My RCI Timeshare Horror story – The Grandview Las Vegas

** UPDATED IN 2022 **

In October 2006, my fiance and I decided to get away for a weekend and visit a few of his friends in Las Vegas, Nevada. Despite our amazing hotel deal, we were pretty tight on funds and the trip was last-minute in nature, so when we were approached by two sales associates at the Mandalay Bay offering “free show tickets”, there was no hesitation to find out more. We were informed that we would be eligible for numerous Vegas show tickets that evening including Cirque de Soleil, Lance Burton, and others. We were also told that to qualify for the tickets we would need to attend a brief presentation on “real estate opportunities” lasting about 2 hours in length and that there was no obligation to buy – I would later realize that the latter part of this statement was entirely false. Within what seemed to be seconds of accepting the invitation we were whisked through back corridors of the Mandalay Bay and lead to a secluded parking area where a handful of sight-seeing vans were waiting. The 5 minute drive turned into 20 minutes and we ended up pulling into a dilapidated strip mall, far from the glitz and glamour of the strip.

Next came the waiting area. I estimate there were 50 other couples crowded in the converted grocery store that now housed the sales headquarters for the Grandview Las Vegas. We were processed by a Grand View employee and told to wait until our name was called. After waiting you were actually pretty excited when your name was called because this meant you could eat some free food, get on with your day, get your show tickets, and get on with your trip.

We were lead to a R.C.I. conference room of epic proportions and seated at a table with four chairs, our RCI assistant strategically sitting between us. To be perfectly honest, with all the commotion going on and our RCI guide throwing out as many facts and figures as humanly possible (he could have used differential calculus equations to predict the perfect ketchup to hamburger ratio and I would have been none-the-wiser), the events that transpired are somewhat of a blur to us. There are a few disturbing facts I am certain of, I do know that no credit check was ever done on either of us. The RCI salesperson had no regard for our present financial situation and in fact this was used against us to bully us into purchasing the time share because it would be “an investment we would have FOREVER”. When we asked if we could have time to think and possibly come back tomorrow or a later date, we were informed that the timeshare opportunity would have dissipated by then. Somehow R.C.I. convinced two twenty-somethings, in the midst of starting their own business, that it would be in their best interest to have a $500/month timeshare payment and additional fees if they actually decide to take a vacation. So much for no obligation to buy!


After our time share purchase, I realized that an untenable portion of our monthly income was now dead and it was at this point I sincerely believe I went through Kubler-Ross’ stages of dying:

  1. Denial and isolation – I simply pretended there was no time share and did not tell anyone about it or my experience with RCI.
  2. Anger – I wanted to sue RCI for everything they were worth, spam them everywhere, and warn everyone of their unfair business practices.
  3. Bargaining – Please let me bank these weeks that I can not afford to take a vacation!!
  4. Depression – We are never going to be able to make this time share worth it, how could I have been so stupid?
  5. Acceptance – I am now a part of the RCI timeshare community, how can I make this work for me? What benefits can this offer? How can I help other people?

Since this website’s inception in 2007, I have spent over 15 years helping other individuals learn more about their options regarding a timeshare they may have unwittingly agreed to purchase and/or no longer want. This site is designed to help those in all stages of their timeshare experience in hopes to create a more informed buyer, owner, and seller.

If you would like more information on your options, I encourage you to download my free eBook – The Ultimate Guide To Getting Rid Of Your Timeshare. It’s absolutely free, no strings or spam! It includes a wealth of knowledge regarding ways you may choose to release yourself from your timeshare burden.

All the best!

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Rid of Your Timeshare
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465 Comments

  1. Who’s the real scammer? The moment you take the FREE tickets/gifts you’re scamming the company! Stop complaining, you got what you deserved! These timeshare companies are in the business to making money just like any business and their sales people are there to make a living just like you if you have a job. Do you really think companies like Hilton, Disney, Marriott, Hyatt, etc. who are now in the timeshare industry by the way, would put their reputation on the line if timeshares are really as bad as you claim them to be??? Google “timeshare market growth” and see for yourselves! Now to all the “moochers” who say timeshare is a scam, karma is a bitch!

    1. Have you not bothered reading the problems that have been raised? Many people have said quite clearly that timeshare was never mentioned when they were approached in their hotels, that this was a “tour of a new hotel” or “market research”, that everything would be over and done with within two hours and that tickets were for specific performances. If you are told the truth about it being a four hour salespitch for timeshare and the tickets were just vouchers then fair enough. Timeshare may be the greatest thing since sliced bread but why the blatent lies about the presentation?

      1. I am not sure that it’s fair to characterized anyone who are drawn to the offers of freebies are ‘scammers’. BUT, presenting sales pitch as Marketing Research is no more deceptive than covering up the fact that the real reason for attending is the freebies — Marketing Research or otherwise. So here, the knife cuts both ways. Then, I was wondering, does anyone can be so naive to believe that there’s some business models out there that could afford to rain down freebies on anyone for no rhyme nor reason? I like to believe that at the most, halfway into the so-call “Marketing Research”, that we have the smarts to figure out what the programe is all about, and have the state of mind to take control and say “I understand what you’re saying. But I am not hearing a good fit to my lifestyle. I’m sorry, but I don’t want this conversation to continue.” I’ve done that twice; the second time was more comfortable than the first.

    2. You must work for the con artists flogging timeshares to actually have the gall to say that people accepting gifts are scammers. The real point is twofold: when you go to Vegas there is the advertised expectation of having fun and part of that is that every establishment has some sort of “freebee” which we all know are not really free. Even the airlines to get you to ride with them offer “incentives” which you do pay for in one way or another. The real purpose behind offering “freebees” of course is intent, and you have the choice to take them up on it or not. The second part is that they, and this is really f’ing important so please note, NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER use the word TIMESHARE.

      That is the experience that happened to us. It is totally out of line to call anyone who accepts a freebee given in good faith a scammer. The real scammers are those that offer the freebie with malicious intent; “hey kid..want some candy…just come with me” types. I guarantee that if the con artists doing the sales pitch in the lobby used the word “TIMESHARE” almost everybody would say “no thanks”. Duh…the reason they don’t use the word is because when they used to be honest about it, and told you it was for a timeshare pitch, nobody was biting…why…because no matter how you slice and dice it, timeshares and the whole timeshare idea works only for very few people. For most us, it is an expensive, credit busting pain. I was smart enough to say no and walked away from it. Did I use the freebee tickets I got, yep…as far as I was concerned, it no way covered the cost of the 5 hours they stole from my vacation time. If they use the timeshare word with me at the lobby, I would have told them were to shove it and the freebee tickets.

  2. We bought ours back in 2008. LOVE IT!!
    Except for the year when we were too busy making the move from the States to Cozumel (where I can pursue my favorite pastime in diving), we vacationed through RCI at least 3x a year.

    This year, we put our RCI points to good use by sending our Mexican neighbors (mom, dad, and 3 kids — youngest is 7 years old) off to a week’s vacation in Cancún at the Grand Mayan Riviera Mayan; a gift for their eldest son who graduated as the Class Valedictorian of 2013. In addition, he also earned a full scholarship at the University of Mexico. This is a humble, and loving family. When we presented the gift (in the form of a homemade vacation certificate) to them, the mother broke down and cried. (Except for visiting family members and staying at theirs house, they never vacationed as a family.) We told them what to expect: The sales call to attend their presentations; the sales pressure (if they attended); the monetary committment and its implications. Our hope was for them to have a memorable week of fun together before their son leaves the ‘nest’ for school in another State. They heeded our advice and had the best time. The little girl cried on the day when they were checking and asked her mother if they could stayed just a bit longer.

    For those timeshare members where the vacation resorts do not measured up to their high expectation, try finding a family you know who might just be only too very happy to have a vacation with their children at all!

  3. My husband made me attend this stupid Timeshare at the Grand View RCI presentation. The lady who signed us up said,” It will only be for 90 minutes….that was a lie..we were there 2.5 almost 3 hours.” She said its only 3 miles away….that was a lie it was 5 miles away.” Lie after lie the Director of sales tried her best to sell us this time share. After saying no… they sat us next to other couples who also went through the presentation. I asked two other people how much the Grand View was selling them the timeshare and let me tell you…there price was much much much cheaper than what we were offered.

    1. can i ask a question? how much of the timeshare they offer to u and the other couples? they offer me is 8900 for one bedroom.

        1. I’m here in Vegas and the timeshare has reached $9900. What astounds me is that there is an “exiter”, who is the next person you see after the sales rep, always throws out some even lesser amount. WTF? And the resort you pay for is 15 min on the freeway AWAY from the strip.

  4. Anyone who purchases a timeshare during a presentation from the developer should have there head examined. Thousands of people cannot afford the maintenence fees on top of their monthly payments and they loose the peoperty just as if a home is foreclosed. All you have to do is look at the Ebay timeshares being auctioned. People are giving these things away because they cannot afford them. The bidding on several units at the Grandview start as low as $1. I purchased a timeshre in Orlando with 308,000 pts for $500. I researched the deed and observed that the pervious owner spent $34,000 for that same timeshare. All you have to do is your homework beforehand. look at the secondary market. There is even a wholeshare timeshare booth just across the street from the Grandview in Vegas.

  5. Now, pay the transfer fee….I think it’s $100 and pay 2 matinence fees to me and I will,be your buyer . Relieve you of all your problems!!

  6. If you bought at Grandview, and are intelligent somewhat……by law, when you walked back to the office to do verification, the very first book required by law is on top of everything….BIG RED LETTERS….DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING UNTIL YOU READ THIS BOOK!! Do any of you remember this book??? It’s huge! Big RED WRITING, , tells you risks involved, how to cancel , your rights! Everything! The LAW MAKES GRANDVIEW PRESENT THIS BOOK FIRST THING, , BUT DID YOU READ IT?! DOES NOT SOUND LIKE IT, NOW IT’S TUCKED AWAY IN THE BACK OF ALL YOUR PAPERWORK. GO AHEAD, take a look!! Buyer beware! And if you really want the industry to stop, make the first step and stop signing up for free trinkets! No marketing means no sales! The lies and deception starts with the consumer 90% of the time.. QUIT GOING ON TOURS FOR FREE GARBAGE, AND TIMESHARES SHUT DOWN! “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. EVER HEARD THAT! .????

    1. No, Kevin, I was NOT SHOWN ANY SUCH THING! No book, nothing. While I was signing my “mortgage” and receiving my “deed”, the “closing agent” said that there were some problems with the papers (Whoops. we made a mistake. Nothing big. We’ll just reprint them!) Someplace in there somewhere, there are papers missing. (imagine that!) We paid our down payment in installments as we didn’t have the full down payment money with us. We had not planned on purchasing a time share. I used my debit card (looks just like a credit card) to make the partial DP. I NEVER AUTHORIZED anyone to make automatic withdrawals from my checking account for the remaining payments. Well, they did it anyway. first payment of $340.42 came out of my checking. I had NO IDEA that was going to happen. I was waiting for an email showing me the online site where I could make payments. Not only did they take out the down payment, but also $300.00 in “closing fees” that no one had said anything about. those folks are very hard sell and insistent. I could have probably gotten them down to $1,000.00 for the whole thing if I had only known how determined they were to sell. At the time, it sounded like a good idea as my fiance’ and I love Las Vegas and plan on returning every year. It seemed better than paying resort fees and all.

