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Westgate Timeshare – Experience of a Former Owner

The following post was submitted by a couple detailing their experience as Westgate timeshare owners, and why they decided to stop paying their Westgate timeshare.

In 2005, we purchased a Timeshare from Westgate Resort in good faith. We were a young married couple with two toddlers. We were told that we would never regret the purchase and that we had a “lifetime of amazing vacations” ahead of us. The only thing that has remained constant and true is the fact that WE HAVE REGRETTED EVERY MINUTE OF OUR PURCHASE.

Between 2007 and 2010, we paid two different companies over $2,000 who each claimed that they guarantee to sell our timeshare. Neither ever did. In 2010, we contacted Westgate and notified them that we would NO LONGER be cheated out of our hard earned money and would NOT continue to pay them. They did not care that we had paid thousands of dollars to them already (100% on time) or that we had spent over $2000 to companies to sell our timeshare. The only thing they cared about was getting their money. They even acknowledged that purchasing a timeshare may not have been the most “honest” purchase but that we were never “forced” to do so.

On December 1, 2011, we will STOP PAYING our timeshare and to NO LONGER allow Westgate to cheat us out of our hard earned money every month. We have impeccable credit of which we have lived an honest and hard working life to establish. Now, it will be ruined for 7 years, at least, due to this foreclosure.

This decision was not easy for us to make, but also one that was based on principle. It is NOT RIGHT for companies such as Westgate to be allowed to misguide trusting people into making such a bad investment. It is even more wrong for consumers like us who have led decent and hard working lives to provide our children with the American dream, to have to suffer ruining their credit due to such a cheating and unethical process such as purchasing a timeshare.

We only owed approximately $6,500 at the time we decided to stop paying. However, we vowed NEVER TO ALLOW WESTGATE TO CHEAT US OUT OF ANOTHER ONE OF OUR HARD EARNED CENTS AGAIN. Our children deserved better than that.

Sincerely,
A Westgate Resort FORMER owner

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762 Comments

  1. i havent made a payment in about 5 months. I have a bill of about 1000. They called me yesterday. they said they were Westgagte legal and i need to make a payment so I am not sent to the collection bureau and so it doesnt effect my credit.. Will they report it I always here that they dont report it. but just hearing them say that. It now has me worried.

    1. How would it be possible for these time share to sue EVERYONE? They would go out of business with legal fees and papework. There has to be a way to get them under control. They THINK they have all the power over their scams!

    2. After reading these links I decided not to make any more payments in September. I do get the calls but ignore them. The funny thing about Westgate is that they do not check credit when signing you up and it does not show up when applying for a home loan. I am not worried about it.

      1. I bought a TS in westgate-Orlando last december. It was a very big mistake. Now I need to get off this. I don´t live in the U.S. I´m thinking to stop paying. Can I do that? Which is the risk?. Is there any legal way to do it?. Please advice me according to your experience.
        Thank you very much by your help
        Sicerely
        Luis

  2. Hi there everyone. I found out that Westgate cannot put liens on your house for monies owed for there product. Also, if everyone would publish what state they are from, we can then collectively contact the District Attorney and address the issue. Please let me know what you all think.

    P.S. I stopped the draft from my account and they sent me vouchers. LOL

    1. so i signed the lieu the foreclosure giving them the ownership of the property but didn’t give them the 350dollars that was asked and they called me and said the papers were not going to be processed until i pay the money……i said ok, they can go to hell, if they want the property the most important thing is signing the paper which i did not sure what this people want.

      1. Susan did they threaten you that they will send you to the collection bureau, did they ever report negativity on your credit report? also, did they just send you the papers to sign just like that or did you have to communicate with someone on the phone first.

        1. i have not check my credit, but yes they told me if i don’t sign and make the payment which was asked of me she will foreclose the property and forward my name to credit agencies. I have never communicate with them, they send the paper for me to sign since i own this thing with my friend, she was the only one making the payments but consequently stopped. I never made any payment bcus i told my friend to sign me off couple of days after we purchased this timeshare and she refused, so when she stopped paying they have to find me in the system, even though i moved overseas, they were still able to write to me. long story short after i signed the documents without the payment she had called me once and i haven’t heard from her so i don’t know the outcome.

    2. What about NY when you bought out of the country- Aruba. So confusing. lots of threats to ruin credit- etc..they are terrorists too!

      1. I was told by a former FL DA that just like credit cards they cannot have liens on our homes etc. but what we all need to do is contact the district attorney where you live and enlighten then on what is going on with Westgate all over the US and to people around the world. We need to find out how many people in your state as well as in the US are facing issues with Westgate. They are selling pormises that are not being validated.

    3. Yes, everyone file a complaint with the District Attorney’s Office, Governor Rick Scott’s office who is having an investigator contact me shortly, Central Florida Tourism Department, the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs Department, and send a Certified Letter to Westgate. I have been in contact with two attorneys.

      A class action lawsuit should be filed against Westgate but should be initiatied by an American, I am from Canada. A company who has taken on several big names and has been successful is girardgibbs.com/cases if anyone is interested in heading it up. They have offices in California and New York

  3. If 20/20 gets a thousand calls/ even the Dr. Phil show- ANY national recognition will save thousands of people in the future who will fall prey. It is an international scam with contracts written to protrect the crooks!! I was scammed at Occidental in Aruba and they have been impossible- “You can never cancel!!!”
    I have already lost my home to a national disaster-this was a sale that the salesman found my vulnerability and used it against me. We have to stop this industry who thinks they are untouchable!

