- Report: #198760
Complaint Review: Fairfield Resorts - North Myrtle Beach South Carolina
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Fairfield Resorts
Myrtle Beach North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, U.S.A.
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Fairfield Resorts ripoff North Myrtle Beach South Carolina
I was given a call at home in January 2006. We were offered a two night three day stay in several locations to choose from for a small fee anbd that we would receive another two night three day vacation plus $ 30.00 cash back. After a few minutes of discussion with my husband we accepted the offer and gave them our credit card information. We were told we had up to one year to schedule our vacation. We had to tell them our destination at the time of the phone call. I choose Myrtle Beach ... they said we could change any time we liked. In May someone contacted us and told us that if we would schedule our vacation before June 30th that we would also receive a $ 40.00 gas card this was also when we were told that we had to attend a seminar that lasted about an hour and a half. We scheduled for June 23rd. When we arrived at the welcome and was given a choice of times for Saturday and was told it would last about two hours. We choose 8:30 am time thinking we were going to be done around 10:30 and enjoy the rest of our day.
When we arrived they had coffee and doughnuts and was greeted by our sales representative. I explained to him that I had gotten on line and read some bad reports regarding the resort. He asked what kind of bad things. I told him that a lot of people were saying that they couldn't schedule the vacation time they wanted. He said it must have had something to do with how many points they bought. At that time it didn't make any sense. I told him that when we were offered this vacation in January we were not told about the time share and that it wasn't until they called us in May that we found out about it. I told him that since January that we were not financially able to commit to any purchasing at this time. He told us that there was no pressure.
We were taken into a conference room where a speaker came out and gave a speech about how time share works and that there was no pressure on purchasing today. The explained that instead of renting a vacation that we could own ours and that we would receive a deed. After the speech was over we were taken back to a room with a lot of tables that the sales reps took us to go over a few things on our application. I asked if we were not gauranteed the same place every year then what was the deed on ... he said it was a deed on the points we purchased. (I don't see where points give a tax break or that if the place you purchased the time share from for example got flooded or even worse who get the insurance claim that would have to be filed and if ours was not available what would happen to our time share until they rebuilt.) My husband asked our sales rep how much the points cost. He said it depends on our credit rating. Thats when I got concerned and asked that our credit not be checked through a bunch of lenders. He went and got his manager and I expressed my concerns and he assured us that it wouldn't happen and that they only checked through one place. I said OK.
Our sales rep then took us and showed us some of the properties available ... they were beautiful anyone in their right mind would love to vacation in these place. They were brand new individule house that were laid out. Then he took us to the Resort they were building and showed us the Presidential Suite ... it to was beautiful.
We were then taken back to the welcome center dropped of out front and waited inside for our resp. When he came back in he stopped by and got our credit and then put the same room where we sat down with him. He pulled out a laminated sheet of paper that had the breakdown of two different set of points to purchase with the breakdown of cost. (Remember my husband asked before we left and was told that it depended on our credit). The payments for 224,000 points were broke down to around $ 650.00 per month. I told him no way and my husband was astonded and said that was more than a car payment. He said he was going to talk to his manager and see what he could do. When he came back to the table he had a different lade with him that was also a manager. She had a peice of paper with the same points that was offered to us but for less than half the price with a bunch of waved fees. I stood up and said that it was a rip off. My husband said that it was because of our credit rating being an A verses the sheet he showed us for a C rated credit. I said than why wasn't it offered when we first sat down. She said that wasn't why we were offered the discount it was because of our confirmation code and we were referred by Fairfield. While I was standing there I looked around the whole room and said how many of these other people were referred by Fairfield but wasn't given the same discount because they accepted the first deal that was offered. By the time we left there at 12:30 (4 Hours) we were offered 4 deals total starting at $ 650.00 and going all the way down to $ 100.00 dollars.
It just goes without saying that if you do not say yes the first time ... the offer just keeps getting better. What I don't think they relized is that even though I am not a Sales person ... I do work with them and I know all about profit. Needless to say no one made a profit off of my Husband or me. We just lost 4 hours of our vacation time.
We won't be doing that again.
PS we did receive our gifts
Sonya
Columbus, Ohio
U.S.A.
When we arrived they had coffee and doughnuts and was greeted by our sales representative. I explained to him that I had gotten on line and read some bad reports regarding the resort. He asked what kind of bad things. I told him that a lot of people were saying that they couldn't schedule the vacation time they wanted. He said it must have had something to do with how many points they bought. At that time it didn't make any sense. I told him that when we were offered this vacation in January we were not told about the time share and that it wasn't until they called us in May that we found out about it. I told him that since January that we were not financially able to commit to any purchasing at this time. He told us that there was no pressure.