      1. Betty, I am so sorry that you had such an issue. I didn’t realize as you that the payment was going to come out of my acount also for my deposit. I called to find out what’s going on and apparently they will be mailing me my RCI card. STill waiting on it..hope my experience is better than yours

  7. What a bunch of whining babies, my wife and I have been to several presentations, we just told them no and took the free show tickets or whatever they were giving out. My god act like grown ups, if you don’t want something, SAY NO !!! We own a unit at grandview and love it, sorry, I know you don’t want to hear that, but we love and our kids and grand kids love it. They are in the business of selling time shares, in any sales there will be some pressure that’s the nature of sales, they want to make the sale. If you don’t want something just say no, is that hard, just say no and grow up………..OMG

    1. It does made me wonder how many complaints are from those who feels they have to follow-thru with the part as ‘able buyers’. This is a bunch of folks who do not appear to have trouble finding their voices in expressing their displeasures and disapprovals in the strongest of terms — just not at the Sales presentation. Not sure why that is! If I felt that I was put under that kind of unwanted pressure, I have no problem saying what needs to be said and end the nonsense. But whipping out my checkbook does not come to mind — in fact, it’s not even a ‘natural’ reaction in the scheme of things. The complaints are really outstanding; most seemed to be doing the math and taking stock of their lifestyles only AFTER the purchase! Even if one does not know anything else about timeshares, a few things ought to be obvious from the sales presentation at the get-go — it’s a small investment; it’s a long-term commitment in keeping the timeshare, and owning one means committing certain resources for traveling AND time for vacationing, and these are neither cheap nor free!

      Buying into a timeshare should be researched carefully at the front-end. Promises for some FREEBIES are reason enough ONLY to ‘investigate’, but to sign?! God Almighty!

      1. the reason why people pull the trigger and then have the regret is simply because the sales pitch is designed to do exactly that. I am fortunate that I had read a great book called “Swayed” about the psychology of these types of techniques. The book is about how intelligent people can be swayed into making bad decisions, from the pilot of the KLM who caused the worst aviation accident in history to more mondane everyday life things like getting pressured into buying something you don’t really want. I was able to say no. What pissed me off was the complete fabrication of the premiss for getting us there. it was a whole afternoon rather than an “hour of your time”. I stuck to my guns in spite of heavy handed sales. Most folks fold under it.

        1. You are so right! I believe that there are a lot of sales and psychological designs considerations that went into the structuring in that industry. My husband was against timeshare. But a couple, and dear friends of ours, are BIG TIME into timeshares. Both of them have been, and still are, heavily involved in the Travel Industry. Not only do they belonged to a couple of timeshares themselves, but bought each of their kids timeshares upon their College graduations. When they learned that we were visiting Las Vegas, they set us up in one of their resorts, and we were sooo- totally blown away!

          When we were approached to participate in the Grandville sales presentation (yes, for some Vegas freebies), we were curious, and decided to give timeshare a second look. It was really after due consideration that it’s do-able financially (the ability to write them a check up front for the entire amount) that we decided to close the deal. It is really a lot of $$$, and even more so if the deal was to be financed through a bank. Because after the monthly payment to the bank, going on a vacation can be a real strain, or even an unrealistic undertaking.

          Unfortunately, a lot of people though they were being ‘clever’ about getting themselves some freebies. Being in Vegas can be intoxicating — the shows and the casinos; coupled with the “devil may care” attitude while on vacation… So the thought of going to the sale presentation may be no more than just for as a lark! Few really have any idea what they are to expect or about to walk into.

          If nothing else, my point in the forum is not to discredit or belittle those who are going through what they’ve gone through. But the site needs to be more than just beating up buying into timeshare. Yes, for sure, that buying into timeshare can be a nightmarish experience under certain circumstances, but it can also be a good experience in others. The focus should always be to stay true to one’s own financial and lifestyle realities regardless whether it’s timeshare; buying a house, or a car. Any big ticket items (anything with a price tag of $500 or over, IS a big ticket item to me — that should give you a clue that golf clubs felt into that category!) should be a ‘planned purchase’, and NOT an impulsive decision! Look, after 2 years, I am still agonizing over the purchase of a pin-seeker for golf — price rage, $400+; Timeshare unit, upward of $15,000+!

          1. It was not the sales pitch for the timeshare that got us, it was the pitch for RCI. We vacation every year and we want to go to a new beach, every year. Granville wasn’t the lie. RCI is the lie. Go into their slick paged book or their really screwed up web site (unless they’ve cleaned it up in the last two years. Haven’t even looked for a while.) and try to find that fabulous vacation spot that you bought into a timeshare for. RCI is a fraud, but Granville is toxic waste. We can’t sell it. We can’t give it away. We can’t drop it off at the dump. We can’t burn it down. We can’t blow it up. It will not cease to be a financial drain that serves us no purpose, because RCI is a fraud.

  8. The biggest ripoff for us was RCI. The sales people at Granville pushed RCI and it is a bunch of phony lies. They gave us a book showing all the timeshares available for trade and the special deals, etc. Most of these places aren’t available for trade or special deals. Many are booked for years with no vacancies. We were subsequently pressured by RCI with false phone information–special deals to make the special deals even better. What they accomplished is to con us into a situation where we had to use all the special deals in the first year. The one place we traded for was a dump next to a restaurant/bar with a pier that was noisy until 2 a.m. and then had fishing crowd coming in at five a.m. I’d like to know how to just dump the timeshare, take the loss, and stop paying the maintenance fee. We’ve dropped RCI.

      1. Just $5000 paid in full. $1116.50 + 25 Late fee. Week #14 every three years (started 2010 – I believe we have a week coming this year). As I said, it isn’t Granville we have a problem with. RCI was the ripoff. We never intended to come back to Vegas. We wanted to vacation some new place EVERY year. RCI has nothing work paying the money for, and nothing anywhere we want to visit. The thick book of resorts they advertise (and what we were told about them) is a fraud.

        1. Oh ok…I’d offer to take it off your hands, but I’m looking for an everyear one at the Grandview. I don’t know why your having such trouble using RCI. Have you tried going under the “Last Call” tab on their website. Great for quick getaways.

          1. The contracts can be upgraded. As for RCI, have you tried getting a beachfront anywhere in the world? Have you gone through their catalogue and picked out some super nice romantic places like out in the Caribean or Spain and looked for availablilities. Yeah, you can get places on lake or hills (but not in the mountains) in the middle of this continent. In Europe, forget it. Last calls, not a chance on the beach, even in the off season.

          2. Hey Tommy,
            We have a two unit Timeshare at the Grandview. Every year, 120000 points each year. We cannot travel much anymore and would love to sell – Lorrie

          3. Hi Tommy:
            We have an Annual Grandview Timeshare we would like to sell. It’s week #26, a red week (very desireable), a 2-bedroom unit that can be used as 2 weeks as a 1 bedroom if you choose. Our maintenance fees are $761 per year. This contact is in perpetuity, so it never expires, even after your death. We’ve enjoyed it for 6 years but we are planning to purchase a trailer in Florida instead. If you’re still looking, please let me know.

          4. We bought at the Grandview, and purchased RCI points. And I GUARANTEE YOU… You guys don’t understand how this system works. Or you’d be thrilled.
            1) You are not required to stay at the Grandview. But you can if you want.
            2) the RCI points are THE best deal, especially for people who travel a lot, for a living, etc.
            3) RCI sends us special offers at least twice a month, and you can use it to stay ANYWHERE. Not just the Grandview (which I love, btw, and would LIVE there if I could.)
            4) RCI operates as a “travel agent” and gets you GREAT deals all over the world. I plan to buy more RCI points ASAP.
            5) RCI & Grandview are NOT like the old fashioned timeshares, that limit your opportunities but make you pay thru the nose.
            You can buy as many special offers a year as you want, anywhere you want, plus Last Call opportunities, and still use your free week if you want.
            YOU GUYS JUST DON’T GET IT.

            My husband travels & speaks at conventions, and thru RCI we get awesome deals. Like a week at a luxury 1 bedroom, full kitchen resort in Ft. Lauderdale for $199. Not per night… $199 for the WHOLE WEEK. It was a slice of heaven, and there was no way we could have afforded it without RCI. (Yes, they tried to get us to attend a presentation to upgrade, we said No. And then we unplugged the phone the rest of the week.) You just gotta know how to say NO, and then ENJOY the awesome benefits.
            We just spent 6 weeks at the Grandview, and it was not our free week either. I got ill on our vacation. RCI offered us great deals so we could stay until I was able to travel again. Like $159 per week. You couldn’t TOUCH that price anywhere else. They took good care of us, and checked to make sure I was alright. EXCELLENT service, and beautiful grounds & pools (5 of them.)

            You guys need to educate yourselves and get a clue before you throw away a wonderful opportunity. It may not fit your lifestyle. But it sure fits ours!

        1. Hi tommy We dont own at Grandview but do own a timeshare at Sheraton Vistana resort in Orlando Fl.
          We own every year floating week 2 bdrm 2 bath kitchen LR
          DR washer dryer in unit. You can goodle the resort if you or anyone you know wants to buy we dont use it anymore.
          Karen

    1. We bought our Grandville Timeshare in Vegas in 2007. Love it! Love it! Love it! Okay, I know it is not something many wants to hear. Were there exaggerated claims of wonderfulness? Absolutely! True, the 90 minutes did stretched to more than a couple of hours. But in all fairness, I don’t remember anyone putting a gun to my head to make me stay; we were not chained to a chair; the room was not locked, and we were not forced us to sign a check. Stripping away all the ‘wonderfulness’ of the sales pitch, the only questions we asked ourselves were these:
      * Are the fees and cost are something WE CAN AFFORD over time?
      * Can our lifestyle afford us the OPPORTUNITY to take off and travel?
      * How mant times within the Point System can we do so

      Blaming others for lying as though it’s the first time you have to deal with lies, well, that’s not exactly honesty either. Besides, admittedly being ‘fooled’ by others is not any self-flattering statement; be careful about short-change yourself. Yet, most interestingly of all is reading SO many who somehow found their voices here in the blog, but not during the sales presentation when the feeling of being underpressure and ‘trapped’ were so keen that it would have made lashing out a natural reflex… But signing a check?

      1. Glad your experience was positive for you. Ours was not and the problem was the lies we were told and realized several days later and we are some 5 years down the track from you.Ours is a lot different to yours as is a lot of other people. I am not a winger and we have all had different situations but hopefully you can continue to get all the other places we have tried.

        1. Sorry to hear that. Wished things had turned out differently. From all that I have read in this blog, I do wondered if there’s anything that we could have collectively done from our experiences, both good AND bad, that could make things better in addressing the essentials of buying into a timeshare. Your thoughts?

    2. Bud, I am not able to go to the “Reply” button to reply to your latest new message. My understanding of your response are these:
      1) The wonderful resort offerings by RCI are not available, and
      2) You are stuck with RCI membership because they (RCI) made unloading it through through available sales, impossible.

      While I cannot address the first concern, that is, finding those ‘wonderful beaches’, sales of your RCI membership should not be made ‘artificially’ difficult. Do share your experience with us. Collectively, we need to address this issue head-on. Let’s resolve one problem at a time instead of being relegated to simply spitting venom; nothing ever gets done this way.

      1. I can just stop purchasing my RCI membership, which I have. But the reason for buying the timeshare was so that we could use RCI to vacation in all those fabulous places thay falsly adverstised as being available for trade and highly reduced rates. Since RCI is useless to us, our timeshare is useless. It’s the timeshare we can’t get rid of. It was the same people who sold us Granville who sold us RCI, so profess their inocense as they may, they are lyers, cheaters, and theives.