  4. I did not sign for a scam, they sold me something and that is exactly what I expect nothing less and I believe that is what the majority of us are talking about. Thank God I only bought the temporary, you have up until 3 yrs to pay the $1200 and then if you decide to buy it goes toward it, however, what they sold me I cannot get and they keep saying do you want to go somewhere else, that is not what you sold me. You told me I can go to A and that is where I want to go, not sell me A and know trying to force B on me because obviously A will never be available. Westgate and its affiilates have hotels listed in that book that are not evening affiliated with them and they are tap dancing around that, telling lies. I don’t care about credit report, things can’t get any worst. If you can’t pay for your house they come get it, the same for a car etc. or you just tell them you can no longer make payments. I don’t understand what is the difference for property that you can’t even put you hands on you are in limbo it is a space not property you can reach out and touch. I say we all contact 20/20 tomorrow and get the ball rolling.

  5. Who are you going to sue. I fell for this crap just like every one else and I have no one to blame but my self. They did not MAKE me sign. It was a mistake I made, I own it, so i had to deal with it and now I am paying for it. See my above post. Live and learn.

  6. I have not made a payment in a few months and i get calls from a 503 area code but I dont answer. I heard that eventually something will come in the mail and they will offer me to sign it off. I also heard it doesnt show up on the credit report as well. I disputed the contract with BBB but i lost. So i stop paying and I am just waiting for that special letter to come in the mail.

  7. They will sold our property as many times they can, make us to believed that we are the only owners, they even rent our property on any website, if you going there over the weekend, you will found a lot people enjoy the resort for free or for a deal like 90 dollars weekend. I did before I was able to use the property, I went online and I got one of the properties for 150 dollars, they did sold to my relative the same property for better deal. If you going online you type like resort West Gate resort for vacation and you will found 1 room or two for rent you will found all the deals they got from the resort we pay every month. They resell these properties again and again. They want to take vantage of the property and get out money and others people money too if they can. I did learn my lection in the hard way but I have enough with them.

  8. Also good people, they keep threatening foreclosure, but these crooks have their own operated mortgage company so my question is how many people have they sold the same property to? It was too good to be true.

  9. Question did you all report Westgate to the BBB Better Business Bureau? I did and nothing came out of it. BBB said that Westgate made an attempt in good faith to resolve the conflict. I bet if all of you reported Westgate to BBB someone will see a trend and look into this. I am also going to contact 20/20 and see if they could investigate this. The good thing for me is that we only purchased a vacation share for $1200 and it has to be used by 2013 when we are supposed to make a decision to purchase a time share but that is not going to happen. I expressed to them that I am disgusted with them and their property, will never recommend it to my worst enemy but the money hounds that they are they don’t care. They promised something they can provide. I have already sent them the letter to stop them from direct draft from my account so we will see what will happen. I am going to contact a former FL District Attorney and see what we can do.

    1. we did go through BBB and nothing happened, they just kept forwarding our comments to them and theirs to us. I am very disappointed

      1. Yes I was too they said that westgate made a good faith effort to …..well I am going to make a good faith effort to stop paying Westgate. I should have known, they are on you so hard that you feel….but it’s all good I am going to find out what it takes for a class action I am sure thousands will come out of the woodwork that have been exploited.

        1. they are now calling me every friday and Ive asked them to call me when Im not at work but they contiue. I am at a loss but I will stick to my guns, they said that my complaints are basically me not wanting to pay for something I decided later that I didnt want. we have always paid all of our bills and that can be proven but they lied to us over and over and over and the phone numbers they gave us are not even real westgate numbers, they are various people that say they have had their phones for years and keep getting calls like ours. they also said we should give them first option to but it back if we ever want to sell it and now they are sayiing they never said that. when we signed I kept asking for copies and they told me not to worry that I would get a copy of eveything ….appearently I didnt and no one else did either, youd think someone would listen since we are all strangers and all of our stories keep matching

          1. Just change your phone number and do not pay anything- eventually they will have too many lawyers to pay to pursue us all.They have no right to our money that they had no conscious to get a signature for. These contracts are considered unconsciounable in court.!!

        2. Yes, there are thousands of lives being ruined. We have to take some action and stop these people who think they have found a way to legalize stealing.

    2. The BBB don’t do anything, they didn’t do for me either, I was very upsad, but I got my lawyerI have to hired and State Attorney Lawyer, and she did a great job for me if you need me I am here to help anybody that need help, you are not along, my email is milegon@yahoo.com, I already signed the Dee In Lieu of foreclosure, allow to transfert the title back to the resort, it was the best new I ever got. I finally was able to sleep with out be worry about those monsters

  10. For who ever need help to get out from those liers I just signed with my husband last week the deed from Orange Lake Resort, I have to hired and State Attorney Lawyer here in Florida it cost us money but she did her job, please we are not along, get help don’t let that people take away your sleep, I was the same way and finally I did something about it, now I am feeling so happy to trust my lawyer, I take chance to trust of her and she did a great job, if you need help my email is milegon@yahoo.com. Have a great day.

  11. Westgate is constantly strong arming people in to paying for purchase that they have lied about the services. I was sold a vacation share based on the fact that I could stay in a hotel in my country for $499. The three or 4 times I have contacted Westgate or passport nothing available on top of that the hotel they have listed in their book is not affiliated with them in no form or fashion and is too small to offer the listed 50% discount. And Westgate is threatening collections agency. Just about everyone in America’s credit is shot anyway so…….

    What has everyone with problems with them doing? They are also exploiting thousands of veterans.

