Westgate Resorts Smoky Mountains Flat-out lied to get us to buy! BEWARE!!! Ocoee Florida
My husband and I attended a timeshare presentation at the Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort in order to get free tickets to Dollywood. After several hours (90 minutes my foot) we agreed to buy a timeshare due to the fact that with our timeshare we would get 12 "getaways" every year through Interval International. Our salesperson, Angie, repeatedly told us how we could get a 1 bedroom unit for $199/wk, a 2 bedroom unit for $299/wk, and so-on up to a 4 bedroom for $499. She even wrote this down on a napkin or other scrap piece of paper (hmmm, I wonder why?). She reepeatedly had us browse through the Interval catalog to see all the beautiful resorts available (based on availability, of course). Then she went into how we could sell these "getaways" and use the money to pay our monthly timeshare payment or get a little extra cash. Went over and over this. When my husband got cold feet and got up to leave, she had her manager come over and tell us how his girlfriend just made their monthly payment and put extra money in their pocket by selling a trip to Hawaii. So we agree to buy this thing. Our closing officer goes over the getaways again writing down "$299-450/wk any size- any time". Now, this discrepancy should have thrown a major red flag but we assumed the differnce in price was due to taxes and fees.
Well, once we get home and our ten day cancellation period ends and our Interval International materials arrive, we discover that is says plainly that members are not to sell the getaways for cash! Also, most of the beautiful resorts are never available and the ones that are cost a lot more than the rates we were quoted. My husband called Interval and told them what we had been told and they flat out told him Westgate had lied to us.
We have contacted Westgate repeatedly and they refuse to address the fact that their salespeople told bold-faced lies. Instead they instruct us to contact Interval. Interval didn't lie to us about anything! Westgate did.
This has been a total nightmare! Now we are stuck with a timeshare we can't afford to use and our Interval membership is over (OH, yeah, you have to pay hundreds of dollars to re-enroll every year)and we have no more getaways, not that we could use them anyway!
Sarahlou
Catlettsburg, Kentucky
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Sarahlou
Catlettsburg,Kentucky,
U.S.A.
Keep my posted
#6Author of original report
Wed, July 15, 2009
Would love to be kept up-to-date on your progress. I am also going to file with state attorney general's office in Tennessee and Florida.
Will check out that website. Thanks.
Westgatevictim
Irvine,Kentucky,
U.S.A.
Visit this website!
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, July 08, 2009
Sarahlou,
Utahstories.com - read the article Timeshare Traps & Your Legal Rights, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the article, post a comment (your story) and submit. They WILL respond and you will be glad you posted!!
Best of Luck to you!!!
Westgatevictim
Irvine,Kentucky,
U.S.A.
Visit this website!
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, July 08, 2009
Sarahlou,
Utahstories.com - read the article Timeshare Traps & Your Legal Rights, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the article, post a comment (your story) and submit. They WILL respond and you will be glad you posted!!
Best of Luck to you!!!
Westgatevictim
Irvine,Kentucky,
U.S.A.
Visit this website!
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, July 08, 2009
Sarahlou,
Utahstories.com - read the article Timeshare Traps & Your Legal Rights, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the article, post a comment (your story) and submit. They WILL respond and you will be glad you posted!!
Best of Luck to you!!!
Westgatevictim
Irvine,Kentucky,
U.S.A.
Very Similar Experience
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, July 01, 2009
I am a fellow Kentuckian and have a very similar experience with Westgate. I was SO GLAD to see your report that I almost shouted. We didn't purchase a timeshare, but they gave us a similar offer: pay for a one-week stay at Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort and we will hold the price that we've offered you for the timeshare for 2 years and also give you 4 getaway weeks, which you can sell! YES, we were told we could sell these weeks, just like you. Also, just like you, we found out that this is simply not true after I contacted a lady at Leisure Time Passport who had no response to my statement that I was told I could sell my weeks by my Westgate Salesperson. I guess she didn't want to say that they lied.
I am currently in a dispute with Westgate and am not paying anything else. A verbal contract is just as binding as a written one and they breached the contract that we signed by lying and telling us that we could sell our getaway weeks. I have mailed a letter to David Siegel, filed a report with the BBB, contacted an attorney, filed a dispute with my credit card company(still waiting on their answer), and have sent a fax to Mr. Steven Grecco after he sent me a Default notice. My husband has tried repeatedly to have someone call him back and they refuse to respond to our requests. I gave Mr. Grecco 10 days to call my husband and if he doesn't I am going to file an official complaint with the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. I don't know whether any of this will work and I will get my money back, but I am going to go through every avenue I can think of.
I would love to hear from others who have been lied to about their getaway weeks!! Also, I will keep you updated on my progress if you would like!