  9. My husband and I visited Las Vegas and we did attend the timeshare presentation at the Grandview. Susan our presenter sold us on the value of buying into a time share since the costs of vacationing would be sooooo muuuch cheaper when we used the points system. We were told that using the points earned each year would cover most of the cost of airline tickets and hotel stays and we had only to incur negligible expenses . We paid our deposit but decided to do further checks on the claims made. Needless to say the claims made by the Grandview rep was inaccurate. The points converted to a discounted fee which is some cases covered only a small fraction of travel/hoted cost. We sent our revocation order by express mail and made it just in time to qualify for a full refund of our deposit. We have since received a full refund. If anyone is thinking of attending a timeshare presentation at the Grandview or any other place in Las Vegas, I would suggest the following DON’T GO, but if you do and decide to purchase check package to ensure that the revocation order form is enclosed, if you do not live in close proximity to Las Vegas and you have second thoughts, go back in person and revoke your purchase since you have only five() calendar days from time of purchase to have the revocation enforceable. Use the express mail method of posting because a certified mail takes much longer to reach the destination. As the saying goes IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE,BEWARE.

  10. Does any one have the (RCI) Grandview Las vegas Fax number for Revocation. I sent the certified mail but wanted to send the fax too.

    Thank you,

    Michael

    1. Look for Pat May 2011 down further on these pages there are 3 numbers I tried them all and one eventually worked. We are still trying to get our deposit back via the bank !! Hope this helps as this Grandview Time Share sales people are such liars. We never knew about that form until I accidentally discovered this site.

      1. Thank you, I got the number…. I have faxed it to all the numbers listed below by Pat…..
        You are correct these guys are liars. They told me that I would have an extra two weeks a year( other than the 49000 point I gain every year) vacation pakage I could use for life and then I found out, once got home, that it was only for three years…That was the thing that I saw as an advantage. I shold have known better…
        From what I understand we are supposed to get our money back within 15 days of them recieving the revocation letter…. We will see…
        How long has it been since you turned in the revocation form?
        Thanks again,

        Michael

        1. Hi Michael, Am so glad you found it. Yes we had the same thing with the extra weeks !! You should be fine getting yours back as long as it is within the 5 days we lost a day coming back to Australia so we tried to contact Grandview but they would not put us through to the person we needed so we could get the fax number. He was with other clients!! We put our form back in November but because of the day ahead and the phone calls that weren’t put through we are still trying to get our deposit back via the bank.Thank goodness for this site as we aren’t the only ones who have been scammed and lied too.

        2. Hi Michael,

          May I ask you if the revocation letter you mention is the form needed to fill in to sell the timeshare you have?

          I have looked for a way to sell this for 3 years now, we have a unit in the summer at Grandview Las Vegas, but have not used it, as we were relocated to China workwise, and want to sell, but it is a bit like being lost in a dense jungle to get any information on how to proceed:-)
          Thanks in advance, hope the revocation letter is what I need to get started.
          Regards,

          Lone

          1. Aussie,
            Hope you get your money back….

            Lone,
            The revocation form we are disscussing here is the one that allows you to cancel within 5 days of purchasing the Timeshare…. I am not sure how you go about selling Timeshares.

            Michael

        3. Michael,

          I read the same thing when we got home regarding the 3yrs on the extra “free” weeks. When I inquired about that I was told that all it means is that those weeks are renewed every 3yrs through RCI and has nothing to do with Grandview. Contact RCI and they will verify it for you. So, it actually is true that they last forever

    2. Thank you Michael but not hopeful the bank believes the fact we signed all the forms and we were told everything!! Expensive lesson but now have legal people involved but they will not get another cent from us so to help other people is a bonus!! Despite what Bryan says he has been very fortunate and has no understanding of what has happened to us !!

  11. we are canadians got stuck with a grandviewtimeshare -our job circumstances have changed greatly
    now we are not even sure if we can afford our present house let alone the ts

    have any other canadians had experience cancelling the contract after the 5 days ?we signed a year ago

    can they affect your credit in canada ?

    1. this is something I recently read on a thread…

      Well I was reading on if I stop.paying them them n this is some thing I came across

      Hi,I’m from Quebec too and own 3 timeshares in Florida that I’m in the process of getting rid of.I was able to get rid of one very quickly and I intend to do the same with the other two.Here’s how things went :- I stopped paying .- The resort sent me e-mails to know what was happening.- I replied telling them no money would be paid anymore and that the only thing I would accept was a deed-in-lieu. ( they take back the unit ) . I warned them that I was a canadian citizen unaffected by credit ratings . I warned them I would take no phone call from them, only e-mails.- I received the same e-mail from different people of the resort , always replying with the same answer.- After three months , I started receiving calls ; I always answered in French , speaking very loud and showing the caller I had no clue about what he was talking about. The calls stopped after only three calls. ( that was fun ).- Finally , I received an e-mail from a « person-in-charge » . I was very firm : no money, only a deed-in-lieu , and if they decided to sue me , they would have to do under the Quebec laws , so they would have to translate everything in French etc etc ….- One week later , I was offered a « deed-in-lieu » .I had a $4500 mortgage balance on this timeshare.So , here’s what I suggest :- Forget what you invested ; it’s gone . you just want to get out.- Don’t give them a penny. Don’t talk to them on the phone. E-mails only.- Ask for a « deed-in-lieu » . Be very firm .- You’re a foreigner, they can’t do much and they won’t sue you.- Forget about them and be happy.

      I hope it helps… I am stuck in a timeshare myself and after some research I have decided to stop paying them as of today.

    2. Hi Sidney,

      I am from Ontario Canada and I too wasted a day at the Grandview last Wednesday, but I guess it was worth it for the tickets I received, however I was finally offered bottom line,a foreclosed 1 bedroom for ($5400)or $100 / month for 7 years and maintenance fees of $113 a year, + 1 extra week. I almost bought it but thank goodness I walked away . I do not believe it will affect credit here in Canada as they go by a Social Security number which is very different from our social insurance number. Not having a social security number attached to it, they cannot guarantee they have the correct persons bureaus. As well, I hold a JC Penny card and it has never shown up on my bureau in the 5 years I have had it. Hope this helped a bit. 🙂

  12. Stayed at Grandview last week Oct.2012 through RCI with points from other timeshare. Room was old,average, nothing to rave about.
    Knowing the ins and outs of RCI, can’t believe we attended timeshare presentation. Fast talking,smooth,price kept coming down…still can’t believe I signed for 1 bedroom. All the info they conveyed I later found out was bull. Very high pressured sales and the free breakfast was stale & continental. Incidentally when I signed all the paperwork, the female clerk conveniently stuck the most important
    piece of paper into the completed file (found it later). It was the directions to cancel the contract legally without bias, as per Nevada State Real Estate Commission. If you do sign for a timeshare – DO EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS IN BLACK & WHITE – WITHIN 5 DAYS as I guess they are governed by the Nevada Real Estate Commission and want to keep their license, as too many complaints might prove not very beneficial. In the end I received ALL of my deposits (CC and cash)…..back within the next month….JF-ON/Canada

    1. Same experience here. We were certain we did not want to take it, but ultimately signed up and I will not blame anyone but ourselves for buying something that was not for us. Someday, I will share this sorry tale in detail to all of you to read and learn from our experience.

      We are still in our 5 day period, so please let me know what fax numbers you used for sending the revocation form? I have been trying to locate a fax number in the contract but can find none. I have already mailed out the forms, but want to fax them too. I just don’t want to be stuck to this, because truly we cannot afford this luxury at this time.

      Any help will be greatly appreciated.

      1. Keep reading we found a fax number somewhere on this site. We went through the same thing, not told about the hidden revocation form, the extra weeks we were given actually expire after three years!!! At present we are fighting to get our deposit back have cancelled our credit card and the bank are on notice with our deposit. Like you we can only blame ourselves but it sounded so good at the time and we were in holiday mode.We have received a letter from them and threatening emails but ignoring it all.

        1. Phew. I have an update. Finally it looks like things are looking up. We finally did find fax numbers somewhere on the internet and kept faxing to all of the numbers. I also had to send out an Expess mail requesting a return receipt. By the way, did anyone of you notice there were two revocation forms out there, one to FL and one to NV? Well, just to spare any confusion, we faxed and mailed to both offices. Heck, I even googled to figure out how we can send a telegram, but glad it did not come to that.

          We kept trying all day yesterday to get on the phone with someone with no success. We managed to get someone on the phone today. They confirmed they have received the fax and the revocation form and asked us to mail back all of the material they’ve given us. Finally, the money should come back to us within 15 days, they said. I hope this is good news and we get back our money. We definitely signed up for much more than we could afford.

          I have been doing little else since I am back from my trip other than reading up experiences and advice from people.

          1. I am in same situation as you, we are within 5 days to mail the revocation form. The address is 2150 west Jo Rae Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89183.
            There is no fax or phone number on it, any advise?
            Did you get your money back yet?

          2. Yes Grumpy we did find two forms hidden but both to Florida!! We still have not heard anything since my last post. Did you get your deposit back?

          3. Well. We still haven’t received the deposit, but got calls from both the FL and the NV office confirming that they received the package and that they’d refund the money. We’re going to wait for 1 more week before we contact them and ask them.

            Anyone knows what one should do in case they don’t refund within the specified timeframe?

          4. Got the money back folks. Actually got it in about 25 days after they received it. Can’t tell you how thankful and relieved we are. Wish all of you the very, very best!

            My advice – Do not buy it unless you evaluate you really need it.

  13. Their employees are big fat liers! First if you are promoting timeshares then admit it and inform the customers that you are telling. Dont tell them its to view the hotel and promote damn business and take a deposit and say it is not refundable until the presentation is completed. I went to see how the hotel looks like and perhaps it would have been of interest to stay in in the future and to inform my friends. The morning of pick up i was told no its a timeshare! I am not interested in one at the moment. And would have purchased it that day however if i was lied to from the get go, what do you expect me to think of the company?! Sorry but if you lie in the begining then all of them possiably are liers! The first Sales rep George Morales was Awesome. He knew is stuff and was very friendly and explained things well. His manager Mike was an asshole! Did not care much for customer service and was like here here George would explain!

    All in all this company sucks!

  14. JUST CANCELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
    fukin cancel
    don’t believe a word of any positive comments – they are all planted by staffers.
    CANCEL – fuking cancellllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

      1. i am so happy to be reading something good about this place. my husband and I purchased one last year and i can’t wait to use it. Also a friend trades with RCI all the time for St. Thomas and loves it.

  15. I work for Grandview.I am a top sales rep and i never pressure anyone to buy. First let me apologize not just for GV but for any sales rep that has used this kind of practice to get a deal its just wrong and totally unethical! I am a true believer in timeshares not just because i sell them i own as well myself.There are pros and cons to timeshare. Yes you have maintenance fees yes you have monthly payments yes you have exchange fees yes you have RCI fees…so yes it cost money! Its not for everybody. So hmmm lets take a look at the scenario here: young couple just got married don’t own a home combined income under 60k a year. Should they in anyway buy a timeshare? Hell no! You know what you can afford and if you let anyone talk you into buying something you know you really cant that’s on you.Although there are some pretty smooth talking sales reps out there YOU CAN’T GET SOLD! Vacation ownership is a great concept for the right people or a horrible idea for the wrong.Don’t buy a timeshare and expect instant gratification or instant savings because its not possible ( and if any sales rep tells you different they are lying and you should run!) its a long term investment now when i say investment i don’t mean $$$ i mean an investment in your future vacation accommodations for you and your loved ones. You will not save any money on your vacations as long as you are making monthly payments on a timeshare pretty much what you are doing is saving up for your vacations month by month. Now once its paid off and all you have to worry about is your maintenance fee once a year and your exchange fee when you book then you will see the reason you got involved in the first place when that 6k trip to Hawaii only cost you $1500 (I know this because I’ve done it)and you can do trips like that all over the world for the rest of your life! That’s what makes vacation ownership great.With any product there is good and bad but use your own mind just because someone you talk to tells you ‘oh never by a timeshare its a scam’ ask them what makes it a scam? I pride myself on helping people understand how our product can work for them. I don’t scam anyone,and i still get deals. At the end of the day what good is making a bunch of money if you cant look at yourself in the mirror or sleep at night.