    1. we are not giving in, we are not paying just because of their threats, they never gave in to what they promised us ….so why should we give in

      1. Ok. They are threatening collection agency etc. I sent them a letter stopping them from automatic withdrawal from my
        account. And I am going to do just like you said, stick to my guns how dare you Westgate. They are already ripping
        people off selling property that is not really theres. Out of control. I am going to write my congressman on this one
        times are hard enough as is then you have to deal with bullies like westgate and their rude staff. I told the lady that
        if you buy a car and you can’t pay for it you can take it back to the dealer she said not in Florida. lol

  12. Does anyone have the Williamsburg Plantation Resort. I’m having the same problems. I WANT OUT!!!!!! Asked for a balance on my account last Feb. 2011 it was quoted 8700.00 asked for a balance Sept. 2011 it was quoted 9060.00 WHY???? Something’s not right. Been scammed 3 times I WANT OUT!!!!! HELP

  13. Has anyone ever noticed that Westgate does not provide an actual balance after each monthly payment is made? I feel that I have already paid my WG loan in full. When I asked the Co. to send me a ledger of all the payments I have ever made, they still never showed the balance owed after each payment that was made. They only showed the amount applied to the principle and the amount applied to interst. HOwever , the remaining balance is NEVER shown. From my prior experience all of my mortgages, loans and lines of credit show a running balance of the full payoff amount each time you make a payment. (Which is usually each month) When I asked what my payoff balance was, I was told that it’s basically the same price that it was when I initially purchased the TS. We paid over the amount due most months. Moreover, we have been paying on this loan since 2008. They are seriuosly overcharging. If this is happening to others- then this could be class action law suit.

      1. Hi Everyone

        I am a fellow(sucker) for westgate sacmas and an early one at it. I just bought on the 16th, lossed my briefacse on our way back home so didnt have neough info to rescind properly and now thattime has lasped and with all my research, countless hrs reading, asking ?/, i have decided to try this at another angle. Now i signed with Blue Tree resort orlando and i dont know if we all havethe same type of standard contract form, but at the back states i have 90 days to cancel the waiver for loss of life fee. This amounted to over 1000 which was added to my mortgage price. My theory is, if i send that certified letter requesting it be cancelled, wouldnt that mean the mortgage total will change and an NEW agreement for new figures have to be drawn up? If so then i am going to forward a lteer to them stating that until this mortgage figure is revised due to my cancellation rights, i am not paying anything. As it stands i have already only paid the deposit. My question to u fellow wastegate victims isthis:

        1. Do u all havethat cancellation clause on ur contracts as well?

        2. Has nayone ever just never paid thier timeshare instalments and wht has happened to them…

        3. I am not american or canadian, if i just dont bother to pay, how can they come after me….my credit? would they sue?

        Pls, advise andthank u all for ur time and acknowledgement of my fears….

  14. I to have fallen into the time share trap. I not only was dumb enought to buy one with what is now called Diamond Resorts, formerly Sunterra but also one at westgate florida. I can’t believe I was that dumb but the pressure was so great that I finally just signed to get out of the rooms. I have tried to use both these resorts over the past 5 years and there is never anything available when I want it or where I want to go. The reason for the purchase was the flexible they guaranteed me to travel the world. What a joke. Last year I even tried to use my home resort for the week I had purchased originally only to be told that there was nothing available. I have stopped paying the Diamond resorts as of JUly 2011 and have rec’d many calls and they sure are not pleasant people to deal with. I explained that my financial situation is such that I can no longer afford to make these payments, they don’t care. I have also been in touch with westgate and they are reviewing my financials to see what they can do. I am certainly not very hopeful of a good outcome to either of these but I refuse to spend any more money on this. I should also say I spent $1600.00 with timeshare only to sell or rent the things and again got taken so you can see why I don’t want to pay anyone else for help. I have two questions here, 1. does anyone know whether letting this go into foreclosure will affect my Canadian credit report and 2. will letting this go into foreclosuer affect my entry into the U.S. down the road. Any comments or assistance in these areas would be greatly appreciated.

  15. We are having MAJOR TROUBLE getting rid of our time share! We got suckered into a company “helping” us sell ours for the great price of $500.00! Needless to say we haven’t heard from them again. We went to another meeting today and they told us we could give them the timeshare but we had to pay the closing costs $ 3000.00! So not only did we waste money on a “realtor” the first time, and we bought into the points system a few years ago for $4000.00, and now we have to pay closing costs for something we just want out of?! Ours is paid off but the maintenance fees are crazy and we never use it! Trying to exchange for hotels is impossible because it is never available where we are going! GRRRRR!

    1. Do not pay please I did pay and you don’t hear from them any more they are scammers, if you need help please hiring and State Attorney Lawyer I did and I just got the papers from the resort that we signed with my husband, they receive the property back, so don’t pay that, if you need help I am here to help anybody out there, just email me milegon@yahoo.com, I will do my best to share all the information you need, you are not along.

      1. does this also apply if we are still paying for the TS? or if its only for the owners that have finished all the payments and worry about the maintenance and fees? Also how much is exactly the maintenance and fees cost?

  16. Here is my experience.. I purchased one of these in florida in 05 and after going back and forth with these people I decided to let it go into foreclosure

    Here are the facts
    The monthly payments don’t report but the foreclosure WILL
    It will show up as this on your report( here is a copy of what is on mine)

    CENTRAL FLORIDA INVEST
    Account Number: 702XXXXXXX
    Acct Type: Time Share Loan
    Acct Status: Closed
    Monthly Payment:
    Date Open: 5/1/2005
    Balance:
    Terms: 144 Months
    High Balance:
    Limit:
    Past Due:
    Payment Status: Credit Grantor reclaimed collateral to settle defaulted mortgage
    Comments:

    But there is some hope – They only report to experian. When they did this my score took a 70 point hit( i had perfect credit for years prior)
    here are the good out of this horrible investment – Because they “reclaim” the property you really dont awe any monies on it so no threat of wage garnishments ect. It doesnt affect your debt to income ratio either. Because they only report o one agency, well it becomes your low score when trying to obtain credit. So long as you have good credit you WILL BE ABLE TO FINANCE MAJOR PURCHASES.. So long as this is the only thing on there.. here is a real life scenario.. I just got married a little over a year ago.. I sold my house and purchased a new house with my wife ..The loan officer saw this on my report and said “Really? that’s the new scam these A holes are doing now to people…” And that was it.. The under writers didn’t even flinch.. but again this is he only blemish on my credit report for 10 years of strong solid credit..

