Scare Tactics

[AnswersNick Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AnswersNick]

Hey I am trying to deal with canceling my contract with Bluegreen corporation and don't want to deal with a company like the O A. I passed the cancellation period. I am beginning to write letters to the BBB and such. Does anyone have any experience in this and can tell me who i could inform to get the timeshare company to cancel my contract and refund my money?

[pranas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pranas]

I believe once the cancellation period has passed, the timeshare is yours unless fraud was involved.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

You mention scare tactics. By any chance did they tell you that the weeks based system was being eliminated by RCI and that unless you switched to points you would be left high and dry? That is a very common scam by points salesmen, and IMHO would constitute fraud. RCI has made some public statements to the contrary, so I would dig one of them up and press your case on fraud. Rather than the BBB, I would try the Consumer Protection Division of the state AG.

[AnswersNick Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AnswersNick]

yes that is one of many things they told me along with a ton of other things such as its a tax break, you cant get the same deal if you wait and think... and on and on but this division of consumer AG what can they do?

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

If you're passed the cancelation period, sorry, you signed the contract and it's yours. The loan you may have taken out to pay for the contract is bundled and sold as a security note to a financing institution who really doesn't care what you think. They have a signed loan and have the legal right to collect on that loan. The developer is out of the picture once the the rescind period has passed and the loan has been sold as a security to another company.

Sure you can say the salesman lied. They all lie. Proving it is another thing. You signed a legal contract to purchase. Not only did you sign the contract, state law gave you a cooling off period in which you could read the contract and still cancel it. You have already stated you are past that time. Legally, the've got you. They do not have any obligation to allow you to back out of your purchase.

Sure you can complain to the BBB. All they'll have to do is forward a copy of the contract to them and say it's just a bad case of buyers remorse. I'd doubt that any timeshare developer has a great rating at the BBB if they're even a member of the BBB. In other words, they don't care.

You can write your states AG and complain as well but, you're the one who agreed to the contract. You're the one who signed the contract. You're the one who allowed the cooling off period to pass and essentially waived your right to cancel the contract by allowing that time to pass. There's not a lot the state AG can do unless fraud can be proven. It's not a bad idea to complain. It's just that there will need to be more than your complaint to warrent an investigation. Even if they do investigate the company and find they have not complied with all state laws, it's going to take time and the settlement you seek may not be what you get. In the meantime you still have to pay the loan and make your MF payments or risk ruining your credit.

You can get an attorney to try to get you out of your contract but you'll most likely be throwing good money after bad. You agreed to a contract, their are consumer laws in place to protect you but, at this point, your passed the rescind period. You're stuck unless you have something concrete to prove misrepresentation. They tell you a lot of things but, those things are never put in writing and they're never in the contract you signed.

At this point you're better off to learn how to maximize you're ownership.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

I do not know what state this occured in but you need to look at their Consumer Protection Laws, which in most cases make ''unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce'' unlawful. They also typically provide for treble damages and recovery of attorney fees. If you have to go to court, don't settle for just rescinding the contract. Go after them for all you can get - triple the amount of damages plus your attorney fees. Nail the suckers. You can probably find the state statute somewhere online. Then talk to an attorney in the state where it happened.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

Money to burn?

I do not know what state this occured in but you need to look at their Consumer Protection Laws, which in most cases make ''unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce'' unlawful. They also typically provide for treble damages and recovery of attorney fees. If you have to go to court, don't settle for just rescinding the contract. Go after them for all you can get - triple the amount of damages plus your attorney fees. Nail the suckers. You can probably find the state statute somewhere online. Then talk to an attorney in the state where it happened.