    1. NexusMaN, I can truly appeciate a person who not only defends himself but also takes pride in his work! Kudos! 🙂 I must say I did not feel that way whatsoever with my Vacation Village representative: J. Johnson. He was great! As a matter of fact, we call him every so often not only to talk about our travels but also to see how he is doing. He changed our lives forever by making it mandatory for us to spend quality time with one another, to remember what is important: FAMILY. This is one of our best investments. We have been given the opportunity to have a great time without spending ridiculous amounts of money on hotels. I think I spend more time on the RCI than anything else! LOL I’ve become a “no clipping coupon” RCI fanatic, looking for beautiful and exciting places to build memories to cherish forever.

    2. Nexus, your a piece of crap and a liar. Face these facts.

      Virtually none of the timeshare salesman own. Wonder why.

      Good luck getting Hawaii via a RCI exhange, or much of any good exchanges via RCI these days. Oh, then a price increase to top it off.

      Stay away from these idiots and buy everthing resale, if at all.

    1. I purchased a Grandview timeshare and am completely 100% happy, much happier than I was with our “Hyatt” so called premium timeshare. That said, our friends made a purchase and went through with the revolcation process – no problems. They read their packet, found the form, submitted it and presto, a return of funds.

      But, as the saying goes, buyer beware. I was asked repeatedly if I met the income qualificaitons. And, I had to sign a form indicating that I did meet the qualifications BEFORE the freebies. But, I can see how the dazzle of free tickets would make someone forget they didn’t qualify or just be disenclined to admit their financial difficulties. Next time, listen and read more carefully, you won’t have this type of problem.

      1. The problem is these people will not return the favor and listen to you. The leeches at the hotels will say anything to get you to the meeting for the freebies. Things like its only 90 minutes and if you don’t want it just say no and you will be fine. The pitch people on the street never ask if you are qualified or tell you the truth about what you are getting yourself into. Once you are there everything changes and the high pressure sales people have you there for 5 hours and refuse to take no for an answer.

      2. Cata,

        I am trying to sell my Grandview Timeshare. If you or you know anyone that is looking for a timeshare.

        Cindy email (redacted)

    2. If you didnt get a revocation form, thats grounds for a cancellation, even after the recission period. See a lawyer immediately.

  16. This has really ruined my entire outlook on vegas. We are here 4+ hours and has taken up half our day. How can the hotels promote this crap?

    1. The way to deal with this is to ask what time commitment is required for the gift. Usually its 90 minutes

      So say that you have a dinner in 90 minutes. And then leave, and state emphatically your not leaving without the gift. Scream loud if you have to.

      1. You know I bought a timeshare 25yrs ago and have enjoyed it. Sure it has its pros and cons (as does EVERYTHING)and while I understand some of the things your saying, it still ALL sounds like a bunch of whinning A**HOLES that can’t or shouldn’t have bought BUT STILL DID…and NOW want to bitch and moan about it. Be accountable for your own decisions & actions people!!! Blaming a salesperson for doing thier job…REALLY…?? YOU made a choice/decision to go see them did you not?? You were the cheap asses who chose to trade “YOUR TIME” for show tickets…again YOUR DECISION!!! There are plenty of people like myself that enjoys traveling via timeshare, and no its not for everyone thats true, but you make that decision right then and there…simple. If you like it and can afford it, BUY IT AND USE IT. If you can’t DON”T FREAKING BUY IT, but don’t belly ache and whine like a baby for the choice YOU MADE!!! Use your big boy voice and simply say NO..I can’t afford it, get your cheap ass tickets and be on your way.
        But for you to tell people “tell them you have dinner plans in 90 mins” “and yell and raise your voice if you have to” JUST TO GET SOME CHEAP TICKETS?? Who’s the damn scam artist here?? Just take responsibility for your own choices and actions and don’t blame them on someone whos simply doing their job, whether you THINK its a reputable one or not…just grow a pair and man-up for gawd sakes and quit your whinning.

        1. It is one thing if these people were honest. However they use deceptive tactics to get you into their time share meetings. When I went to the meeting they got me by whisking me away to a booth that was set up like check in. I thought I was being offered a deal with my check in…but after I bought the tickets and asked for my room key they said check in was “over there”. In addition the 90 minute presentation is easily 4-6 hours in length…again false advertising. I have no problem attending meetings like this with full disclosure…however whisking newcomers to an area that looks like check in and offering show tickets for a 90 minute presentation that is easily 3 times that length is lying at its best. I am sure they would get less traffic if they were honest about the process…but in return they reap what they sow. They get cheap skates who game the system in return for being deceptive about their practices. You want to hear whining…listen to them whine about people who won’t pay exorbitant prices for a worthless time share where you are lucky to get a place you actually want to visit.

  17. My wife and I bought in 2005, one unit, and we use it every year and love staying at the Grandview, we also use our bonus weeks, have stayed in some really cool places. Its paid off now were happy with it and the grandkids like all the swimming pools.

    Nothing is free !!!!

    1. Brydogs57 hello
      Did you have to pay more for your bonus week than an exchange week? Was it associated with your timeshare base an affiliate? Thanks

      1. The bonus week works the same as a “last call”. There’s a limited inventory, and it’s only available 45 days in advance, but it’s the same $200 fee.

    2. my husband and i bought in 2011, we have not used it yet, i have no clue how or what to do!! i am lost.. anxious to figure it out so we can try using it

        1. Hi Cindy,

          I’ve been an RCI owner for about six years. It’s pretty easy to navigate the RCI system, once you give it a try. You can always call RCI, and they’ll help you a lot, but it’s also fun to just get the hang of it on your own, and explore what’s out there for you for your next vacation.

          Just sign on, choose “search for a vacation”on the top bar. Then choose the month you want to travel from the list on the left, then keep on narrowing down your criteria – country, state/province, area, etc.

          You don’t always have to use your week or points, whatever it is you bought. You can book an “extra vacation” if it’s for a friend or family member, for instance. It’ll usually cost a bit more fore the week, but will still cost them a whole lot less than if they booked a resort on their own. They also have to pay a $60 guest check-in fee.

          You can also book a “last call” vacation, which is only what’s available 45 days in advance, and it will only cost you just a little more than an exchange would.

          If you also got bonus weeks when you bought your timeshare, they work about the same as a “last call” vacation – only available 45 days in advance, but will only cost the same as an exchange fee – $200/week.

          If you want to call me, I’m in Calgary, AB (redacted), or email me (redacted). I LOVE RCI, and I’d be more than happy to help you if I can. I book vacations for my friend and family all the time, so I’m on the RCI website quite often. I just booked a two-week, three-bedroom, gold-crown resort in Florida for my sister in law and her friends, and it only cost then at TOTAL OF $810 for the two weeks!! And my nephew and his friends are getting a two-bedroon (actually two one-bedroom adjoined apartments) in Las Vegas for about $450 for the week – and that’s for six people!

          Hope this helps you a bit. Have fun planning your next vacation!!

          Judy

          1. Hi Judy,
            I am looking to sell 2 timeshares. One is In las Vegas and the other one is in Orlando, Fl.

            Thanks,

            Cindy
            email (redacted)

  18. I am the owner of 2 time shares, both weeks. One of them I bought sight unseen for a red week that would sleep 8 just so I could trade and get the biggest units or trade down through RCI. The 2nd one was w/in 45 minutes from my home town but in the Mountains near Mt. Hood and I could do day things there, use the pool , hike and stay mid week for cheap. I bought #1 on the secondary market from someone like YOU who got in and then said “holy S….” what did I do… so I bought you out… the 2nd was a close out sale with only 3 units left and they were willing to wheel and deal so I got a buy… all of that was 25 years ago and I have loved loved loved using them all over the world. you just have to plan ahead. IF I was to buy another one, which I doubt , I would only buy points… as easier to use especially if you can travel mid-week. Time shares have their place and I am a believer.

    1. Always good to hear about the positive side of Timesharing. When the buying-and-selling is a good fit, it’s a wonderful thing. But then again, the sales pitch of Timesharing is not always done on the up-and-up, which is a real shame. It can turn ugly really fast when a Buyer ‘caved’ under sales pressure from agents who cares only about making a sales in light that the financial capability of the buyer is questionable. Most complains stems from timeshare owners who are so financially stretched that by the time they made the payments, that tying up money 10 months in advance in booking the unit presents a real financial hardship.

      We bought ours back in 2007 — no regrets! When done right, timeshare offers the kind of dream vacation that most people can only read about in a magazine.

      I love golf — and goodness! The courses I have access to through my timeshare is truly amazing! Another passion of mine is scuba diving. During a scuba diving trip with RCI, we fell in love with the Mexican Yucatan. Using the RCI vacation points, we returned to Mexico at least 3 more times within a 12-months period to scout out the area and ended up buying a house in Cozumel about a year-and-a-half ago. We retired 6 months after that, and have been living in Cozumel now for a little bit over a year. So there are happy outcomes with Timeshares.

    2. Hi
      I just bought a time share week 7 at the grand view 2 bed locked unit just waiting for the card to log into site what i would like to know after i get then card what is the first thing i should do book a trip or rent my unit use it one time get point from it I have another couple that we travel with its a little confusing can you give me some pointer as what we could do
      Thanks
      Marc

  19. Hi, I have bought 3 timeshares with Vacation Village. I am on points and I am a platinum member with RCI. I receive approximately 200,000 points a year. I have no problem booking places that I want to go. You need to book early and being a platinum member gives you a free upgrade to a larger nicer unit if one is available when you check in.

    I love being a RCI member and I’ve been going to great wonderful places. I also have 3 extra weeks every year and sometimes I will book and rent these to pay my maintenance fees. I purchased Gold Crown Red resorts that have high point value to get the maximum number of points for the best price.

    According to RCI, I have booked and stayed at 15 different resorts. The secret to booking is book early, so 10 months in advance will get you where you want to go, if you want to go to your home resort, you can book that up to a year in advance. I rather not stay at a Gold Crown resort, too fancy for my liking, so I stay at a hospitality or Silver Crown resorts and use less points to stay. Even if you don’t book early, you can still grab something nice. Last year I spent a week in Aruba on the ocean, with a pool, swim up bar in a 1 bedroom suite with a full kitchen. I booked it 8 week before we wanted to go.

    I have also booked several vacations for family members and they also love the place they stay. I like staying at places that have a full kitchen, so you can buy groceries for the week, we bring our own spices, etc in a carry on and it ends up costing about $125.00 for the two of us for the week on food. Eating out every night costs way to much, usually in an area like Florida we spend between $60 and $80 every dinner if we were to eat out. We will eat out once for dinner and once for lunch.

    The weeks program is dying out and points are the way to go. You can use your points for cars, airfare and cruises, however I find I rather keep my points and rent the units as I get more cash for renting the unit for a week than the cost of the airfare, cars, etc.

    I don’t understand why someone would want to travel to the same destination year after year when there are many beautiful places to see in this world. I hear it as the old ladies talk at the pool at how they have been coming here for years and they know everyone at the resort on their purchased week, not for me, I’m adventurous and want to see new places and faces.

    Hope this helps…

    1. My partner and I just returned from a trip to Las Vegas and did the Grandview timeshare thing. I was initially upset that the word “timeshare” was not mentioned when we signed up to go but but never the less went along with the “3” hour presentation.