    So Im not saying this is the way to go, but if you have no other alternative then its not the end of the world either…
    FYI – my score has recovered 40 plus points since then while this crap is still on my record – Also when we took out our mortgage we locked in prime rate – zero points

    1. Thank you for this information. I have owned w/ Westgate since 2005, first with Flamingo Bay and now Planet Hollywood. My real house went into foreclosure and I actually worried more about the TS than I did about my house. I will quit making payments next month and just walk away. Like so many others, finances have changed and I just can’t do it anymore.

      1. I lose sleep over our TS almost everynight. It makes me so angry that we bought this ‘time’ for a rediculous amount of money. We were definitely ‘sold’ on the idea through unfair methods. I would love to resell the property, privately, but don’t have the conscience to ‘sucker’ another honest person into the whole mess. I don’t live in the US. The money owed never showes up on our credit when taking out a mortgage, etc. I’ve considered defaulting and letting it foreclose. I’m curious to know how the default on your payments has gone and what the course of action is going forth?

        Thanks!

        1. When I stopped making payment, they pretty much whipped out the whole scare tactics play book. I pretty much ignored them till we got to the point of foreclosure. Again, just like you said, none of the missed payments ever showed up on my credit reports.

        1. Thanks for your post VERY informative. I was lookin into bankruptcy but i think a foreclosure would be more beneficial. I have twins on the way and I just dont care about this timeshare headache anymore. Life is too short and there are more important things in life to focus on….. LESSON LEARNED!

          1. Thanks for the info. I am so upset that I got suckered into this. My husband encouraged me to get this and now years later going through a divorce, he has decided that he is not paying! My credit is excellent and I am so afraid to go into foreclosre since I have a small child and want to purchase a car next year. Although this is not the route I wanted to take, I think in the long run I will be better off. Trying to save my credit is also saving my soon to be ex-husbands but all it is doing is causing me stress as he goes on and lives the life. Something’s gotta give! I really think I’m gonna follow this route IWonderIf. Thanks. ANy add’l info you wanna share would be helpful!

  17. HERE’S THE PROBLEM! YOU CAN’T REALLY SUE THEM FOR SELLING VACATION TIME AS THE BUYERS ARE SIGNING THE CONTRACTS, PAYING THE MONEY AND GUESS WHAT? IF YOU WANT TO GO VACATION THEN YOU GO USE YOUR WEEK. THE PROBLEM IS BUYER’S REMORSE AND YOU CAN’T SUE FOR BUYER’S REMORSE. JUST BECAUSE YOU GET TIRED OF PAYING OR CAN’T USE THE VACATION TIME OR FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES, OF COURSE THE COMPANY ISN’T GOING TO “BUY IT BACK” OR HELP OUT.

    HERE’S WHAT COULD HELP OUT. TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW ABOUT IT. IF THERE IS SOMEONE THAT REALLY WANTS TO “BUY” A TIMESHARE WEEK, TELL THEM RESALE IS THE WAY TO PURCHASE.
    WE BOUGHT A WEEK THAT WAS SELLING FOR $80,000, PRESIDENTIAL SUITE AT WESTGATE SKI IN PARK CITY, FOR $16,000 OFF THE LOCAL CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE. SOMEONE WAS “DESPARATE” TO GET OUT BECAUSE THEY WERE GETTING DIVORCED. SO THE $16,000 I PAID THEM PAID OFF THEIR BALANCE AND NOW THEY AREN’T STUCK WITH $2,000 A YEAR MAINTENANCE FEE (hoa) I AM HOWEVER STUCK WITH IT.

    SEE ONCE YOU MAKE A COMMITMENT, ITS UP TO YOU TO RESELL IT TO GET OUT OF IT. YES YOU CAN QUIT PAYING, YES YOU CAN QUIT PAYING YEARLY HOA OR MAINTENANCE, BUT JUST LIKE ANY HOME OR CONDO, THEY CAN FORECLOSE ON YOUR WEEK AND THEY CAN GO AFTER YOU FOR COLLECTIONS AND JUDGMENTS FOR WHAT THEY SPENT ON ATTORNEYS/INTEREST, ETC.

    IT MIGHT SUCK BUT THE ONLY WAY OUT IS TO NOT BUY IN THE FIRST PLACE OR TO RESELL IT ON YOUR OWN. IT’S REALLY NOT THEIR PROBLEM TO “RESELL” PEOPLE UNITS FOR THEM. IF YOU SOLD A HOUSE AND YEARS LATER THE BUYERS CALLED YOU TO RE BUY IT BACK OR TO “HELP” THEM SELL IT, YOU’D TELL THEM “NOT MY PROBLEM” ALSO

    NOW I DO FEEL SORRY FOR THOSE THAT HAVE REGRET BUT I DON’T THINK THERE IS A “LEGAL” BASIS TO SUE FOR ANYTHING.
    HOWEVER, THERE MIGHT BE A CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE SALES/MARKETING DEPARTMENT FOR FRAUD OR FALSE ADVERTISING. SO EVEN THOUGH THE PROPERTY DEPARTMENT CAN’T MAKE UP FOR BUYER’S REMORSE, MAYBE PEOPLE CAN GET TOGETHER AND SUE FOR THE SALES PITCH. DOESN’T MEAN YOU WON’T HAVE TO KEEP PAYING YOUR TIMESHARE FEES EVERY YEAR AND PAY OFF YOUR LOAN SINCE THAT IS SEPARATE, BUT MAYBE YOU CAN GET ENOUGH FROM FALSE ADVERTISING CLAIM TO COVER IT?