This is potentially thousands of dollars in direct costs on a chance - and nothing more - of canceling a well crafted and tested contract. Who has that money to risk? While Doug's post sounds cold every word is factual. Yours is as well. One will cost even more money with at best a slight chance of success while the other says make the best out of a bad decision made in haste. Unless the buyer has the time and money to risk simply trying to maximize what they now own and, in places like this for what small good it does, warn others against making the same type of bad choice may be the best they can do now. I agree its not fair but we know what they say about life.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Sometimes a letter from a lawyer located in the same state and locality of the timeshare will get their attention without filing a lawsuit, especially if invoking the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices statutes. A letter from an attorney in another state will always be treated as a bluff. A lawyer may charge $100-200 to write a letter. A young lawyer will probably charge less, and also have more credibility as a threat in that he might actually charge a level of fee that would make filing a case a possibility in the minds of the potential defendant.

[40hero Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 40hero]

Definitely try the lawyer; if you already have one such as for buying your house, they might write a letter for free. Otherwise, it's worth a try otherwise you are totally out of luck. The BBB will NOT get involved if the contract terms have been met.

[slnyc11 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close slnyc11]

Orange Lake Resorts. What a SCAM!

If I could turn back time, I would have never walked into orange lake resorts. Those people are the biggest crooks! I have been in touch with many other unhappy onwers who were lied to and treated poorly by OLR. We are filing a class action against them. If anyone is interested in joining us please send me a message

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

While getting a lawyer and class action lawsuits might sound like a good idea, remember that state laws have built in protections for the consumer. There are very few instances where there is a state mandated cooling off period and a timeshare contract just happens to be one of them.

You have a written contract. You sign the contract. You are given a mandatory amount of time to read the contract to make certain everything you were told is in that contract. During that period you may cancel that contract without being required to provide a reason. If you read the contract and the salesman told you something that's not in there, you can cancel the contract. If you get cold feet and just decide you don't want to spend that money, you may cancel the contract. If you research you decision to make that mult. thousand dollar impulse buy and find that it's a bad deal, you may cancel the contract. You are given time to research and think about what you've done.

Now, a few weeks, months or maybe even years go by and NOW all of the sudden you realize that what the saleman told you wasn't in the written contract or, you realize it's not as easy to exchange weeks as what you believed when you purchased. All of the sudden, you want out. Unless you have better grounds than the salesman lied, they're not likely to budge. Even in the face of a class action lawsuit. Why should they? They have a signed contract that the buyer could get out of for ANY reason, including because they just want out. The law is on their side. There was a mandatory period to allow the consumer to discover any missing information, lies or difficulties they might have. The internet is a powerful research tool. It's to bad people don't use it at the time they make the purchase or within the 5 to 10 day rescinsion period.

I'm sorry to sound cold hearted but, let's face it. People make mistakes. Sometimes those are costly mistakes. Not reading a contract for a purchase that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars is a huge mistake. Not researching a purchase of an item that costs thousands of dollars is a huge mistake. Now lets add in attorny's fee's to try to get out of a legally binding contract where the consumer had all the rights in the beginning and you're tossing good money after bad.

I wish you good luck but, IMHO this is a fools errand.

[slnyc11 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close slnyc11]

Orange Lake Resorts. What a SCAM!

I didn’t sign on to this site to argue with people about their opinions. I am on here to inform others who have been scammed by orange lake resorts, that there is a group of us who are filing a class action.

If anyone else on here feels like they were scammed by Orange Lake Resorts send me a message.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Education here is free- if you are smart enough to listen..

I didn’t sign on to this site to argue with people about their opinions. I am on here to inform others who have been scammed by orange lake resorts, that there is a group of us who are filing a class action.

slnyc-

I just saw a fortune cookie that might relate to your last post..

"To open one's mind- you must first close your mouth!"

You may not like it, but discussion is a really good way to learn something!

[slnyc11 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close slnyc11]

Learn what?

What am I going to learn? That big companies get away with whatever they want? That is what you're trying to tell me?

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Not sure why but this popped into my noggin!

You talking to me?, Taxi Driver, Robert De Niro, Travis Blickle, Sound Bite

Call me skeptical. But scams come in all forms.. Often, they are hidden in the disguise of someone who pretends to want to help others.