      I would have to say we had a good saleman (and he was a salesman) but I did not feel pressured by him at any time during the presentation or subsequesnt 5 hours we were there. We evendually signed up for on a plan that got us 24500 points per year and 1 free week annually. This was not what they started pushing at us and as we knew what we could pay we kept holdin out until the right offer was put on the table.

      It has only been 3 weeks since we signed up and I am really keen to get our registration so that we can look to booking our future holidays. We have no intention of going back to Vegas and bought into this knowing we could use the program to travel across the world.

      From what I am reading it is important to book well in advance and this may be difficult at time but I understand we can let other family members use the weeks if we can’t make it.

      we are both hoping we have made the right decision and are now comfortable after the initial period of doult we experienced.

      1. EZ, my husband and I also bought our timeshare with the RCI in Grandville, Las Vegas. We considered ourselves ‘anti-timeshare’ at the time. But that changed when we stayed at a timeshare unit that was arranged by another couple who is BIG on timesharing as their ‘guests’. The unit was so impressive that we decided that if the opportunity presented itself, we will take a look at what’s in the market.

        Well, the opportunity did present itself by a gentleman manning the front desk at the hotels where we stopped by for breakfast. And ‘yes’, the presentation dragged on longer than anticipated — 3 hours at least. The bottom-line is that we did bought into the timeshare package that has an annual deposit of 122,000 points. All in all, we have no regrets. Thinking back at the sales experience, it still cracks us up.

        The salesman wanted us to know that he is a very religious man and is working to be seated at the right-hand side of God, while in the same breadth, he bragged about how he evaded paying tax on income that he made on the side! At some level, I think that he’s just itching to see if someone will call him out! Later on, we asked him to put in writing that they will indeed buy the points back, which he did, and signed the document using his nickname. Goodness! We did enjoy playing along because the long-and-short of it is that we believe a timeshare is a good fit for our pace. We did wonder whether he’s just trying us, or worse, maybe having been in this kind of high-pressured sales after a while, all prospective consumers are viewed as dense!

        You and your partner seemed to know what you are doing in selecting the package that’s supports your particular circumstances. Unless you’re used to paying out-of-pocket and staying in 5-stars hotels whenever you do go on vacation, the price point charged by the timeshare for the unit you get CAN, and WILL spoil you. My husband now cringed at the thought of staying in a conventional hotel room. I have another friend who also bought a timeshare (nobody has to sell her, she sought them out) at a penthouse level said the same thing — she’s SPOILED!

        True, some resorts are better and not so in some other cases. I book my vacation with RCI using their on-line tools. But before I commit, I will also do an independent search about the facility and read up on others comments by their regular guests who visited there as well. Sounds like a lot of work, but going on a vacation is, and SHOULD be fun, so I have no problem putting in the efforts as the whole process IS about fun.

        I personally do not believe that timeshare is right for everyone — as evident by the many postings. Even after the initial purchase, on some of the resorts that we visited, they have their own sales force who wants to sell you THEIR own resort’s timeshare. So, remember to avoid accepting anything “FREE” — gifts, or free programs to welcome you. It’s really a sales presentation in disguise. Just say “NO” applies here as well!

        Enjoy!

    2. I’m with you on that one. I was wondering about the same thing too. Really, why does anyone wants to stay in the same resort over and over — okay, I will not even ask why they want to go to the destination repeatedly. We used to lived in Florida, and I have return twice to the Orlando area (because I have friends living in that area), but each time, I stayed at different resorts. My husband just plain refuse to go, because as he puts it “I used to live there; we moved, so why vacation there?”

      There is this one posting where the person was lamenting how it was nice initially when they were given an oceanfront unit, but over times, they were put in some units at the back lot. I am just speculating here; that as a first time visitor, the incentive to show off their best side is greater — and justifiably so. But year after year, the resort may want to offer the same view to other new visitors. Speculation or not, take the Mexican Yucatan as an example, there are SO MANY nice resorts to choose from! Personal approach and expectations on booking a vacation through timeshare sometimes can make the entire experience a good one, or a misery waiting to happen.

      There was this one presentation (yes, pennace for our sin of accepting a free welcome gift!) that was supposed to last 45 minutes, but was going on into 2 hours. I was going through the motion of listening to the sales pitch while knowing full well that it ‘ain’t gonna happen’. I was getting increasingly restless, annoyed, and pissed that the sales pitch was taking time away from my vacation (bottom-line; we stopped the presentation and that’s that). Just about that time, we heard the popping of champagne cork; all the salesmen in the office joined in the celebratory toasts in behalf of the buyers for their wonderful purchase — and the buyers? They were sitting looking shell-shock wondering “what the hell have we just done!” written all over their faces. So yeah, things like that happened!

      1. Just curious, we are thinking of buying a resale timeshare. I have found some for $500.00. Are you happy with your purchase? Any tips? Thanks for any information you are willing to provide. Karen

        1. Well, ours is for sale cheap. As I have said above, it isn’t the timeshare that’s the problem. It’s RCI. I don’t know what Dennis got for his money, but if you want to go to Vegas every three years for a week or if you think you can out talk the Granville/RCI sales people as re-sellers, I’ll make you a better deal than they will.

  20. Damn, I AM SO GLAD my wife found this site….It was day 5 out of the 5 day cancelation timeline and I got the fax in immediately. I will forward this site to anyone that I know going to Vegas…Loved Vegas but goddamn man, this is just a shit show program. STAY AWAY FROM THE PUERTO RICAN CHICK NAMED INDIANA !!!! nothing but smiles and lies (well actually all she did was regurgitate everything all the others said verbatim as they spoke)

    GET OUT! SAVE YOURSELVES!

  21. Just bought a resale at bonnet creek inside the disney property. $900 all closing and resort transfer fees included with 300,000 pts. Its a Wyndham property maintenence fees are $135 per month but 300,000 pts can equate to 5 weeks of Vacation time if you know who to book at the last minute. BUY them at resale/wholesale prices!

  22. My family has been experiencing excess medical bills and we cannot afford our timeshare. If anyone is interested in buying it at what is owed please contact me.

  23. My bf and his two frineds have a timeshare that is split between them three. His friends are the main owners of the timeshare and my bf is the third owner. Everything like calls, e-mail and payments are done by the main owners unless otherwise there are late payments or the main owners are not responding to calls, they call my bf. Anyways, they got the Grandview Las Vegas timeshare 2 years ago, we all enjoyed it..everything was cool. However just last year they got suckered into upgrading to a 2bedroom and they upgraded. Now They cannot afford the payments no more even with 3 people in the timeshare. Is there any hope in cancelling the timeshare? Can they even cancel? and if so what are the steps in doing this. I need simple clear steps!

    PLEASE im in desperate need of help~
    THANK YOU

  24. Please people!! You are all scared idiots with buyers remorse. The reason people paid less is because they got much smaller packages… Prices don’t just drop.. Things are taken away.. Duh!! As for buying resale: you are buying a cheap program for those cheap prices.. Not to mention people’s past due maintenance fees. Stop being so cheap, educate yourself on your product so that you can utilize it correctly, and don’t ruin a great thing for families that are intelligent enough to reap the wonderful benefits of vacation ownership. Cheap idiots that continue to go to presentations for freebies & not buy talking about the “steal” at the end should obviously be ignored. They are only looking at numbers (because they’re too broke & stupid to ever look at what they would get) they are not looking at the amazing benefits of the bigger packages. People who are enjoying this product are too busy living their lives & vacationing with their families to waste their time doing this… Remember that owners. There are bad reviews on everything. A simple mind that can’t make sense of a beautiful, complex film will say “that sucked”… Drrr… Lol! Same thing happening here. They’ll be staying at super 8 while you’re in a bungalow in Fiji 🙂 enjoy!

    1. Dude must be a salesman. The simple fact is that you can get these timeshares at 5% of the asking price online and on the secondary market. Don’t buy them from the salesman at the promo show. You are flushing your money down the drain. They are not investments, they do not increase in value, and most importantly the fees are pegged to interest rates so that you’ll pay more every year from here until you default on your contract. In times like these, it is plain stupid to be buying a package that dictates how you will spend you vacation every year. Not to mention if times get tight, this is something you cannot get rid of. You are locking yourself into a luxury that is overpriced, inflexible, and as plenty of these stories will attest sold, by people who straight up lie about the value, trade ability, and fee structure of these timeshares.

    2. I agree RR. We are celebrating our anniversary in a $300 a night resort for the cost of the booking fee.

  25. Just bought a 2 bedroom, 61,000 points/ year, 4 extra weeks/year and my deed is week 2 for $17,990 with 667 maint fee… I think is a good offer but only %10 sure….

    1. I would read everything first and make your own decision base on what works best for you. If you’re gonna use it a lot, it’s worth it, but if not, it’s not. That’s my advice…I’ve bought and cancel after my research.

    2. You still have a chance to cancel. Check the internet. Specifically, Ebay. There are several Grandview weeks on Ebay right now that are selling for less than $100. Take a look. Perhaps what you did works best for you. For me, I’d buy one of the weeks on Ebay.

  26. Thats what you get in getting free staff…DOnt complain you get free tickets and food anyway.I think if you wanna get their free staff be nice to them and be polite thats the least that you can do, dont go there with an attitude as if your rich, if your rich and money why even bother to go and waste your time off vacation..If you think your wasting your time your wrong cause you cost them their job.

    Just be nice to them and they will be nice to you.Tell them the truth why your there and they will understand..Thats what i did and i have a good time share experience. If you think its good deal go for it you will be the judge.

    Hope this will be a lesson to everyone who plan to go to timeshare presentation.

  27. Before you commit to this “adventure” read some of the other posts, particularly the one from “Donna”, dated May 12.
    It’s quite likely that you will be subjected to high pressure sales tactics. Sometimes the salesperson accepts your “no”, most times they’re going to pressure you. Expect to see at least 2 salespersons, sometimes 3. Everyone will have a better deal. The longer you delay, the better the price. As far as price goes, you can always get it cheaper on the internet, particulary from Ebay. Look at ebay.com, and search for Grandview timeshare. You will see what people actually are willing to pay when there’s no high pressure sales talk.
    If you feel you can stand up to the pressure, then give it a shot.
    REMEMBER, if you do sign anything and have second thoughts, cancel ASAP!!
    Also remember that the salesperson will basically say anything to get you to buy. If the promises are not contained in your contract, you won’t get them.

  28. Hi everyone,

    I went to Vegas last May and I agreed to put a deposit in return for either a 2 nights/3 days during the weekend or 3 nights/4 days hotel stay at either the Palazzo or the Venetian.

    I’m not interested in buying any timeshare, only interested in the free hotels, because the sales lady told me that my $$$ will get refunded after I attended the timeshare presentation. Is there anyone who can tell me the exact experience, on what u’ve been through, and any tips to get out from there asap?

    Thanks.

    1. Obviously you’re already aware it’s a timeshare presentation and that you’ll be pressured into buying so in that regard you’re already several steps ahead of most other people here. Make no mistake about it, the sales tactics are very effective, so if you allow yourself to go with the flow you’ll surprise yourself by being more open to the idea of timeshare than you expected!

      Two easy things to do:

      1. make sure you’re physically incapable of buying on the day – leave your credit card in the hotel safe, don’t take any other cards or bank details, leave everything but spare cash at the hotel. That way, even if you want to buy, you won’t be able to.

      2. Read the comments above. This one: http://rcivip.com/my-rci-adventure-grandview-las-vegas/#comment-2728 is especially useful in terms of how to get out quickly. These two: http://rcivip.com/my-rci-adventure-grandview-las-vegas/#comment-776 and http://rcivip.com/my-rci-adventure-grandview-las-vegas/#comment-800 are the best for walking you through what you should expect on the day itself.