    JUST AN IDEA

    I’VE HAD A WESTGATE TIMESHARE FOR 10 YEARS, AND THERE ARE DEFINITELY YEARS THAT ARE HARD AND I WISH I DIDN’T HAVE TO PAY THE HOA FEE AND THIS YEAR I HAVE 3 YEARS BUILT UP 2009, 2010 AND 2011 TIME THAT I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO USE. I JUST CALLED TO BOOK THEM AND BOOKED ALL 3 WEEKS BUT IT COST ME $140 FOR 2009 USE AND $140 FOR 2010 USE BECAUSE I’M USING THEM IN 2011, AFTER THE YEAR I DON’T REMEMBER THOSE FEES BEING DISCLOSED 10 YEARS AGO , IN FACT I THINK THEY ARE FAIRLY NEW FEES. SUCKS!

    1. So my question is, does westgate report to the credit bureau? From reading i havent read not even one person that has happened too. So that makes me want to not make ,pmts. I aam current on my monthly payments and hoa. I own ph in vegas. Floating odd i think. I purchases in 2008. I only brought 4 days and i was not told that i could only exchange with westgate since its not a week and everyone knows vlplanet hollywood is the bes wg. The others are garbage so i dont want to stay at those other wg. I wanted to exchange for marriot ts. But i cant becaause i only own 4 days.
      Wg is not even reporting that i have a timeshare on our credit report.
      Is it on any of your credit report?
      Does it report it if i stop paying?
      How will the bbb help?
      i sent an email to wg asking about that form where they buy back
      i owe 8000

      1. Hey, I wanted to see if you stopped paying and if so did they report to the credit bureau? I have Westgate in Orlando and I don’t want it anymore. To sell would be like a $1000 with no guarantees. They are not currently reporting so do they report if you stop paying? Any help would be great. I actually have 2 timeshares that I am trying to get rid of. I am going to try some of the ideas in this blog but I really do not want it to negatively impact my credit.

  18. We bought a timeshare with Westgate in Orlando in February 2008. We’ve regretted it since that day. My husband and I and another couple went in together. I’m getting divorced and would love to get out of this. Trying to decide what the risk vs benefit of stopping payments. Can anyone give me any idea??

    1. Try to resell it. there are people still buying brand new ones and if you can put it on a classified website and craigslist.
      a guy in park city did that. he gave it away from free. deeded it to new buyer for free. just so he didn’t have to pay his “yearly” maintenance any longer. got him out of future years obligation and saved his credit and collections.

  19. HELP! I just signed a few days ago and after reading all of this I am seriously regretting it. Is there anyone out there who’s had a good experience with
    westgate or should I quit while I am ahead?

    1. Quit while you’re ahead! You only have 10 days to cancel & get out of it…I just missed the deadline and fighting to get out of this. what a nightmare!

  20. Hi there, I brought west gate from planet Hollywood in oct 2008. I was on my honeymoon from the uk and was sucked in the rubbish they fed me and my wife. I regretted it straight away but I couldn’t cancel. Getting back to the uk I cancelled my payments straight away as even though I was in 30 days of cancelling they said I couldn’t… Not what the rep said. Anyway I am still being bugged today from them but ignore them. I am going back to Vegas in September 2011, can I be stopped entering the US as I have stopped payment on this place?
    Thanks
    Dave

  21. Just finished talking to a representative at Consolidated Resorts. My timeshare is paid off and I told the rep I wanted to deed in lieu of foreclosure. She said no way and that they will not take it back regardless. She said there are owners who have medical conditions and they won’t even take those owners TS back. She stated they only care about their money and they will do whatever it takes to get it. For those of you that have stopped paying maintenance fees, be warned… these people will keep on adding fees year after year. I can’t believe that they can force people to pay for something they can no longer afford. Last option is to talk to a lawyer and see how they can help.

  22. We filed with the BBB and FINALLY got a response. We had to respond to that with in 10 days, and we did. They responded by saying things like…we can not validate what the rep said…they said that a couple of times and ended it with….nothing was ever said like that…they also called us by someone else name, I wanted to ask just how many of these defense letters are you writting at the same time? They also addressed a question that we didnt even ask!! However they never mentioned to our complaint that we signed a form that said we have to give them first option to buy back and we didnt get a copy of that. They just made sure that we knew there was no pressure to buy because buying was our decision and no one forced us into it. Ill do my best to keep everyone updated.

    1. Just to update everyone. We responded with our defense and all we got back we a thank you for the opportunity to talk about kinda thing. I called my credit card that the payment comes out of and they investigated and was going to credit my money back but West gate told them that we never told them we had intent to stop paying….they are so stupid, that intent was not only written by us but forewarded to them by the BBB…..anyway the credit card had to pay them. I told them that was fine and to stop ALL payments effective right now. The next month the credit card let them have it again!!!! They said West gate showed them the copy where we signed saying to take it out. So we had to change our credit card. Thank goodness it was a zero balance, I dont know how you would do it if there were money owed. I will let you know if anything comes up..thank you all for your posts, it helps knowing we are not in this alone

  23. The kind of people who sell timeshares get a rush out of making difficult sells to uninterested customers. They enjoy the challenge and will say anything to get you to sign on the line.

