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Sunterra Resorts ripoff Williamsburg Virginia
We were contacted by Sunterra Resorts on or about August 14, 2003. As with many of these timeshare companies they require you to be in some outrageous income bracket.
Sunterra's,... $50,000.00 a year. When the sales man asked if we made the fifty thousand a year I told him no,I do not.
It should have ended there, but it did not. This unrelenting creep, then asked me if I owned a home equal to the income requirements. I said yes I do and he said that would be fine.
After, messing our initial reservation, the credit manager,Mike McClure called us to confirm our $99.00 purchase. I again mentioned the fact that we do not meet the financial requirements and relayed what the first salesman had said about the house.
All he said was "yeah that'll be alright, but whatever you do when you arrive make sure you tell them you make the $50,000.00 a year." I still didn't feel right.
Fearing I would lose the money ($99.00 on my credit card) and an additional $400-$825 from not showing up as scheduled, I made the 524 mile trip with my ill husband and 3 kids. I was disqualified on the spot.
I am now in jeapordy of losing a lot of money I got nothing but humiliation and all they ahd to say was I should have said no thanks and hung up. Trust me that is easier said than done.
Mind you, this is a much edited version of the whole story, but I am fear of losing something I don't have to lose, money to pay my bills and feed my kids.
Mona
Jackson Springs, North Carolina
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Michael
Kapolei,Hawaii,
U.S.A.
These companies should be shut down
#5Consumer Comment
Fri, August 05, 2005
Mona, I can sympathize with your situation. It is true that these time share companies are a organized rip-off. If they contact you and offer an incentive, they should be required to deliver. I and my family were recently ripped off for over $10,000 and we have nothing to show for it.
As I read these rebuttals, obviously written by company employees, They all say the same thing. We are fools for beleiving them. We should know they are out to make money, anyway they can. But the truth is there are a minority of us who still beleive people are basically good and the gov't will some how protect us from the predators. Unfortunately, there are a few rotten apples like the ones you and I have encountered, and the gov't is not interested in us, but the money more.
Thank goodness for websites like this. Let all your freinds know about it. And write your representatives and regualtory agencies. They may not do anything, but atleast complaints will be on file. Let's work to put these rip-off artist out of business. And whatever you do don't buy Fairfield Resorts.
Michael
Kapolei,Hawaii,
U.S.A.
These companies should be shut down
#5Consumer Comment
Fri, August 05, 2005
Mona, I can sympathize with your situation. It is true that these time share companies are a organized rip-off. If they contact you and offer an incentive, they should be required to deliver. I and my family were recently ripped off for over $10,000 and we have nothing to show for it.
As I read these rebuttals, obviously written by company employees, They all say the same thing. We are fools for beleiving them. We should know they are out to make money, anyway they can. But the truth is there are a minority of us who still beleive people are basically good and the gov't will some how protect us from the predators. Unfortunately, there are a few rotten apples like the ones you and I have encountered, and the gov't is not interested in us, but the money more.
Thank goodness for websites like this. Let all your freinds know about it. And write your representatives and regualtory agencies. They may not do anything, but atleast complaints will be on file. Let's work to put these rip-off artist out of business. And whatever you do don't buy Fairfield Resorts.
Michael
Kapolei,Hawaii,
U.S.A.
These companies should be shut down
#5Consumer Comment
Fri, August 05, 2005
Mona, I can sympathize with your situation. It is true that these time share companies are a organized rip-off. If they contact you and offer an incentive, they should be required to deliver. I and my family were recently ripped off for over $10,000 and we have nothing to show for it.
As I read these rebuttals, obviously written by company employees, They all say the same thing. We are fools for beleiving them. We should know they are out to make money, anyway they can. But the truth is there are a minority of us who still beleive people are basically good and the gov't will some how protect us from the predators. Unfortunately, there are a few rotten apples like the ones you and I have encountered, and the gov't is not interested in us, but the money more.
Thank goodness for websites like this. Let all your freinds know about it. And write your representatives and regualtory agencies. They may not do anything, but atleast complaints will be on file. Let's work to put these rip-off artist out of business. And whatever you do don't buy Fairfield Resorts.
James
Williamsburg,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Sorry for your experience....
#5UPDATE Employee
Wed, June 29, 2005
"We were contacted by Sunterra Resorts on or about August 14, 2003. As with many of these timeshare companies they require you to be in some outrageous income bracket.
Sunterra's,... $50,000.00 a year."
The reason there is an income bracket is because they are selling a product, and want to see qualified customers who can afford the product. The income bracket they are looking for is only outrageous depending on your perspective and lifestyle, in my experience it is too small a requirement.
There is no rule or law that says when someone is marketing something to you in your home that you can't just hang up or say no. The only reason you stayed on the phone was because what this person was selling something you wanted. You obviosly wanted to go on a two day getaway or you would have hung up earlier. This might be news to some, but nothing is free or too-good-to-be-true. They are allowing you to get free/discounted stays in or near the resorts so that they can attempt to sell you their product. They are buying your time to present their product. The major difference in this type of marketing is that their advertising dollars are being directly distributed to the consumer in the form of gifts and or stays. Other companies advertise through radio/tv/direct mail etc...
If you were disqualified at arrival then you must have told them that you did in fact not make 50K a year. That is very honorable on your part. The marketing people that invite you into a Sunterra presentation do not work for our company. They are private firms that get clients to come to presentations, and our firm pays the marketing companies for those leads once they are booked.
I am sorry for the humiliation that you felt for not being branded "qualified" for the tour. The product that this company sells is designed to help those individuals obtain a vehicle that allows them to take a quality vacation every year. These vacations are primarily in 1/2/3 bedroom condo style accomodations. Which is very neccesary for those families that have several children and need the space, and the ability to save lots of $ by utilizing the kitchen and laundry facilities. The idea of the program is to pre-pay for all future vacations up-front over a period of 3-10 years. Once paid, no matter if times are hard or great, you don't have to sacrafice time away from home that is a basic necessity of life (for stress reduction/ romance/family time).
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