    2. Hello Marcel,

      I am into similar situation like you and right now planning to book 2 night/3 days at Venetian. Can you please let me know what it is all about ? Do they cheat you ? HOw long was the presentation ? If you dont buy time share do you still get the refund ?

      Please let me know. I just got same offer 2 weeks back and want to know if it is Legit ?

      Thanks,

      Patrick

      1. I went through something similar at Wisconsin Dells (3 night stay). One thing I did before going was to look up state regulations concerning timeshare sales. Having a copy with you (particularly the page that states what they are NOT allowed to do) is handy. I found that there were restrictions on length of presentations (no going unreasonably overtime), on what they could say (like that they couldn’t say a deal was good that day only), and that the state had a handy “complaint form” on the website. Write down the names of the presenters as you go through in case you need to follow through on that complaint thing. For Nevada, see statues and regulations here:
        http://red.state.nv.us/timeshare/timeshare.htm

        Make sure you also have a copy of the written agreement with your attendance obligations. If all it says is that you have to attend for two hours, WALK OUT at the end. Notify your credit card company in advance also to get their advice about blocking any unwanted charges.

        There is a separate post with comments about how to survive a timeshare presentation.

  29. We just got back from Vegas and decided to take the presentation knowing what we were in for, but were willing to take the 2 hour presentation for the free show tickets. They indicated to us that there was no high pressure sales, but as soon as they got us upstairs with the other couples and we indicated that we were not interested all the crap hit the ceiling! He wouldn’t take no for an answer and told us there was no excuse to say no, that his manager would fire him because he didn’t do his job,he put us down as people and as a Canadians in general, and of our lifestyle of not travelling 5-6 weeks a year. We all ended up arguing and he wouldn’t let us leave. The deal did sound great, but I had more questions than answers and did not like the fact that we were not able to think about it for more than 5 min. or the deal would be gone. (That is high pressure sales) We ended up leaving with the show tickets and it took 4 hours instead of 2, but reading the posts, I am content with our decision. Investments are not to be pressured in a 2 hour time frame. I am not sure if this is true or not, but when I complained at the end of the presentation, the lady told me that it is the only way they can legally conduct business. I don’t think people buy their homes this way and they never once talked about the 5 day buyers remourse period that I was sure about in Canada, but not too sure of in the U.S. I was also worried about the selling of the deed. I think if anyone wants to buy it, go ahead, but not for an investment by any means.

  30. Hi. Yeah, I’m another one that got convinced to get a timeshare at GrandView at Las Vegas. Finally accepted at 9990$ for 1 week and 1 bdr, and 1 extra week and 49000 points every two years, maintenance fees of 338$ to be paid every two years and RCI membership of 134$ every year.

    At the time it was appealing, giving the fact we like travelling and we were told we could exchange our week easily with anywhere in the world because Las Vegas is apparently the one having the best trading power. We were also told that the Strip surrounding the Grandview would be filled with new casinos within 5 years (yeah right) so the property would gain in value, and that we could be up to 10 people together in 5 different bedrooms for a single Exchange fee of 166$.
    But I later found out, through reading the papers, that the extra week can only be used at a few locations, that some resorts only accept weeks while others only accept points, that weeks resorts have an Exchange fee of 199$ and requires you to reserve about a year in advance and so is the case if you want to go to your home resort (Grandview) and/or home week for “free” (mine is 18), that fees are requested to transfer your week and/or points to the next year (except the extra week which can’t). I also couldn’t find evidence about how it works when you want to bring friends with you to benefit from the additional 4 bdr for free, if indeed it is actually true. The insane 17% interest would also force me to refinance it in order not to pay more than 15K on 7 years. On this site I also found out that I could have paid 50% less, or even much less on ebay, that maintenance fees will increase and what is more disturbing is that others having a timeshare at this same resort have had difficulties trading it for other places.

    The main reason I got convinced was that it would be easy to trade my week for anywhere in the world, because I didn’t expect to come often to Las Vegas as I don’t like to play in casinos, or should I say to voluntarily go lose money in casinos… 😉

    After rethinking about all of this and to the fact that I would always have to plan way in advance my vacations, that I may not be able to go where I want, that there seems to be a lot of procedural steps not to be forgotten either to reserve your vacation or to transfer my week/points, I’m wondering if I just misunderstood how I could effectively use this timeshare, or if it isn’t for me, or if it was promoted as too great to be actually true…

    Now wondering what I should do, today is day 5 for me… A fax would be the only way to cancel this in time, but don’t have a number to send to.

    Thx for any prompt reply to my post.

    1. I’ve sent them an email to follow up if they have received my fax and that they will be crediting me back. I didn’t hear anything and I’ve mentioned to report them to BBB and fair enough, I’ve received and email saying the return is in place. The email is vegasvlo@vacationvillageresorts.com and I do not have the fax since I’m at work, but the fax number that I’ve gotten was online. You just have to google for it and I’m sure you will find it. Wish you luck!

      1. Thanks for your reply Thuy.

        I finally found three fax numbers to which I’ve sent my revocation form: 954-564-4046, 954-561-8594 and 425-514-3493. I’ve also sent it to the address on the form with a registered posting, as I’ve read that it’s the Sent date that matters, not the date they will receive it.

        How long did you wait before mentioning you would report them to BBB?

        I read they have 15 days to refund your deposits. In two weeks, if I didn’t heard back from them, I may have to contact them either by email or by phone to get my refund.
        Thanks for your help!

        btw, I noticed yesterday as well that my Week was Biennal, just as the extra week, and not Annual, which is not how it was shown to me at the end of the speech. Yet another reason to be doubful towards GrandView’s sales practices, especially against the sales manager. The woman that we first met was nice actually.

        1. I waited until the 15th day to email them since I didn’t see anything; however, they did reimburse me. The credit card reimbursement took a couple days to process. However, I feel your pain. I was there, bought the package, and then went online to read and started my return immediately. Emailed, faxed, mailed, called, and I did everything. Glad you caught it just in time!

  31. Just because they tell you there’s no way to cancel the contract, doesn’t mean it’s true.

    Ask them to send you a copy of the contract and have an attorney review and adivse you. Most attorneys will either provide an initial consultation free, or for a nominal charge.

    If they give you a problem about sending you a copy of the contract, tell them you will dispute any and all future charges with your credit card company (or bank) until they send you a copy of the contract. If you do not receive it within 2 weeks, send them a letter via certified mail informing them that unless you receive a copy of the contract within 30 days, you will dispute the charges and stop payment-make sure you send the letter certified and keep a copy. (I’ve paid attorneys to draft and send these types of letters. The charge usually runs around $150-$200, and I considered it money well spent.)

    Once you disputed a charge, by federal law a creditor is legally respond within a set period of time. I think it’s 30 days, but may be 60, can’t remember — check the “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act”, (FDCPA) Section 809 (b). If they don’t respond and VALIDATE the debt within the federal time period, then they can no longer collect from you.

    I am almost 100% positive that it is not legal to bind a person to an “open ended contract”, requiring them to pay a monthly fee indefinitely, for a service they are not using, so they can’t just keep charging your parents indefinitely, without any provisions for cancellation, either witin, or after, a set time period.

    1. I need to point out that my post above was not intended for anyone who actually bought a timeshare, but rather for the poster above who’s parents bought a “vacation club membership.”

      The laws governing “memberships” are much different from those governing real estate ownership.

      Again, I strongly urge seeking legal counsel, and again, most attorneys will provide an initial consultation either free, or for a nominal fee.

  32. I said you’d take a loss. Selling it merely gets you away from the annual fee, since you don’t seem interested in using it. If your method worked, that’s great!
    If you checked the completed listings on ebay, you’d see that although a couple of Grandview weeks sold for $1, others went as high as $5000.
    You apparently thought it was worth quite a lot more when you signed the contract.
    If you ever consider timeshare again,(although you probably won’t) always check ebay first. Also check the magazine, Timesharing Today, which has classified ads for timeshares. Oh yeah. One more thing. Buy your timeshare from Disney. Their price just keeps going up. You can sell it for what you paid for it.

  33. You may be doing the right thing but it seems like your complaints are getting little attention.
    You actually have a valuable property.
    Why not try selling it on ebay? There’s no way you’ll get what you paid for it, but at least you won’t be responsible for annual fees and your credit rating won’t be compromised.
    Check ebay and see what Grandview timeshares are selling for. Use a reputable deed transfer company. UNDER NO CONDITIONS SHOULD YOU PAY SOMEONE UP FRONT!!! One of the biggest scams going is companies that tell you they have a buyer for your timeshare and then just take your money.
    Good luck!

    1. wow! have you gone to EBAY yourself? it’s $1 a timeshare. why do you even say it’s valuable? go to a website for people saying it’s valuable. You wan’t our timeshare? I will pay you $200 a month to have it. That way I save the $400 a month that I pay to those worthless people! But SORRY! I don’t have to do that anymore because I am OFF THE HOOK!

  34. There are so many complaints here but if you check Grandview’s ratings on BBB (Better Business Bureau Southern Nevada), they got an A+ rating. Meaning, we are postings our comments here but not on where it should be posted!

  35. I hope everyone here who bad experience with Grandview would come together and file a complaint to as many government agencies as possible. This company deliberately used deceptive sales tactics with every malicious intention that consumers rely on them. Those acts can affect the judgment of any reasonable person. It is a FRAUDULENTLY-OBTAINED OBLIGATION so therefore should be considered NULL and VOID. Who cares about the 5 day cancelation?!!! I have sent out my complaints to BBB, Nevada Business and Industry Real Estate Division, Federal Trade Commission in Washington DC and believe it or not, to Attorney General of Florida and Nevada, Senators, Congressman and the White House. Right now, I am receiving a lot of responses from these organizations and investigations have started. I can’t just let this company go on fooling people. I want my money back and I want them to stop threatening me that they will report me to the credit bureaus and that they will start foreclosure proceedings. I have not even used that damn timeshare even once!!!

      1. I don’t know what is the most effective route. I have sent paperwork to all agencies I have mentioned and only the Federal Trade Commission seem to be the real one. The others responded by defending Grandview. Anyway, what we did is just sent it our Revocation Form even if it’s been 1 yr since we purchased. Since then, we did not hear from Grandview anymore asking for payment. Maybe a good sign?!

  36. Hi Can someone give me some advice. I advised my bank to cancel payments to eldorado resorts this month. re mis selling, never used the timeshare, but i dont know where to go from here. i am not sure who and if i should advice them. i know this will affect my credit, but i refuse to pay anymre money to the company for a timeshare that i was pressured to buy, never used, and cant afford , can someone please help. i did see email addresses previously but cant seem to find them. Any advice would be appreciated.

  37. After purchasing at the Grandview in August 2010 we feel we were lied too. We finally agreed to purchase after we turned down the first offer (we should have just walked away). At the time we felt the deal was not so bad because of the way they explained the two free weeks every year. They did not explain the restrictions on those two weeks or the money to be paid for the weeks. It was also not explained that ours was a floating week and not a set one. I feel the maintenance fees are too high considering we only get this unit every 2nd year. I can imagine the money that is taken in through maintenance fees on a yearly basis, it must be astronomical.They also did not tell us about the membership fees to be paid to RCI every year. If this was explained to us honestly I would have walked out, but it amounted to ignorance is bliss. I have decided to suck it up and pay this thing off and use it. I would also like to point out that I did not receive anything about the nomination for the board of directors as I assume an owner qualifies for this. I can only now hope that our maintenance fees are used to keep The Grandview to a high standard. I would like to get to know owners who are with me on this. Since we are owners lets make sure that this resort is top notch for our families.I check this site regularly so let me know what you think.

      1. I have owned this since August 2010, I believe I’m outside the timeframe for canceling this contract. I think you have 5 days from time of purchase.