    It’s true that stopping payments on a timeshare could affect your credit score for 7 years, however, if you continue to make other payments in good faith and on time your will score will gradually start to go up.

    If you have a family member with good credit you can also have them cosign to reduce interest rates on any loans you enter into.

  24. Well we have filed a complaint with the BBB and we waited the first 2 weeks and they did not respond, so now we are waiting the next 2 weeks. We dont want to make the next payment but we are afraid if we dont it will mess up what we are doing. Has anyone else filed a complaint? If so, did you continue to make your payments? We ar nervous aboutthis but soooooo rady to be done with the liars. Anyone that wants to takl, vent or share ideas our email is ni_ssan@yahoo.com

  25. I am so glad this website is here. I have been an owner since 2006. I hate being ripped off every month. I’m half way done, so I’m torned about the stop paying thing. But I just can’t continue to pay the 212.00 a month. I want to stop. I had a friend who broght timeshare and never made any payments and quit so early in the game, it never effected her credit. But with my time in and living in Maryland (not sure if it is any different than Florida)Do you think this will effect my credit?

      1. that’s what I’m talking about Janet G. If we all stop paying, this will definitely draw attention to the media. this could really make headline news. “so to all the timeshare owners who feel they have been ripped off,(and most of them have)just say “hell no” to all payments as of TODAY.

        1. Why don’t we all call 20/20 for a big investigative news story. These TS people are ruining thousands of lives- they are the biggest crooks ever and take advantage of everyone! Then they tell you you have NO rights for the rest of your life and dont forget you can then give it to your kids- so the hell will NEVER end! There has got to be a way to have justice and have rights restored as honest consumers who fall prey to the scammers of the world!!

    1. Your friend that paid, did they ever threaten to foreclose on her? I’m in the same situation. My boyfriend and I never even made the down payment (actually placed stop payment on the portion of the down payment we had to submit). They’ve been calling for a long time, but we don’t answer. The closing officer took us to the side and whispered to us that we shouldn’t complete the down payment and therefore we won’t be legally obligated to the property, but they just sent an email threatening foreclosure. This is on a property in FL. Now that we know we had 10 days to cancel, we’re thinking maybe the closing officer purposely trapped us into thinking we could get out of it. Not sure what we should do now.

  26. My husband & I were fed the same bull crap lies in 2005. We decided to no longer pay westgate. They will be denied this month & forever after!! I am so nervous about the outcome, but we cannot keep throwing our money away. So much for ” we will buy it back”……….

  27. I agree 100% I know there has to be thousands of poeple who feel the same way…I have been a Westgate owner for over 10yrs, am paid in full. I have tried TSO and others because i am tired of the rising maitainance fees. ( the fees are more than im will to pay for my vactions) so my question is, if i let WG forclose on me; will i still be obligated to pay mantainance fees forever???

  28. Has this harmed anyone’s credit? We stopped paying in February, they called us for awhile but the calls are slim to none now (we get calls from other companies all the time saying they’ll sell it for us–lol!) But was just curious if anyone has had any credit issues as well as pay getting taken away?

  29. I really aprpeciate the advice…especially about the BBB. I just submitted the complaint, and I urge everyone else who has or will post to do the same. I’m also going to contact the Attorney General’s office as someone else suggested to try to get out of this scam. It is unreal how Westgate Resorts can swindle people out of thousands of dollars and get away with it. I think I’ll start a discussion forum somewhere so maybe the victims can band togehter and get this corporate mafia dis-banded!

    1. Keep us posted if you do. I submitted a complaint to BBB on Westgate Resorts too. I am on disability and just should’ve said no but they are good at pushing you into it. They tell you they’ll help no matter what and it’s a bunch of crap. I’ve only made 2 payments on down payment & I already want out after reading all these complaints! What have I gotten myself into but I have stopped payments through my bank as of today!

  30. i agree totally with everything mentioned above have owned one in TN for about 4 yrs and have yet to be able to go and enjoy the piece of crap biggest scam ive ever seen never have any rooms available for our so called one week of the year no matter when you call has to be the dumbest thing ive ever bought in my life u would be better off throwing money out a car window every month and they sure can harass you about the stupid ass fees but i told them the other day i would pay them bought like i have used their services which would be awhile. I think im going to give the BBB a call just as soon as I can. especially after reading all this.

  31. WHAT A CROCK OF SHIT!!!!!!!!! WE WENT TO THE PRESENTATION THIS SUNDAY AND SPENT 2 1/2 HOURS LISTENING TO THEIR CRAP!!!! WE SAT THRU 3 SALES REPS AND LISTENED TO HOW WONDERFUL IT COULD BE WITH ALL THEIR GREAT PAYMENT OPTIONS. BY THE TIME WE LEFT, I WAS SO MAD THAT MY GIRLFRIEND HAD TO HOLD ME BACK. THEIR SALES MANAGER COULDN’T SELL IT SO HE SENT IN ANOTHER SALES PERSON/ CLOSER. SHE INSULTED MY GIRL AND I SO BAD THAT I WANTED TO STRANGLE HER. SO NO SALE AND THE PROMISED GIFTS ARE B.S AS WELL. SOMEONE NEEDS TO STOP THESE ” TIME SHARE BANDITS “.TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE GETTING RIPPERD OFF BY THESE CON ARTISTS.

