BBB: Warning About Timeshare Presentations

Better Business Bureau timeshare warning about high pressure presentations.

Time can stand still during timeshare presentations

By The Better Business Bureau
Timeshares continue to be a popular choice for vacationers who want to get away from the familiar and enjoy an exotic locale. Investment in one, however, should only be done after careful consideration of the different options and of all the factors involved.
Your Better Business Bureau warns that you should proceed with caution. A favored tactic of the timeshare industry is an intense marketing pitch, given with the promise of a reward if you sit through it. Typically, these sales pitches can last from two to three hours, but sometimes even longer. They are hoping for a quick, spur-of-the-moment decision from you, made under the influence of their high-pressure sales staff – exactly the type of thing that BBB always warns against.

BE PART OF THE 15%

Timeshare Resorts know they will have to refund and cancel 15% of their owners. That's just the cost of doing business.

Sounds like a large number until you realize 85%of owners are stuck with their timeshare purchase. Granted some owners actually love their timeshares. 

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE / ERRORS AND OMISSIONS

The primary reason for professional liability coverage is that a typical general liability insurance policy will only respond to a bodily injury, property damage, personal injury or

Frequently Asked Questions

Not all timeshare people use lies and tricks to sell you, but there is a lot of them that purposely leave information out and lie, once they have you signature on the contract they don’t care about you. I have been collecting owner complaints since 2008, there are hundreds of pages. And it’s easy to see these lies are being told at all of their resorts all over the world.

85% of people who buy into timeshares just accept the fact they’ve been shafted and chalk it up to a hard lesson learned, the timeshare companies expect to refund the other 15%, it’s the cost of doing business, we just have to bully them into putting you in that 15%.

FAQ

·         How does Timeshare Tricks work?

Holidaymakers claim timeshare compensation

Holidaymakers have brought the first High Court case against a timeshare exchange company, alleging they were victims of an operation that kept them in the dark and rented out their properties for the company’s profit, writes Jane Croft.

Marriott timeshare sales are racketeering scheme, new lawsuit says

Paul BrinkmannContact ReporterOrlando Sentinel

Proposed class action targets Marriott, First American, Orange County FL

Marriott Vacation Club's timeshare sales are actually an illegal "racketeering" scheme, a new proposed class-action lawsuit says.
The lawsuit takes aim at Marriott's points program, which replaced traditional sales of timeshare weeks at specific resorts in 2010. According to the suit, Marriott timeshare customers pay fees associated with owning real estate — such as closing costs and recording fees — but don't actually own any real estate.

FESTIVA rip off - stay away!

Below is a post from TripAdvisor posted with permission of the author:

744haptrav

Santa Monica...

posts: 2

FESTIVA rip off - stay away!

May 11, 2015, 4:15 PM

disastrous experience today with a company called FESTIVA today in Charleston, SC:
A marketing rep near Market Street promised me a $100 Visa Card if I attended a 2 hour presentation. It was 12:05 and though another tour had just started 5 minutes ago and still had open spaces, I was told I had to come back at 3. I rearranged my afternoon of 2 day stay in Charleston, and when I arrived the sales staff tried to turn me away, because I was engaged (and my fiancee wasn't with me) - seriously??!!!! - Are we still in th 19th century, where a woman can't make her decision without "her man" present? - Really offensive and sexist!!
Secondly, I was told the marketing rep should have asked that - which isn't my problem. I rescheduled my afternoon to make the presentation possible, even though I was in Charleston only for 2 days, and then I am not even allowed in - due to a mistake of their staff!!!! - In any honest store, if an item is mislabeled you still only pay the price that is on the label. Even more amazing, given that the $100 Visa Card is tax deductable for the company .....talking about amateurish business practices....
Superbad customer service and despicable (and very arrogant and snotty) treatment by the staff. As a former CEO of my own international music company I know the old business adage of "nothing worse for a business than an unhappy cusomter" - and I will now surely use the power of the internet and social media to spread the word about the fraudulent schemes and disrespectful treatment of customers by FESTIVA (I have several thousand followers on both facebook on Twitter who will be more than happy to pass this info on to their large following. And my fiancee who owns a computer software company will happily make sure all the bad reviews will reach the top of the search engines. Takes us 10 min. to do - what a stupid and offensive business move by this (obviously) fraudulent company.
To CEO Don Clayton who offers his assistance in other forums, what is your direct email address?? - I don't want to deal with some rude, untrained middle man/woman, such as my encounter today. If you want to resolve this, provide a direct, personal email address!
Edited: 4:18 pm, yesterday

Tripadvisor