When I posted my TRUE experiences at Westgate Resorts in Orlando Florida of April 3, 1998, I got hundreds of email messages from readers all over the world that had similar stories.
Here is one from "B.M." on Feb 2, 2003.
The primary problem is that people are not informed of their rights in timeshare purchases, particularly in Florida.
I went through the same thing in mid-2002. Here is my scenario:
Went to tour
Purchased the time share and put the deposit on my credit card
Took tickets and went to Disney
Wrote a cancellation letter, mailed it USPS certified with return signature receipt (cheap, and if you are still in Florida, you should have it back in a couple of days).
When the return receipt came back, I photocopied it, then mailed it to my credit card company with a copy of the original cancellation letter, and quoted a section of the Florida law that allows you to reneg on timeshare purchases.
I called my credit card company immediately and informed them that the charges were no longer valid, and that I had sent a letter. Charges were removed on the spot, so I was never responsible for paying anyone anything.
About a month later, Westgate sent me a cancellation confirmation letter explaining that the charges had been removed, which I had already taken care of anyway.
Every time I took an action, I would type the action in an email and send it to another email account (or send it to a friend). It is simple, fast, you will remember your steps, and you have a timestamp on when everything occurred. Yes, performing the above tasks is a hassle, but effective.
Now, when I walked out of there, the salesman spent the better part of his day dealing with me, which was a waste. They occupied several other employees' time with the paperwork process. They gave me a large packet of information that, while is a general marketing cost to them, it is certainly not free to produce. It took additional time and labor to process the cancellation paperwork. Plus, they gave me Disney tickets.
To process a sale and cancellation is relatively costly. What if everyone did that? Eventually it would cost way too much for high pressure sales. They would need to make sure that the parties are truly interested, else risk severe financial costs. If this occurred consistently enough, I can't image that the costs would be sustainable.
The problem, therefore, is how to inform EVERYONE about their rights in a timely manner. If the salesman informed me of the cancellation period, I certainly don't remember it. There were too many other things said in a short period of time. Most people know nothing about it until it's too late.
Lisa's TRUE experiences at Westgate Resorts