  32. Trying to get out of this Westgate Time Share because of a divorce. Owe about 9,000 on it and its been a pain. thinking about not paying this month and so forth because I dont have it and I called this morning and of course they appear to not be able to help me at all. Intending on contacting the BBB just as jenny above stated but until then not sure what to do. I hate this thing and the upkeep is soooo exensive. Somebody help me!!!!!!!Will it harm your credit???

    1. It took them over a month to respond to our BBB Complaint and all they responded with (Westgate) was tell us there was nothing they could do for us b/c we signed this that and the other… 🙁

  33. we too owned timeshare in virginia tommorrow goes in foreclosure.. hate it but hope they wont come after salary. shame promised to build things NEVER HAPPENED…

    1. How long did it take to go into Foreclosure? We stopped paying in February of this year. They called us for awhile, but the calls have stopped.

  34. If anybody got rip their money to try to pay any resell company for the TS here in Florida, go to Florida State Attorney, see a windows that said reseller timeshares, right now he is investigate a lot companies and asking us to do the same thing, I did pay to TimesSharesOnly they didn’t do anything for me, I went today to their website and made complaint. He recovery money for people that pay already. Good luck.

    1. I did pay also TS Only..they keep on calling me with a promise of they can seel it, and they gave me a nice picture on the web to look good and believable…I paid $600 and after they were paid I never heared from them anymore,and when you call the person who made the sale (mine was Jenny) she will tell she is no longer responsible its another department…there’s a lot of money making her in TS, why theres no Headlines about this in any news? For those who try to sell their TS dont make ads” its just scam”

      1. Hi go to the Florida General Attorney Office,
        right now she is investigate a lot company’s
        include Times shares Only, filling up your
        complaint and they will sent you a questionary
        that you have to responde, also you need to
        probe to them if you pay with credit card or
        debit card. I did wait for few days, they email me back. I called to my bank to get my stament from that time and I am ready to fax my papers, she is recovery money for
        for people that pay to them. Good luck.

        1. How does that work? I only just started and feel stupid for doing so. I’ve only paid 2 months of my down payment and already want out of this mess. I missed the 10 day deadline to cancel. They promised they would work with me if I could not afford it and now all I get is the runaround.

  35. You know….it’s funny. So many of us got DOOOOPED by these crooks. My wife and I bought into Wyndham Towers on the Grove in North Myrtle Beach. We have called and told them we wanted out, but they said that there was nothing that could be done. We signed and we were locked in. We too were made ALL these promises including sending us back to JAMAICA if we bought into the timeshare. We did, like a dummy and now we are regretting it.

    1. How much are the taxes on your timeshare each year? My daughter-in-law wants to give us a timeshare at The Yatchsman at Myrtle Beach, and my husband says “no”.

      1. NEVER buy a timeshare. You can rent the place for much less. A search online will give you hundreds of people that would love to rent theirs or sell it to you at a great loss.

  36. hi. we got a timeshare at west gate resort in florida. we have it since 2007 and now it is being a pain in the butt. We still owe them about 16000 i think and in contract for 10 yrs. we know we are wasting money on this but now i’ve found this website, i thinking of what i should do. Theres 3 of us written on the deed, we were all friends but it looks like it was named just on one person and she receives all the IRS and she is the one who pays the westgate. Now, we are planning not to start paying this april after reading this entire thread. But my question is, how do you think it will affect our credit score? do you think, it will affect the 3 of us or just the main person? we are planning to foreclose this crazy timeshare. one of us owns a condo and she was wondering if foreclosing this thing will affect her mortgage though she’s not the main person Do we just stop paying them and they will give us a note of foreclosure in few months? Do you think they’ll bring us to court? oh my go? it scares the heck out of me since were filing american citizenship on november.. Should we go ahead and look for an attorney or wait until they give us notice? we need help!!!!

  37. We foreclosed on a resort in Florida years ago. And that resort did not show up on our credit, but I am not sure about Westgate. We got suckered and lied to when we bought again and I too am angry that we were just so dumb again..

  38. Am glad to post back today, over 3 months later, and say that I no longer am an owner at Westgate! The best thing I ever did was contact the Better Business Bureau with my complaint, and let them handle the correspondence between us. We were able to file paperwork, and they took the property back. It cost $1000 but, it was well worth it. Our 2011 taxes, fees, and 1 month’s payment would have been that much! We are tickled at how well the BBB did at helping us resolve this issue. They would not work with us at all but, once the Bureau got involved they were more than willing to try to work with us. If anyone out there is struggling with this feel free to contact me at my email address and I will be glad to help in anyway I can! Good luck! jenny.welch@yahoo.com

    1. I JUST DID A COMPLAINT WITH THE BBB THIS MORNING, I HOPE THIS HELPS US OUT WITH OUR SITUATION AS WELL. WERE YOU PROMISED AT THE TME OF PURCHASE AS WELL THAT WEST GATE WOULD PURCHASE YOUR TIME SHARE BACK FROM YOU AT ANYTIME FOR WHATEVER REASON FOR WHAT YOU PURCHASED IT FOR? B/C WE SURE WERE. THIS IS SUCH A NIGHTMARE FOR REAL 🙁

    2. Did you file a report with the Better Business Bureau where the timeshare is located? I no longer want to be a timeshare owner, but haven’t had a chance to deal with the actual resort as I know it will get me nowhere judging from everyone else’s reviews and comments. Will the BBB still take on cases like mine?

    3. I want out of mine as well, I just recently signed up for this nightmare in April 2011. Have only made 2 payments towards my “down payment”. My circumstances have changed, I am on disability and just cannot afford these payments. I’m so mad at myself for getting into this situation to begin with. They promised they would “work” with me if I could not afford payments, yet every time I call I just get the runaround. They extend my due dates and add more fees! I purchased Westgate Smoky Mtn Resort and now I am totally regretting it. Can the BBB help with this? I just want OUT!