We were taken into a conference room where a speaker came out and gave a speech about how time share works and that there was no pressure on purchasing today. The explained that instead of renting a vacation that we could own ours and that we would receive a deed. After the speech was over we were taken back to a room with a lot of tables that the sales reps took us to go over a few things on our application. I asked if we were not gauranteed the same place every year then what was the deed on ... he said it was a deed on the points we purchased. (I don't see where points give a tax break or that if the place you purchased the time share from for example got flooded or even worse who get the insurance claim that would have to be filed and if ours was not available what would happen to our time share until they rebuilt.) My husband asked our sales rep how much the points cost. He said it depends on our credit rating. Thats when I got concerned and asked that our credit not be checked through a bunch of lenders. He went and got his manager and I expressed my concerns and he assured us that it wouldn't happen and that they only checked through one place. I said OK.
Our sales rep then took us and showed us some of the properties available ... they were beautiful anyone in their right mind would love to vacation in these place. They were brand new individule house that were laid out. Then he took us to the Resort they were building and showed us the Presidential Suite ... it to was beautiful.
We were then taken back to the welcome center dropped of out front and waited inside for our resp. When he came back in he stopped by and got our credit and then put the same room where we sat down with him. He pulled out a laminated sheet of paper that had the breakdown of two different set of points to purchase with the breakdown of cost. (Remember my husband asked before we left and was told that it depended on our credit). The payments for 224,000 points were broke down to around $ 650.00 per month. I told him no way and my husband was astonded and said that was more than a car payment. He said he was going to talk to his manager and see what he could do. When he came back to the table he had a different lade with him that was also a manager. She had a peice of paper with the same points that was offered to us but for less than half the price with a bunch of waved fees. I stood up and said that it was a rip off. My husband said that it was because of our credit rating being an A verses the sheet he showed us for a C rated credit. I said than why wasn't it offered when we first sat down. She said that wasn't why we were offered the discount it was because of our confirmation code and we were referred by Fairfield. While I was standing there I looked around the whole room and said how many of these other people were referred by Fairfield but wasn't given the same discount because they accepted the first deal that was offered. By the time we left there at 12:30 (4 Hours) we were offered 4 deals total starting at $ 650.00 and going all the way down to $ 100.00 dollars.
It just goes without saying that if you do not say yes the first time ... the offer just keeps getting better. What I don't think they relized is that even though I am not a Sales person ... I do work with them and I know all about profit. Needless to say no one made a profit off of my Husband or me. We just lost 4 hours of our vacation time.
We won't be doing that again.
PS we did receive our gifts
Sonya
Columbus, Ohio
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Aline
Honolulu,Hawaii,
U.S.A.
I apologize Sonya
#2Consumer Suggestion
Wed, July 12, 2006
Aloha Sonya, I am sorry for the experience you had at one of our resorts. The sales presentation you describe sounds displeasing. I appreciate you sharing your feelings on your experience with Fairfield. My name is Aline and I am a sales executive for Fairfield Hawaii. I have been working in sales at this office since last October. I am a top producer only because I believe in the product I am selling. I have recently upgraded two clients on their previous purchase. In each occasion there were disappoints and satisfactions. I believe in every company there is both sides; positive and negative. It is unfortunate you and your husband experience was negative. I understand we have lost all potential of ever obtaining your and your husband's business. For this, I am apologize. You sound like a caring and intelligent consumer. This is why I feel compaled to clarify a few matters. I have met owners whom are estatic with their ownership. They talk about their family reunions in our beautiful resorts. I have owners who use it for their business travel. My owners have also used it for anniversaries and birthday parties. These are amongst a few of positive feedbacks received. I don't understand how the word timeshare was avoided during your phone conversation with one of the booking agents. I will honor that you may not have heard it. However, I believe it is printed on your confirmation package sent to you with your itinerary. I am sorry you and your husband were taken on tour with such a sales man. Yes it is true we have interest that varies from an A score to a C score. He failed to explain clearly the deed price is the same for everyone. The monthly payments change if your credit score is higher then a C. Does this make sense? You have a higher credit score we can lower your interest and therefore your montly payments are lowered. The sales agent failed to explain that your montly payment would change if you credit score was in the A or B range. The price your original saw with the montly payments is always shown for C credit score. Why? Because we guarantee financing for all packages with financing of C score. This is great for someone who has a lower score of C. I don't understand the wave fees because you were referred by Fairfield. I never heard of anything. Again this is where we failed you. The only extra things we can give you is Bonus weeks from RCI. That's it. Everyone gets the same price, same bonus points, same deal. This why I love my job. It is fair for everyone and no matter how bad your credit was