TRT An Owner was Mistreated
Westgate Timeshare Resort Issues



Date of Incident: 8/26/2003

I am surprised to see all these people with complaints on Westgate Resorts, since I am an owner and have been for a year. I know your starting to read this thinking, oh here is someone who is going to say, how dare you write such things, or put up a webpage slandering Westgate but that isn't the case. I am here to tell you that I had my first time using my timeshare
after my fiancé and I purchased it a year ago. Since Bruce couldn't go, I
decided to take some of my family and enjoy the experience with them.

Back to the day we purchased:

We went through the sales pitch and yes, it took much longer than they said but I had been interested in a timeshare and decided to purchase. We saw two units, which were both one bedroom units and were told that they had one and two bedroom units to sell. When all was said and done, we picked the unit we wanted, which was one of the one bedrooms and were told that was what we were getting and when it was built, it would look exactly the same. Of course, they agreed to lower the price if we waiting till next year to use the timeshare, so we did. The proposal that we signed had all the final numbers on it and gave all the details with one bedroom, red season and every other year, etc. This is what the contract was generated from. Of course, the contract had only the unit number and no description of anything else. Well, to make a long story short, we arrived on the day of our much awaited vacation (having confirmed the reservation three times to make sure all was in order) only to find out when I checked in and the man was walking me and my family to the room, that it was an efficiency. We were more than a bit shocked, especially when he started making reference to the fact that he hoped we would all be comfortable in this room. I didn't even know they sold or made efficiencies! He kept assuring us it was a mistake and they would take care of it. Well, two hours later, my family and the kids waiting outside and me getting nowhere, my sister came in and got me and we left and went to a hotel for the night. We told them we would be back the next morning at 8am sharp and we wanted to speak with the man who could solve this whole mess. Turns out it was James Jackson, the man that did the final close on our timeshare. I was relieved, thinking this was all going to be taken care of and he assured my sister and I that they would clear it all up and see about reimbursing us for our hotel and trouble, saying they should have taken care of us. We went round and round with him and even when he pulled out the proposal that I signed, he could not defend the fact that they had one bedroom on what we signed, and that they sold us an efficiency. He kept saying that is what they called their one bedrooms! What part of one bedroom does the man not understand? Never in the history of real-estate so they say a one bedroom is an efficiency!. We even had my fiancé fax over a copy of the contract and all James had to say was that unit was an efficiency. So, they told us the whole time what I was getting was a one bedroom, and put in the numbers for their efficiency on the contract instead, and told me all along that it was a one bedroom! Clearly a case of 'breech of contract' and nowhere on the contract does it give a description of the unit. Even on my reservation confirmation that they sent me, it said one bedroom. And in all the time of reconfirming reservations, don't you think they would have corrected me or even asked me where I planned on putting 8 people in an efficiency? End of story was that we wasted 3 days of our vacation of them giving us the runaround, never reimbursed us for the hotel stay, finally put us in a room that was bigger than the efficiency but still not what I bought, and even had the gall to tell me that they would be happy to have me pay an additional $1000 for the room we were told we had gotten and upgrade us to that. This ended up ruining our vacation and we left even a few days early and were suppose to be there 7 nights. I even got a number from James for the VP of Westgate and decided to call him when I got home and can you imagine, the number was disconnected! I am looking to find out what I can do and also looking to get involved with anyone who might have had this happen to them and get a 'class-action lawsuit' going against Westgate for misrepresentation.

By the way, the girl that sold us the contract was fired by Westgate for misrepresentation but James had just as much responsibility, since he told us the same thing, even though he insists that he showed us a picture of the efficiency, both Bruce and I know better and know exactly what they did. I have yet to file with the Better Business Bureau and would welcome any more information you may have in aiding my search.

All Westgate problem reports are submitted via email by the actual person who participated in the timeshare incident. Submissions are not edited in any fashion. Names are not shown for privacy reasons.

Main Listing of Problem Reports with Westgate Timeshare Resorts