      2. I just scrolled your past messages Rik. Are you saying that I can cancel after the 5 day period?. I don’t mind losing my deposit($2000.00) but these payments and maintenance fees are killing me.

        1. As far as I know you have 5 days to cancel. After that you are SOL. There is nothing in the paperwork about canceling after 5 days. Luckily for me I canceled on the 5th day and was refunded my deposit. I am sorry for those of you who are stuck with this albatross around your neck.

        2. GAWD DAMMIT
          read my dam messages

          FUCKIN cANCEL – i dont give a shit how long you are into it. cancel, phone in and cancel, fax them, mail them, just cancel – CANCEL “CANCEL” cancel
          how many fkn times do i have to say it?? cANCEL cancello cancelina, cancelisimo,
          fkn cancel the bitch. they have so many pissed off people, you are just a nuisance to them.. they will let it slide. cancel cancel cancel
          JUST FKN CANCEL – fuk the 5 day recission period, just fuking cancel..tell them they can keep the deposit.

          If anyone else is reading this, JUST FKN CANCEL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

          1. Rik,

            I’m with you, but past the 5 day period to “rescind”, legally, you can’t just cancel.

            You can stop paying, but if you do, you face possible legal consequences, which include ruining your credit rating, and facing a lawsuit for the debt. If you signed one of the standard contracts, they will win that lawsuit, and might be able to garnish your wages, and depending on what state you live in, might even be able to come after your other assets.

            If you don’t earn or have that much, then it might be a risk you’re willing to take, but otherwise? The potential legal ramifications may not be worth it.

  38. We canceled after signing.

    For general information, we crafted a letter stating we wished to cancel, it included our name, our sale rep’s name, the date we signed, and any contract or account information we were given.

    It included our reason for cancellation. We also quoted the document and page where it stated the terms of cancellation.

    Nothing really fancy or overly formal. Somewhere in your papers are details on who and where to call to do this.

    We then called the gentleman (in our case) that had us sign the papers, NOT our sales rep. We did not want him trying to delay us. The legal person had given us a name and number if we had questions, we started there, made our way to him personally and asked for a FAX number.

    Everything we sent was dated and we asked for a FAX receipt. We then called 30 min after to confirm delivery. He gave us a bit of run around but eventually said he had it.

    We were then told we had to package up EVERYTHING they gave us (papers and what not) and return them. We asked for the address, as our legal person claimed it had to go to headquarters, not him. We asked for a phone number for them. We called.

    We spoke to someone there, told them we sent the cancellation notice, gave them the signing date and cancellation date. We took this persons name as well.

    KEEP RECORD.

    We made 100% sure where we had to send the papers and books.

    We then called them after we sent them, many times till we confirmed they had them, we also asked headquarters for a status update.

    Eventually (maybe a few weeks) we were told it was all good.

    Sure enough, we then got a call from a sales rep at headquarters with a new deal trying to keep us, or interest us in other things. They told us how we’d have a bad mark on our name if we ever did want to buy a timeshare, it would be so hard. Don’t give in.

    It sounds more painful than it was really, but keep records, names of everyone you speak to and phone numbers. Have them provide you phone and FAX numbers, then confirm reception of everything.

    I don’t recall if they required it, but I know we sent the books back to them signature required.

    Hope this helps.
    Frank

    1. Thanks Frank. I just mailed the letter in, certified mail USPS per instruction. I have search for the number through BBB for Grandview Resort Headquarter in Florida. I will call them and leave a message since I’ve sure they are gone by now but hopefully I will get good correspondence so my refund will be processed! Thanks again.

  39. Steven,

    I’m one of those people who got in the special car who did purchase the timeshare. I knew it was some sort of scammed but it sounded so good that we could use the points towards airfare and travel back home to our country. So of course we did buy, but I felt something was wrong and odd; therefore, now I’ve just landed and google everything right away. At least in this contract, it says I have 7 days to cancel and so time is ticking. Thanks for your comment, it really helped me decide on canceling it. I was still tempted to keep it because my bf and I would make the trips at least twice a year anywhere and give our points to our parents to travel back to Vietnam. Oh well, guess that thought went out the door.

    Now, if anyone is still on this blog and checking it daily, please help me. I see that it states the notice of cancellation may be delivered personally to the developer or sent by certified mail or telegraph to the business address of the developer (Nevada Disclosure) and then a different disclosure for Washington State, where we are from. In all, what does this notice of cancellation have to include? Does it also have to be notarized? The pain and the headache starts now but at least it can end soon if I action on it. Please help, anyone! Thanks.

    1. We just recently went to one of these high-pitched presentations in Orlando Florida. We have gone to 3 other similar presentations while on vacation – one in Canada, our home country, one in Mexico, & one in Florida but with a different resorts so we knew what to expect. We managed to say “No” to all the previous ones, but our circumstances were different this time. We said “No” to the original pitch, which by the way started out with a purchase price in the mid $30,000 range with monthly payments of $400 something. Don’t recall exact figures as we turned it down right away. Of course, our sales rep said he didn’t want to pressure us in any way but before he could give us our pre-paid $100 Visa gift card as promised for attending this presentation, he would have to get his supervisor to come talk to us to ensure that he had done his job properly. Won’t bore you with the 2nd sales pitch as you have all had similar experiences, but needless to say, now suddenly the price dropped by more than half & the monthly payments would be in the $200 range. I’m 60 and retired so I don’t have much of an income now so I did not want to sign, but my friend who I own a house with, is still working & she wanted to buy. It all sounded good – especially the part about being able to exchange our week for a weeks vacation anywhere in world for only $209/wk because where we were staying was costing us $95/night. As good as it sounded, I still had a gut feeling that this was going to be a bad financial decision, but I could tell my friend wanted to do it. I felt I had no right to tell her she couldn’t do it as she is the one stillworking who would have to be the one to pay for it. I did say those exact words hoping she would pick up that I felt it was a bad decision. Anyway, I got roped into signing as well because as it turned out, my friend had maxed out her Visa so she couldn’t do the down payment. I still had room on mine so she asked me to put it on my Visa & said she would pay me back & switch all the paperwork over soon as we got home so the payments would come automatically out of her account. So, they got both of us on the contract. We we got back to the motel, I started figuring out how much a year this “free” week was actually going to cost us. I say “free” week because all of you know how it works – that providing we stay at our unit during our week we pay nothing for the accomdations. I showed the figures to her (& at the time, I forgot that we would also have to pay the exchange rate on every $ so it was actually even MORE expensive than I had originally figured.) I pointed out that the monthly payments plus the interest, the yearly maintenance fee & membership fee to the RCI,which by the way neither had a ceiling on them so technically they could be raised to any amount that desired, we would actually be paying MORE for our “free” week than what our entire 10 day vacation had cost us. I also did some research on the web about RCI & about how the exchanging weeks worked & found out that most people complained that they could not exchange their week for one in a different location very easily. Most complained the week they wanted in some other destination was seldom available & I read that for the few who were lucking enough to get the exchange where they wanted, there were a lot of complaints about additional fees on exchanged weeks so instead of costing $209 as we were told by the salesman (of course this was not in the contract so what the salesman told us means nothing) the vacation wound up costing them more than it would have had they booked directly with the hotel. A Also, we were shown through a brand new unit with modern appliances,. Our contract named unit 12705. After we got back to the motel doing some research, my friend discovered that units numbering 14 & up were the newer units. They sold us one of the older units. We tried phoning our salesman cause he gave us a card with his number if we had any questions & he said he ALWAYS returned his calls to his clients. We wanted to be shown the actual unit we agreed to buy. Needless to say, he didn’t return our call. So we just decided to cancel. Since I had the deposit put on my Visa, as soon as I got home which was the 2nd day after signing, I called Visa to see if I could stop the deposit. It had already been processed so I couldn’t do that, but what I did do was put in a dispute over the charge. I also cancelled my Visa credit card so there is no way they can apply any more charges to my card. I had to write a letter of cancellation as specified in the contract & I sent it by priority post right away. It would arrive 2 business days later. I also faxed a letter of notification that we were cancelling the contract to the loans manager as well as I called him direct on the Magic Jack & I left a message stating that we were cancelling the contract & I requested the phone number of the Cancellation Dept of the Seller as it was not listed in the contract, & I looked on the net in the Florida yellow pages and there was no listing for a Lando Resort on the address provided in the contract. Hmmm…imagine that. I also sent out emails to the loans officer as well as to the name of the contact person that the loans officer gave me when we signed the contract so I made sure I covered my (our ) butts. I followed the letter with the tracking # I was given & the letter arrived at the destination that was specified in the contract 2 days after I mailed it & I could see by looking up the tracking # who had signed for it so I KNOW that letter of cancellation arrived well within the 10 day cancellation period. Lando Resort still has not refunded my deposit, but Visa requested that I fax them a copy of the contract as well as a copy of my letter of cancellation, a copy of my fax & the copy of the receipt I got from the post office that had the address the letter went to. I also sent copies of the emails I sent. The bank faxed it all for me for no charge. Visa has lawyers that deal with nothing but time share contracts so they reassured me that they would be going after the Resort if they have made no effort to return my full refund within 15 days of having received my letter of cancellation so I felt better after talking to them. I know I’ll get my money back, except for any loss I have incurred because of the exchange rate on the dollar but hey, what’s that financial cost compared to what we could have been out? From what I’ve read timeshare are almost literally impossible to sell, & if you’re fortunate to find someone to buy it, it won’t be anywhere near what the original buyers paid for it. So, people cover your butt every way you can think of. Good luck to all of you.

      1. What a great story! It’s refreshing to hear not just the side about frustration (not to say that I wish that on anyone), but an ending that’s redeeming — STOP PAYMENT on one’s credit card with all the necessary supporting documentations to the Credit Card company! Sweet!

        Note that I do not have an issue with owning a timeshare (at least not for the moment, anyway). However, I am curious what people have to say about it. Enduring hours of high-pressure sales pitch cannot possibly be pleasant, and finding oneself ‘stuck’ with a regretable purchase is nothing short of a nightmare.

        One of my positive takeaway with a blog like this is its service (whether by design or not) in allowing people to know that they are “not alone”. The unfortunate side of a blog like this are postings that are no more than steady drumbeats to incite anger by repeating, like a broken record, what are already commonly known as negative experiences, but said in oh so many different ways, and in so many different sales scenarios… Yes, the salespeople lied; yes, they should be banished to the deepest region in Hell… But, what of it? There need to be more inputs like your posting that actually have nuggets of useful information. If all these information can be put out there BEFORE anyone decide to participate in the Sales Presentation for some freebies, that’s even better!

  40. I’d like to start my reply in the manner I start my presentations, honestly.

    I have just read the above series of very legitimate complaints and feel outraged for those who were mislead and now find themselves in a scenario that they regret.

    For obvious reasons I must keep my identity private. For participating in in a forum such as this could cost me my job.

    I am not on here with the intent of defending our program without condition.

    I would however like to offer two things to anyone who may be interested.

    Firstly, I want to try to help those who find themselves in a bind and make a suggestion that may not have been made by someone who sold you the product you purchased. There are many elements to the agreement you signed when you did and it is a lot of information to compress into two hours to be sure. I am making myself available for advice (not legal). I am not here to try and sell you anything nor dispute your grievances.

    Secondly, If there is inaccurate “heat” being pitched by a sales rep at a property I work at, I would like to know about it and do all in my power to hold those into account who misled anyone.

    In closing I do want to say this. I am an owner of the product I sell and have stayed in some incredible resorts with my family. This is not said to dispute any comments made above. It just seems to me that there has been a series of misleading that in turn give honest representatives like myself a very bad name.

    Please understand in advance all correspondence will not reveal my identity as it will jeopardize my career.

