that another bank guarantee was received by Anfi for over 40,000€ as part of a provisional enforcement of sentence at the court in San Bartelomé. In Tenerife a court has also embargoed over 50,000€ for a German client from Silverpoint. This particular case was won in the Supreme Court. This will obviously ensure swifter payout for clients.
Now for those 13 shocking secrets.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everything-about-timeshares-wayne-c-robinson/1129749757?ean=2940161600962
By Irene Parker
November 2, 2018
After St. Paul switched sides, initially he was not accepted by either side. The Christians were wary and he was scorned by his former peers. This is the no-mans-land a timeshare sales agent may face when he or she realizes the company and industry they work for endorses and rewards sales agents who employ questionable business practices.
The over abused oral representation clause eliminates any complaint that begins with “The sales agent says.” The company representative emails the member their initials on the fine print with a “You signed a contract” dismissal. This dismissal is seconded by some state regulators demanding proof of false claims. Other states have acted after receiving a volume of complaints that illustrate a pattern of unfair and deceptive sales practices. Signing a perpetual contract, with little to no secondary market, accompanied by rising maintenance fees, has spelled financial disaster for family after family contacting Inside Timeshare. Thanks to advocates like Wayne, and our advocate team on six continents across the globe, we have kept up with our spike in contact volume.
Wayne Robinson, author of Everything About Timeshares, Before, During and After the Sale has been removed from Facebooks he had been a member of for years, inhabited by timeshare sales agents. Our Inside Timeshare publisher Charles Thomas carries the same wounds, at times attacked because he used to sell timeshares. I once worked for a crooked life insurance company. After three weeks in the field, I was sent out for training with a top producer. I witnessed him put a pen back in the hand of an obviously dementia diagnosed senior, asking him to sign off on a fifth life insurance policy. I quit that day. Does that make me a villain because I worked for a crooked insurance company?
Wayne’s YouTube, linked in this article, follows the path that led him to become a timeshare consumer advocate.
https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/wayne-c-robinson-author/
13 More “Secrets The Timeshare INdustry Does Not Want You To Know”
“Like any industry, there are shocking secrets with the timeshare industry that consumers are not supposed to know about to protect the integrity of the companies…the industry, and the legal ramifications by knowing what really goes on”
The first 13 Secrets the Timeshare Industry Does Not Want You to Know was a great success. The first report is no longer available, but Irene Parker came up with her 13 Secrets after reading Everything About Timeshares. Irene wrote the forward to EVERYTHING ABOUT TIMESHARES.
We believe the industry can still be a viable source of happiness for families worldwide if widely reported deceptive sales practices are eliminated or at least reduced.
Irene’s 13 More Shocking Secrets
We’d like to hear from you if you have discovered secrets we have not uncovered.
1: The “TODAY ONLY” price is always good the next day, next month and probably next year.
That’s right. The resorts will do all that they can to get you to buy the same day because once you are gone, the opportunity is gone also – so they think. This is why the timeshare resorts always tell their guests that the today price is only good for today. This is untrue, for many reasons.
2: The FREE gifts aren’t free. They are built into the timeshare purchase price and closing costs.
When they throw in more gifts to induce you to purchase, what guests do not know is that the gifts are not free. Those items are already factored into the purchase price and the closing costs. They are only free to those who attend and don’t buy.
3: It’s easy for sale agents and timeshare companies to dodge the contract rescission period.
“… Should you cancel within the rescission period, you are responsible for paying for all the gifts at rack rates and the highest advertised prices.”
There are several tricks that timeshare sales agents will use to prevent new owners from cancelling during the rescission period. “This new (non –existent) program is not available until after the first of the year” is one way. Often the buyer is not allowed onto the booking site until after the contract rescission period has passed. “Don’t say anything to the contract reviewer since this is a new program. I could get fired.” “Wait until you have made three months of loan payments before refinancing.” “Wait a year before selling.”
“You can offset all your maintenance fees” – which the member learns is not true when maintenance fee season rolls around.
4: The timeshare you just bought may have no secondary market.
“It became even more expensive when owners were conned into converting their deeded weeks into points and had to pay an additional $4,000 to $12,000 for their own timeshare.”
The market is flooded with owners who will do anything to get out of their timeshares.
Some resorts have hundreds or thousands of timeshares for sale as many members are fed up with unethical behaviors, poor customer service, broken promises, and lack of availability.
5: With a points program, it is often cheaper to book with an online travel site.
Irene had a firsthand experience when her family converted from a deeded week to a points system. Her daughter lives in New York City. She bought points for this specific location, but learned it would cost her over $8,000 for a New York City hotel using timeshare points. However, when she searched online for the same room at the same hotel for the same period, it would have cost only $950 using an online booking service. When she questioned the company, the reply was, “That’s for people who bought so many points they don’t know what to do with them all.”
As a former timeshare sales rep at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations in Las Vegas at the Desert Inn Resort, Wayne felt that their points program was very expensive compared to booking online. After he added up the original purchase price, the annual maintenance fees, the exchange company membership, and the fee to use the points, it was very expensive.
6: It is not advisable to use third party lending.
“…I felt that the points programs were very expensive compared to booking online at the same resort during the same time period.”
“Not everybody pays the same price. It all depends on the negotiation skills between the guests and the sales reps.”
When you transfer your high interest rate timeshare loan to a third party lender, like a home equity loan, or a credit card, you are in effect asking for a refund as opposed to a loan cancellation, a much greater challenge. Don’t finance a luxury item at 12 to 20%.
7: Master timeshare closers can earn up to $1 million annually.