in the past we will finance you. The 4 hours you spent was depending on your level of interest. We cannot obligate you to stay longer then 120 minutes unless you ask questions or show interest in purchasing. At 120 minutes you can easily get up and check out to get your gift vouchers. It is often that guest stay past 120 minutes because of the interest they show even when they don't purchase. Again I apologize for your and your husband's negative experience with us. I always give my guests an intent statement which explains it's 120 minutes time share presentation. And I let them know if it goes over it depends on their level interest. Also, I apologize for the response you received from Tiffany at our call center. The guests whom purchased are not the ones who paid for your gifts. It is the company that pays for it. It is part of our marketing department. I wish you and your husband the very best and hope you both will keep an open mind about time share. Picture your vacations would never be the same after you have spent them in beautiful spacious resorts with fun activities for all ages. Imagine how much money you saved your family by fixing your vacations for many generations. If you had asked me a year ago would I ever sale timeshare I would say never. I picture big sales men with hairy chest and gold thick necklaces dangling from their neck. I have been in sales for over a decade and worked for companies like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue Beverly Hills. Believing in my product is imperative for my success. I have tested the resorts booking on a daily basis and even for potential buyers during my tours with them. I have called all of the numbers my clients would use to book their vacations. Every experience has been outstanding. I would hear a human voice within 30 seconds or less. Over 500,000 Fairfield owners purchased on the same day. Last year 40% of our business came from up grades. We are the largest time share company in the world. We have our bad points but our good has kept us growing and bringing our owners back for more business. Please feel free to respond or ask me any questions. Again, I am sorry your experience with us wasn't the best. My deepest sincerety and much Aloha, Aline
Sonya
Columbus,Ohio,
U.S.A.
I never said they lied
#3Consumer Suggestion
Tue, July 11, 2006
I don't understand why you think I said they were lying. I never said that. When I get a phone call like I received in January I got out a peice of paper and wrote down everything they were saying to me. No where on the paper did it say anything about Time Share. When I did mention it in my report I never said we had a problem going to it. What I did say was that we were told becaus I wrote it down also was they said it would take an hour and a half for the tour. When we checked in they said it would take two hours, still no problem. What actually happened was we got there befor 8:30 am and did not leave till 1:00 pm to me that is four and a half hours. I never determined the time. I was told the time. The point I was trying to make was that we went down there on false pretense. We were told that there was no pressure on buying into the time share, yet they kept us there for four and a half hours trying by knocking the price down over half of what they first offered it to us for. By the way we did have a nice vacation and your remark about Fairfield not paying for our vacation and that it was the people that did buy into it did. Just goes to show that they are a rip-off. If that is the case then I feel sorry for the people that jumped on the band wagon on the first offer because they could have gotten it for over half the price if they had just said no the first time. One more thing that I forgot to put in my first report was that the most complaints I have read was that people couldn't get in any of the places they wanted even if it was in the place (area) they paid for, especially during peak time of the season. But we was there at the end of June and most of the places that was down there were empty. Was it because they were trying to sell more time share without letting owners get in because they were busing showing off the properties?? I wonder.
Tiffani
Johnson City,Tennessee,
U.S.A.
i work for a call center
#4UPDATE Employee
Tue, July 11, 2006
I just have one thing to say about your little story that is that you had to have been told about the tour. It's a matter of if you were listening. whether or not the rep that called you lied or not (i always tell bout the tour, but i know some who dont and have gotten in trouble for it) after they got your credit card, and ran your card. The Quality Assurance Department got on the the line and went over a script that they had to read word for word that says the terms and conditions of the package, and in it they say 1."you and your spose if married are required to take a tour of the resort it will take 120 minutes in MB(its diff. in every area)." later in the script they also say "failure to meet qualifications, attend the sales presentation, will result in forfieture of the package price and the benifits of the getaway" so you were told at least 2 in your very first call about the tour, now weather or not you listnen who knows, but if they miss anything in that script they get a sales alert, $10 deducted from their paycheck, plus they have to call the customer back and fix it. I have been working at fairfield for 2 years. I have been with the quality assurance department for about 6 months, i QA anywhere between 15-25 deals a night, and i get maybe 2 sales allerts. I dont want to loose money, it's not worth it for me to lie, all it does is hurt me. So there is no way you were not told about the tour, or the deal would have kicked and never been a deal, they never would have got your money to begin with. I guess your lesson learned, listen when people are talking, exspecailly the fine print. and ask questions if you dont know what it means. I hope if you didnt enjoy your vacation, you at least learned something from it. And just remember even though you didnt buy it, fairfield didnt pay for those gifts, the other person who bought timeshare that day did!!!