    4. Jenny, thank you for posting this. I feel like there might be some hope to getting rid of our nightmare! If you are still accepting emails, I will be in contact to see what you did to resolve your issues with Westgate. I too look forward to the day when I can say I’m no longer a Westgate owner!!
      Thanks!

  39. I too am in this boat with all of you. I feel i was pressured into this timeshare and in the 3 years we’ve owned we have NOT got to stay in “OUR CABIN”. We were lied to from the beginning. The first year we didn’t even get to stay because were told we had to call a month prior to showing up to book our reservation and it could not be booked any sooner. No such chance on gettting in. and the next year we were able to get in but not in our cabin but in a condo might as well say hotel room. that is what it seemed like. neighbors were right next door and we even had a door dividing our rooms, could hear everything. well were then hassled for a few hrs to upgrade so that we could get the chance to stay in our cabin, and why do we need to do this? well we upgraded and now our debt is only higher and our payment is a hundred dollars more and for what? We are so ticked off about the whole deal. We have stopped paying over 6 months ago, recieved all the harassing phone calls, told them what we have gone through and still insist to destroy us. Not fair to people at all!

  40. It is my understanding that they cannot come after your house or your income. What they can do or try to do is come after you for foreclosure fees etc.? I could be wrong, but this is some of what I gather from what I’ve been reading. I too am just like the couple above in the article. My husband and I stopped paying.

      1. I’m on board! It is shameful how these people can swindle us out of our money! It makes me sick to think about how Westgate has pretty much stolen from me and my husband.

        1. I would be willing to participate in the class action. Thus far, I have stop payments and no longer care what they do. They call and simply will not be paying them another cent.

  41. Hi Jill,

    Did you seek an attorney to see if they can garnish your wages? I am on the same boat and thinking the same thing as you but do not know what to do. I just made my February loan payment and will need to pay the quarterly HOA payment next month. UGHHHHH…..I hate this….

    1. I DID NOT SEEK AN ATTORNEY, WE HAVE BEEN BUSY TRYING TO PREP FOR MY HUSBANDS UPCOMING DEPLOYMENT 🙁 SO KIND OF HAD OUR HANDS FULL. WAS ANYONE ELSE TOLD WHEN THEY WERE GETTING THE TOUR “THE GREAT THING ABOUT WESTGATE, IS IF FOR WHATEVER REASON YOU EVER WANT TO SELL YOUR TIME SHARE-WESTGATE WILL MATCH WHATEVER YOU PAID FOR IT.” ?? JUST CURIOUS CAUSE THAT WAS WHAT WE WERE TOLD, SO WE CALLED AND THEY SAID OH NO WE DONT BUY THEM BACK. I FEEL LIKE SUCH AN IDIOT. SERIOUSLY WORST MISTAKE I HAVE EVER AGREED TO.

      1. We were told they would buy it buy if we werent 100% satisfied and now that we are not satisfied they say oh no it states in your contract that westgate does not buy back…. also our maintenence fees have gone from 500 to 800+ in 2 years!!!! also I found out through someother moron that the “ownership” is only good for 99 years NOT FOR LIFE…..does anyone know if that is true?

  42. we are so in the very same boat. we have only had it since Aug of 2010 and have regret it pretty much as soon as we got home from vacation. we have a westgate in FL. Im torn between just stop paying or paying it off and then just not pay the HOA every year?? I just hate that we have great credit just for this to turn it bad. My husband wants to do the right thing, but I can’t stand the thought of how “we got, GOT!” it pisses me off! the problem I worry about is, can they garnish our wages if we stop paying and let it go into forclosure??

    1. what about a law suit against all of them. Are all report this stuff to congress maybe they will regulate something with getting rid of these places . The ceiling fell in on my granddaughter when we stayed at Westgate in 2009 they don’t do the up keep that we pay for

  43. Pingback: Westgate Timeshare Experience – Foreclosing on Westgate … | Global Exchange Vacation Club RCI Points
  44. 2 years ago my best friend’s 60 year old mother went to Las Vegas for the first time. She was offered some free tickets if she sat through a presentation for Grandview Las Vegas which she did. The timeshare rep. kept talking to her and throwing facts at her and eventually they basically wore her down to the point where, she later stated, she felt scarred to say “no” (especially since they wouldn’t give her any time to think about it). So, Maria did what most have done, she signed on the bottom line. Now at retirement Maria is finding it harder and harder to keep up with the payments but has basically been told that there is nothing that could be done to help her out of the purchase. I wish I could find the person that actually had the nerve to badger Maria into buying a timeshare so that I could ask him how he sleeps at night knowing that the elderly are getting scammed; I personally think it wasa form of elder abus. We are definetely taking steps to see about selling, but with this economy all I can say is “BUYERS BEWARE”.

    1. I was defending a timeshare association a few years ago. We were fighting with the developer over some take-over matters. I asked the developer a question during some of the time we spent flying from one deposition to another. I said: “How would you describe a time-share salesman? To my surprise, he replied: “Time-share salesmen are just like used car salesmen, but used car salesmen have higher morals.” I make no personal judgment as to the accuracy of the developer’s statement, but I thought that it might answer the question about how a particular time-share salesman can look at himself in the mirror in the mornings.

  45. We are trying hard to figure out how to get out of Westgates trap. I would beg David Siegel if I thought it would help. We are praying hard, and posting complaints, sending emails, making phone calls, anything and everything we know to do. I hope it works out for you and for us too.

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