Westgate used trickery to sell my own timeshare back to me at a hefty price. I have been a Westgate owner since 2016. This was a transferred account from an old friend who initially purchased a 3-bedroom on even years, back in 2001. I’ve attended several “owners update” sales presentations over the years. As an owner, I thought it crazy they wanted me to pay anything to upgrade my ownership. Well, that changed last week. This time the salesman convinced me of the upcoming changes in 2024 where I’d have to pay much more to keep what I have through maintenance, booking fees, and availability. By upgrading my current ownership, he would turn my units into passive income. He added that by upgrading to 4-bedroom, after the holiday season, I’d make more than the $23,000 buy-in price. This plus $50 cruises, double weekly stays, discounted travel, and a personal travel agent/sales agent. My brother-in-law sat with me and we both couldn’t sign up fast enough. 6 hours later we got back to our room. I started questioning my decision soon after and went down the rabbit hole in research and discovered horror stories. The only passive income people made from their timeshare were in comments in forums where others were told the same but never materialized. Same with accessing any of the benefits or even reaching their Westgate contact / salesman. I learned of the notice of rescission to get out of a timeshare contract. They hid a copy of my contract in a sealed envelope buried in the back of a case they gave me. When I discovered it, nothing in it contained any of the points laid out to me. Even the free memberships they included was only temporary before I was required to pay to continue using. I am lucky that I learned of canceling within the 10-day timeframe in Florida. I also sent back the case and tablet they provided as a “gift” to avoid another $200 fee as discovered in their tiny print ( I used a magnifier to find it). I’m sorry for so many that accept what is told without question and get locked in paying thousands after their rescission period ends. Like I started, I have been an owner with Westgate for 7 years. As part of the “deal”, I had to sign over my original deed in order to upgrade. I no longer see my property on their website where my docs and maintenance schedule / payment info is located. I can only hope they keep it because I no longer want a penny of my money to ever go into their lying pockets again.
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