Just somethin' on my mind: Timeshares

Nothing to do with the Revolt

Timeshare, the Multi-Scam

There’s been a post stuck in my head for a long time. Actually, I have a few issues like this one that have been rattling around my undersized brain cavity waiting to pop out and amaze you.

A long time ago my best girl and I bought a timeshare. For a while we had a blast. We traveled all over Europe, Canada, and the East coast. We went to Key West (I want to die there) and the Grand Canyon. We even got a ridiculous rate on The QM II. For a long time the fees were pretty stable, about even with inflation, and there was always a cool place out there for us pick. Hell, finding the place was almost at much fun as the place we picked. It was during this time I got the bug to be a travel writer. I may very well get back into that.

Our trips to Europe were ones for the record books. We spent two amazing weeks in England on one. We actually spoke to realtors while there. Lyn cried her eyes out when it was time to leave. Yes, it was that great.

But plastered on the side of one of the manor houses we stayed with was a garish Hyatt sign. I think it was something about “another” great Hyatt location. Instinctively, I knew this was not a good thing but had no idea why.

I found out later.

When you buy into one of these things it’s a given, watching the sales guys breaking their stones trying to get the sale, that you are up against a bunch of other middle class folks trying to score a way to travel and have interesting vacations. You all login to the travel site and look for available weeks to go to Spain, as an example. It was a really cool virtual community.

But then the bigs saw an angle and moved in. The timeshare people sold massive blocks of weeks to major hotel companies. Also, hotel companies bought out the actual destination locations. For about six months I couldn’t figure out why we couldn’t book our favorite vacations spots (Smuggler’s Notch, MacDonald Resorts, Barnsdale)…ever!

Finally, I put it all together. I wasn’t in a symbiotic competition with people in Spain or England looking for weeks in our respective countries. I was competing against hotel chains selling their weeks outright for huge profits or using them for large corporate events. Fantastic ideas, I’ll admit. But an unethical disservice by the timeshare raiders and by the associated locations to the longtime members.

On top of that, the timeshare companies, with a much smaller retail field, started jacking up the annual fees like two bit whores recovering from nickle night. We were now paying stupid high fees for facilities we had no chance of ever getting.

We weren’t alone.

We spent a lot of time trying to get out from under our timeshare. The whole idea was supposed to be a yearly vacation for less than you’d spend for a yearly vacation. Those days were over. We finally called our timeshare sellers directly and claimed a hardship. We were able to walk away, no harm, no “foul”. They got off easy, the sonsofbitches.

Then years later I started hearing about these timeshare cancellation services. That’s just as big a load of crap as the corrupted timeshare concept itself.

Here’s why. These timeshare companies very skillfully sold off these timeshare properties for several times over their value. AND they were offering a coincidental service; vacation anywhere. So far, I am 100% behind them. Free markets at their level best.

But then, in a blatant breach of their understanding with their market, they sold chunks to corporations. They could have, at that point, refunded the unused portions of the existing timeshare product back to their original customers and made it up, and more, from the big hotel chains.

Of course, they didn’t. Instead, while denying the customer the vacations sites they thought they had, they blew the annual fees from loyal customers through the roof!

Here’s the hook. When buying your timeshare they repeat over and over again the IF YOU WISH, you can deed this week or two weeks or whatever, to your kids! Awesome, right? What they don’t discuss is that there is no direct way to avoid passing this debt, growing exponentially, to your children.

Now some guy on the radio who sounds like he needs lung surgery tells you, I just didn’t want to go the hell for selling timeshares. He then offers you an ironclad way to get out from under your timeshare. If we can’t get you out, you pay nothin’.

That is the easiest guarantee ever offered in the history of guarantees.

So now we get to the back end of the scam.

You have your timeshare. It is increasing in cost exponentially. Then along comes your salvation. You give them a handsome fee and they “get you out of your timeshare”.

OF COURSE they did! They will now collect an additional commission from the TIMESHARE companies for providing them a clean opportunity to do one of two things. Either they resell the same block of time in a revamped, repackaged timeshare scam, or they rent out the parcel for the available week to whoever wants it. As I said, they don’t give a shit. They already sold the whole megillah for more than it was ever worth when they sold the timeshares in the first place!

Paying the timeshare cancellation service a commission saves them a boatload of legal fees down the road. I have never seen a timeshare cancellation contract. But I will bet my bottom dollar there is a clause that says you WILL NEVER sue the actual timeshare company who humped you dry to begin with.

So, once you’ve been scammed, these shysters are trying to scam you again. Don’t fall for it. Get a lawyer who, for a nominal fee, will send your timeshare company a strongly worded letter to cease requiring your fee, and to move on to scamming others with your old share - and you call it a loss.

But from now on, don’t accept the invitation to get a free cutlery set or mini black and white TV just to discuss the next scam with shysters.

Make this your financial litmus test: 1. Do I REALLY want it? 2. Is there a store who sells it? 3. Is there someone who sells the best version cheaper? 4. If it is so good, why are people not beating down their doors to get it? Then go ahead and make the purchase. If you need credit to buy it, think twice.

Cheers. Soldier on.