    I look forward to speaking with some of you, and if I can help just one person then I will have felt that I did my job.

    My best,

    Timeshare Salesperson X

    1. I just want to know what resorts will be able to keep their maintenance fees low enough to actually make RCI worthwhile. I’m interested in Grandview, but how do I access the minutes of their Owners’ Meetings? Any Grandview Owners – What do you expect to see in the future of maintenance fees? They have jumped over 10% (5+% each year) in a bad economy with stagnant inflation. How fast will they jump in a good economy?

  41. My wife and I were in Vegas in January. We stayed at the Excalibur where we were offered free show tickets for viewing their new resort as soon as we walked into the hotel. We said sure why not, upon registering we found out it was a two hour timeshare presentation. We decided what the heck 150 worth of free tickets and free food for 2 hours of our time (plus Vegas is a night town so you have nothing better to do during the day). So we agreed to go the next morning. We got on the shuttle bus with several other people and headed over. We were sent into a big room with lots of other people waiting and were told to wait until we were called. I’m a smoker and I was just bored so we went outside and walked around when it was our turn they came and found us (so don’t just sit there like your in school). So we were greeted by a very nice friendly woman who walked around outside with us and showed us the grounds. Eventually we went upstairs with all the couples getting the high pressure sales pitches and so on. I think you all know how this part works so ill just say what our offers were. $30,000 17% interest $10,000 down / $22,000 17% interest Nothing down / $14,000 0% interest for one year and Nothing Down. They also showed us a list of people in our zip code who had bought, that’s a lie it is a list of people in your zip that attended the presentation ( my neighbor was on the list and I asked him). By this point we had helped ourselves to all the free food we could eat and trust me the food is good (keep going back its on them). So we went to the closing room where we were offered $9,000 No interest for year and no down payment. We stuck with no and were given our tickets and got back on the bus. We noticed that couples who bought got private rides back ( this is because they don’t want people who paid $30,000 finding out the would have been offered $9,000 and so on). We sat next to a couple who said they got free show tickets and $50 in game chips (so now we know the people who sign you up will give you more). I would recommend doing this for the food, shows, and other perks you can get out of them. I am a Realtor and would NOT EVER RECOMMEND buying from them. We are blocked out for 12 months but we go every year so next year we will do it again and this time I’m getting my $50 in chips. Just stay strong who cares if they don’t like you, do you really like them? If you go have fun with it.

  42. I have gone through these tours of timeshare properties and all you have to say is NO (perhaps multiple times). They sound tempting, but if they are out of your price range the answer is easy. Allow them to pitch and then kindly ask for your free tickets to a show or attraction and walk out. My wife and I have done it a few times. We enjoyed a week in Vegas courtesy of Marriott for about $200.00.

  43. My wife and I went to the grand view tour today which is a total SCAM…..

    They told us that we were viewing a new resort not a time share and that they wanted to show us so we would give them good word of mouth back at home in Australia.

    My wife is the director of a large real estate firm in Australia and was shocked when she realized how many lies these people were telling just to make a sale.

    In Australia these sales reps would find them self in jail before they know it.

    While our sales rep had gone to get a manager as she could tell I wasn’t interested my wife and I had turned to another couple one side of us and told them not to sign the paperwork they were signing and that they had just been fooled into a stupid mistake. After their sales rep had heard our conversation we were escorted off the premises with force and told to get our own way back to our hotel. 25min away.

    If I could be bothered I would have played hard ball with them but we had already wasted more that 4 hrs of our day.

    For those of you who are interested. A standard condo in Las Vagas NV with 2 bed rooms and 2 bathrooms and a garage is worth approximately 35’000 – 60,000. This would be something that you would hold 100% of the deed, would one day increase in value and would be relatively easy to sell one day should you need too. why would you pay a similar price for a joint venture between 15-20 other people. It’s insane.

    I feel sorry for those people who have paid more that $500 for a 2 bed room at Grandview as that’s what they are already for sale on eBay for.

    You couldn’t give one too me in my opinion.

    Anyway so you are all aware ******GRANDVIEW IS A SCAM****** if you are going for the tickets just tell them as soon as you get there and tell them you credit card has hit it’s limit the day prior..

    Cheers,

  44. We bought a timeshare at GrandView Las Vegas for 14,000 $. I decided to pay all of it at once, so i could save another 15,000!

    So now for 14k$ we have the 31st week. We will maybe go one time with the kids, but we mostly bought it to trade our week and go somewhere else with RCI. At least instead of paying full price for a 5 star resort in high season, we pay only 200$ for the week. Plus 350$ for maintainance, but for a total of 550$/year we can visit new nice places in 5 star resort..

    So far not too bad, but i would be very upset if i had to pay double because of the “mortgage”…

    1. I am with you there. After reading some of these postings, I did a cost comparison: RCI vacations vs. the cost for the same resort at market price.

      We all seemed to agree that the RCI Booking/exchange fee is $200 (per vacation/getaway)
      * Membership fee: $100/ yr.
      * Maint. Fee: $700/ yr.
      Both the Membership and the Maint. fees amounts to $800/yr. Divide this amount with the number of vacations taken annually (for us, that’s usually 3), giving me an Fixed Average RCI Cost of $267/per vacation. To that Fixed Cost, I add the $200 exchange fee. So my RCI vacation cost: $200 + $267 = $467 (for 7-day) stay at some really nice places. For the 6 years since becoming RCI members and have gone on vacations, we are $7,000+ ahead with RCI vs. paying market price for the same resort. If you applied the $7,000+ vacation savings against the Purchase Price of the Timeshare — for easy calculation, let’s say it’s $10,000, your Purchase cost became $3,000.

      I actually have someone who posted that the money spent on the purchase of a timeshare unit would be better off invested in something with a 5%,return rate. Well, when we went to a Timeshare meeting, I hope we are all aware that it’s not a Merrill Lynch or Smith Barney investment presentation.

      Then, there’s this “for a fraction of the price paid to stay in a RCI resort, you could have paid…” take on timeshare. Well, truth is, no one can beat the price if NO vacation will be taken at all, ever! Just work, work, and more work! Really, this group of people should be the last people on Earth to buy into the Timeshare concept. Yet, there they are; why?

      What I don’t understand first of all is why people signed on to commitment they can’t afford, then, why they did not cancel afterwards? After all, the 72-hours Cooling Period to back out from contractual agreement has been in the Consumer Protection Law for a long, long, time!! Goodness!

      1. Ah, that pesky problem of the $10,000 purchase price. Of course, that is paid at a ridiculous 16% interest rate. But even if it weren’t, you would be adding $500/year for 20 years to that $800, so that puts you at $1,300/year. MUCH less attractive. In addition, those maintenance do NOT stay stable, they go up, usually far ahead of inflation. In addition to that, you get these “special assessments” of a thousand or more every 5-10 years (or more often) to catch up with the maintenance. (I found out this just happened at a timeshare resort where we wisely did not buy.) Are you SURE you are coming out ahead? Many people are reporting paying $200/month or more, and NO WAY to get out of the commitment. You ask why people commit to things they can’t afford? Well, sometime changes happen in life beyond our control, too!

        You can RENT at many of these places for much less than the exorbitant timeshare prices. You can BUY many of these things for a dollar, not $10,000, $20,000, or even more. You can pick and choose your own vacation instead of being stuck in a system that shows little to no availability after you are trapped in the system. In fact, you can find a bunch of these things on Groupon, Priceline, or Hotwire, too!

        But go ahead. Keep your Mercedes-Benz. Comfortable, glitzy, and subject to expensive repairs. I’ll stick with my Toyota. Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney are much better uses of money than timeshares.

        For the rest of you, read “The Millionaire Next Door.” Live within your means.

        (And where’s Janet when I need her?)

        1. R,
          Thanks for your input. Okay, 16% interest! God Almighty!!!

          We paid more that $10,000 for our Timeshare, but we pay the entire amount upfront — so, no interest rate. Granted that there are postings about what ROI % that would have meant if the purchase monies were to be ‘invested’ in a some other form of financial instrument. But that’s a whole other kind of conversation. For that to take place, we need to examine the needs of the motives of the individual purchasers. Look, if you’re into investment income, then buying into a timeshare tells me that the person have no idea what timeshare is all about in terms of investment quality. Anyway, adding the 16% interest rate to the purchase price, it DOES definitely hurt!

          I agree with you TOTALLY that personal financial changed over time. Heck, the financial conditions of the entire global economy changed over time! Frankly, I am not sure that if anything happened to my darling husband that I would be in the mood of taking the kind of RCI vacations that we are now taking. Yet another question is how to dispose or the timeshare! So, instead of what I called “beating the steady drumbeat of anger”, let’s pool our resources of what has already been “tried” and “known” to help out anyone who can use these knowledge.

          R, I cannot say that that I am coming out ahead of my RCI vacation Timeshare investment. But here are the numbers that I can back up with my PDF files:
          June 1990: Little Bay Beach & Racquet Club in St. Marteen.
          RCI Exchange Fees: $139.00 (Yes, I noticed the upward trend of the Exchange Fee!)
          Market Price: $953.99
          Saving through RCI: $814.99

          Spt 1990: El Cid, Puerto Morelos, Mexecio.
          RCI Exchange Fee: $164.00
          Market Price: $2,706.55
          Savings through RCI: $2,524.55

          Nov 1990: The Grand Mayan Riviera Maya
          RCI Exchange fee: $164.00
          Market Price: $916.00

          Just for easy calculation; if you paid $20,000 for your Timeshare (no interest), the $4,273.54 yield a 21.4% ROI. BUT, am I into Timeshare for ROI?! Heck, “No”! That should not even a valid conversation in the scheme of things. The blog, hopefully, is about giving some guidance in how to get help for those who found themselves ‘stuck’ with a Timeshare (yes, spoken like a real RCI agent!). Or that’s my hope, anyway! Agreeing to agree that someone is scammed… again, the damage has already been done, what of it? Better yet, how do we reach people BEFORE they get scammed? (Oophs! As a RCI agent, I shouldn’t even go there!)

          R, fyi… I drive a Pruis to save gas! No Mercedes for this chick!

          1. Summer, 2013: Priceline, $350/wk. Some rooms we got were suites and included breakfast, too! No maintenance fee, no exorbitant interest, no being stuck in one place, no restrictions as to where I could or couldn’t go, no RCA exchange fee, lots of free hotel breakfasts or cheap supermarket breakfasts.

            Summer 2012: Priceline, $350/week. Suite room, free breakfast and a few free dinners. Close to beach. Extra $10 for parking at beach. Big, fat, hairy deal.

            And yeah, you really do need to calculate that “time value of money” thing.

            The timeshares may fit your lifestyle, but they don’t fit mine. Even my sixth grader got how they weren’t a good deal.

  45. I hear all the horror stories about the developers. I am shocked no one has mentioned buying resale. You can buy these timeshares at a fraction of the price on eBay. You still get the use and ability to use RCI or II depending on what you buy. Just wondering if anyone had explored the resale option. You can have the vacations of a lifetime without having a payment akin to a mortgage.

  46. FOR THE LAST TIME

    JUST CANCELllLLLLLLLLLLLLL

    JUST CANCELLLLLLLLL
    JST CANCELLLLL
    take the form, and fill out the CANCELLLLL

  47. My husband and I just came back from Las Vegas spent over the new year. We did fall in the same trap, but we said NO NO NO . This will be our 4th time share presentation ( one in chicago, one itwo in florida and one in las vegas). They all said 2-3 houra on paper. They wont tell you why you are going there and they stay nice until you say no. They start talking to you about their sick kids so you feel bad and buy. I advise everyone to say NO. NO. Because of that, I wont go to thse anymore..

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