One of the primary reasons why Wayne entered the timeshare industry was the amount of money that friends were making – over $250,000 per year, and this was in the year 2000.
Now, master timeshare closers are generating up to one million dollars a year or more in commissions selling timeshares.
8: Many licensed timeshare resale brokers do not charge upfront fees
If you’re going to buy or sell your timeshare on the resale or secondary market, always use a licensed timeshare resale agent. Many timeshare resellers are not licensed to sell timeshare online as they are not real estate licensed by the states, so buyers and sellers do not have protection should anything go wrong.
We recommend going through the Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers Association whether you want to buy or sell a timeshare for several reasons:
- Each real estate agency has agreed to conduct business in an ethical manner.
- They do not charge upfront fees.
- They can legally answer any questions about selling or buying a timeshare and know the pros and cons of buying directly from the timeshare company versus through the secondary market.
9: The equity that timeshare resorts say they are giving you for trading in your old timeshare is “non-existent.”
This is one of the biggest scams in the timeshare industry that most timeshare owns are not aware of.
When a current timeshare owner attends a timeshare sales presentation with a different company, the sales reps will always offer to trade in their timeshare for the new one. They will inform the guest that they will give them equity for their old timeshare, and can apply it to the new timeshare. This is untrue. NO TIMESHARE COMPANY WILL EVER GIVE YOU EQUITY FOR YOUR OLD TIMESHARE – PERIOD.
It is a sales tactic that has been used for years, and consumers are still going for it.
10: A timeshare trial or sample program may have no contract rescission period.
Once the 4-6 hour sales presentation is over, and the sales person is convinced that they cannot make a sale, they will escort the guest to the “developer representative.” Actually, there is no developer representative, just another sales person with a cheaper program. This program is called an exit or trial program – a way of sampling the program at a cheaper price ($2,000 $5,000) without long-term commitments.
The objective of this program is to provide the timeshare company with future opportunities to sell the full program to the members.
Trial programs are not defined as a timeshare in some states. Some local governments do not protect it the same way they would a timeshare. If you have purchased this product feeling like you experienced unfair or deceptive trade practices, you may be able to cancel despite no rescission period.
11: Using a timeshare cancellation company may present more headaches than dealing with the timeshare company.
Sadly, many consumers have been scammed by companies that promise to get you out of your timeshare offering a money back guarantee. Not all exit companies are scams, but review this 14 page FTC report listing timeshare exit scams. Getting your money back from a money back guarantee can be as much or more of challenge than cancelling your timeshare. Timeshare members who used these outfits listed in this FTC report ended up stuck with the timeshare and never got their money back guaranteed money back.
https://search.justice.gov/search?query=timeshare+scam+report&op=Search&affiliate=justice
12: Travel clubs that say they can get you out of your old timeshare may not do so.
There are many “travel clubs” throughout the U.S. roaming local communities. Their marketing departments have a list of timeshare owners around the U.S. Wayne believes that the exchange companies are selling these lists compiled of RCI and Interval International members. Former timeshare sales agents and executives are often involved.They will call and inform the member that there is an important update on their timeshare from RCI or Interval International, and they must attend. The lure is a free dinner at a local restaurant. When the guests show up at the local establishment, the sales reps attempt to sell them another timeshare at a lower price, showing them a lower maintenance fee. They will always offer to trade in the guest’s timeshares as long as it is fully paid. The buyer can find themselves stuck with the travel club and the timeshare they thought they were getting rid of.
13: There are many items that cannot be documented in the timeshare contract.
During the presentation, the sales agent shows you a directory of resorts, noting the points required. However, in most cases, you are not shown the actual availability based on supply and demand. Of course you can find good value, less expensive than an online booking, but the internet is flooded with complaints from members who feel the sales agent overstated and over promised availability.
Know Before You Go on a Timeshare Presentation
Before purchasing a timeshare, attending a timeshare presentation, or trying to get rid of your unwanted timeshare, research the resort, the reviews, and the resale costs to learn all you can about the resort and the company. We still want consumers to buy timeshares, but are asking for more honesty and more concern for the member who feels they experienced unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices. If you are aware of our 13 Secrets, did your homework, and still want to jump into a timeshare lifestyle, enjoy your vacations! Three times Irene and her husband exchanged their timeshare, fell in love with the location, bought a home and moved to the exchange destination. Timeshares changed their lives for the better. One daughter now asks when told they go on vacation, “Uh, are you coming home?”
About the Author
Wayne C. Robinson has worked in the timeshare industry for more than 15 years and currently holds a timeshare license in Nevada and has held licenses in Pennsylvania and New Mexico. He has sold millions of dollars of timeshares and has hundreds of owners. Additionally, Wayne has worked for developers reviewing contracts and in sales and marketing.
Wayne has worked for many timeshare resorts in the U. S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands, including Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Wyndham, Royal Resorts, The Manhattan Club, Pueblo Bonito Sunset and many more. He is thoroughly familiar with the contracts and the local timeshare laws on all types of timeshares.
The culmination of his career was being promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for the timeshare at the luxurious Azul Sensatori Resort in Jamaica.
Wayne knows almost everything there is to know about the timeshare industry and wants to share industry secrets to those who want to get out of a timeshare-without paying anyone.
Thank you Irene, I’m sure that we could all come up with a few secrets that the industry doesn’t want us to know, I’m sure there will be many of our readers who will have an their own answers to that question, so if you have any comments on this or any article published, use our contact page and send them, we love to hear from you.
Have a great weekend and join us again next week.
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