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Timeshare Misrepresentation Question

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PinkEsPanda

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? NV

I recently bought a timeshare. I'll leave out the name out of the forum.

They have a very aggressive sale, and a huge part of their presentation includes special perks that come with the purchase. Basically, what they advertise is a free trip "anywhere in the world" that comes with the purchase of the timeshare. At least this is what the sales rep talks on and on about and the value of the trip. The sales rep explicitly talked about a trip to Bora Bora at a 4+ star hotel for 6 nights/7 days and how usually a room like that would cost 500-600 a night. They also offer 12 "getaway weeks" which they say usually are 1/6 to 1/4 price hotel accommodations for 12 weeks a year.

When they saw that we were not gonna buy, they pulled out all the stops, and offered us first 3 and then 6 trips around the world anywhere (once they saw our hesitation). Then they told us how some of their colleagues own the same timeshares and because of these good deals too, they rent out the timeshare each year, sell the trips, and on top of that sell the 12 getaways on ebay etc.

3 hours passed or so...

We finally decided to try it, because of the sheer value of the addons it was doable financially. Well, at the last minute, they brought us a paper that said that the trips they are offering are "holiday adventures" and that we don't get air with it, and if we buy air elsewhere we pay a little extra. I thought at that point it was suspicious, but still ok as the value of the hotel stay at 4 star at Bora bora has still very good resale value. There were about 100 other papers we were asked to sign within about 30 min. the whole thing was VERY rushed etc. etc. as they said we were "the last buyers" of the day and everyone wanted to go home etc etc. It was about quarter to 5. I later realized they had still buses coming in.

When we got the perks info in the mail (of course there is NO way they would let us look at that stuff on paper at the presentation)... it was 15 or so 2-3 star hotels around the world, 4 of them in mexico. You can't pick a date, and their website is down. Basically a total scam.

The 12 "getaway weeks"... basically they SOLD us a membership to this site that offers hotels at good price. It was a total scam too as they made US pay for it. That was not apparent from the presentation at all, as they basically told us that they are almost paying for 12 weeks of our vacations a year.

They also misrepresented the value of their establishment, by about 4x. But I am a total idiot for falling for that one I suppose. I don't know if there is any law out there that will help me at all there... The only thing I can say is that those 3 hours, and alcohol etc had some effect in that decision, and the fact that there was SO much noise there and no reception for cell that it made my cellphone conversation with anyone who had a good head on their shoulders practically impossible.


So now i'm in a jam.... after sitting down and figuring that i've been totally scammed.

there are a couple more things that i could elaborate on, but first i'd like to know if i'm totally screwed because I signed, and because they didn't give me anything on PAPER that I can prove...


Any help would be highly appreciated
 


Your post did not include two important bits of information: The location of the timeshare (state) and how long ago you signed the contract.
 

PinkEsPanda

Junior Member
Location was included: NV

It was signed 2 months ago, so it's outside any 5 day period. The thing is, there was no way for me to find out that entire thing was a scam within that time period.
 

lcannister

Senior Member
It was signed 2 months ago, so it's outside any 5 day period. The thing is, there was no way for me to find out that entire thing was a scam within that time period.
Oh, please didn't that whole thing sound just a wee bit to good to be true? Especially when they kept adding on to get your interest? Nothing in writing including these fantastic add ons and your signed the paperwork anyway.

People folks stop signing things you DO NOT understand. The world will not end tomorrow if you do not sign today.
 

PinkEsPanda

Junior Member
Thanks for rubbing that in. That wasn't helpful though...

But really, I need an objective advice as to what can be done at this point, if anything. I'm willing to pay an attorney to get out of this one. I would be more interested in suing though with hopes of getting my money back. that is of course if I have any grounds to sue on at all
 

lcannister

Senior Member
But really, I need an objective advice as to what can be done at this point, if anything. I'm willing to pay an attorney to get out of this one.
That is exactly what you need to do see an Atty who can go over those "100" pages of things you signed without understand what you were signing. Somewhere therein lies the answers to your questions not here where we can not read EVERY single word of your contracts in order to make a decision.

At the very minimum you should have ask where the sheet describing all those add-ons was in the contract. This is not necessarily for you, you have done your damages to yourself, but for others who came along and might see this BEFORE making such a decision on the spot.
 

PinkEsPanda

Junior Member
Icannister, I already mentioned that I plan to consult with a lawyer. I can see how easy it is for you to tell everyone on this board to go see one, or to say that they should have done something differently. Although, it would be helpful if your response contained at least 1% informational value.

For anyone out there that knows anything about issues of advertisement and misrepresentation, and false advertisement, I would really appreciate some factual advice:

- there was a case recently in CA, where a timeshare company got sued for false advertisement. They were offering incentives to people that they just blew off after contract was signed etc. I think they got ordered to pay retribution, and refund money. Is there any similiarity? Can this case be used somehow in NV?

- Is there some law that should have prevented the sales rep from outright lying?

- Is there any legal basis to stand on as far as sales pressure tactics? If a sales rep tells you for three hours that you will be getting "a free trip to bora bora" on and on, and pressures to buy, and at the last minutes puts a slight twist to things still saying "bora bora"... Shouldn't that be at least partially unethical and illegal?

- Please also let me know if I can do something, like write an official letter to someone higher up on the food chain in the company with an official notorized complaint, in order to try to resolve the situation. Or if that will hurt my chances of suing them later on. If so, what should I write. I would prefer to try something first without an attorney, since everything involving one will just cost me more money.

I don't mean to offend people with actual legal knowledge on this board, whether with a degree or not, but responses that just comment on "you shouldn't have signed" or "go see an attorney cause i don't know" are just a waste of website space. If anyone has any specific information or references, that would be very helpful.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
If you have 100s of pages of docs, don't think you will be able to condense it for an internet forum.

lcannister's advice was correct.


Q: - Is there some law that should have prevented the sales rep from outright lying?

A: No; this is America. First Amendment and all that.



Q: - Is there any legal basis to stand on as far as sales pressure tactics?

A: No.



Q: If a sales rep tells you for three hours that you will be getting "a free trip to bora bora" on and on, and pressures to buy, and at the last minutes puts a slight twist to things still saying "bora bora"... Shouldn't that be at least partially unethical and illegal?

A: It's one hundred percent unethical; whether it is illegal is something your lawyer will help you with.
 

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