Just as most of the people in every consumer complaints, we went for a 90 minute siminar and ended up being there for 4 or 5 hours. They made the whole presentation sound wonderful and when we told them we couldn't afford what they were asking, then we were offered a "different one" in a different week.
This went on until they finally "ran across" foreclosure that we could buy by picking up the difference. We finally agreed on a week in September, and at first I said that September wouldn't be good because of my daughter being in school, but we were told we could exchange our week at any time and we had the freedom to use our week anytime that we wanted to.
We were also wooed with elaborate cruise and exchanges to go anywhere in the world for 100.00 dollars. We were also told that we would have to pay taxes which would be about 3 hundred a year, but we would be able to take a deduction off of our taxes.
We bought an odd year in an odd year, so we were not able to use it the folowing year, we had to wait until 2003. It was all paid in full within 6 months of purchasing it adn we couldn't wait until 2003 to use it.
When the firsy of the year came rolling in, we received a bill for about 700.00 for taxes and maintenance. This was lie number one. Then when we called to exchange our week for a week in June and we were told it would cost us 139.00 to exchange the week. This was lie number two.
We requested the Miami location and we weretold it was booked, we requested the other miami location, it was booked, we asked about Las Vegas, it was also booked. This was lie number three. We ended up staying at the WestGate Villas in Orlando, which was nice but they bother the hell out of you to come down and sit at other timeshare siminars... Which we said NO WAY!
In 2005 we wanted to exchange with Interval, we were told it would cost us 139.00 for the exchange fee PLUS a membership with them for 159.00 because we had to be members in order to exchange with Interval. I told them we were member and they said we never renewed for 2002. This was lie number four. They charged us to become members with Interval, which we thought was lifetime, but it was only for the first year when they new good and well that we couldn't use the time share until 2003.
We paid the 298 dollars.
I looked at the website and saw a thousand places that I wanted to go, NONE were available though they were available as getaways if you were paying out of your pocket. We could not book ANYTHING! So we had to bank our week.
We took a vacation in 2006 and even though I called as early as January, we could hardly get anything. And because we were traveling in August, we had to pay for another membership to Interval because we wanted to book the resort after our last membership expired. I paid the 159.00 We ended up going to trashy Daytona Beach because that was all that was available. What a disappointment.
We looked into the cruises for our 2007 vacation, and found that you had to pay for a cruise in order to exchange our week for a cruise.in other words, we would have to pay four hundred each to exchange our week, when we can go on a cruise anytime for that much money. What's the exchange? That was lie number 6? 7? I lost count.
At the beginning of this year when I called for availability on the resorts, again, nothing was available for when we wanted to go. I was then told that if we went out of our week we would have to pay the 139.00 exchange fee AND now we would have to pay 500.00 because of the time of year. When I complained they told me it was in my contract, but yet, I never had to pay it before. She told me that I should have been charged, someone made a mistake. SO in order to use my Westgate week in exchange, it could cost me up to 139.00 exchange, 792.00 Taxes/Maintenance, 159.00 membership with Interval and 500.00 for the summer fee? = 1590.00
I could book a week long vacation to Mexico for the same money... Without headaches... I feel absolutely violated and there is absolutely no one at Westgate to complain to. The furthest that I got was a person trying to talk me into a different week that would cost me 2 to 3 thousand more... NO WAY!
I feel like I am ripped off, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. These people train their salepeople to play dumb and LIE, LIE, LIE. Then when you say that not what you were told, they say, "I don't know why they didn't tell you this or whomever you talked to gave you wrong information, or I am sorry you are unhappy, I can connect you with one of our sales people to trade your week for another one. Trade? No, exchange for a couple thousand. They have you by the balls and there is no protection against this. I had to bank my week for 2007.. Now what?
Legal Ripoffs.
DO NOT BUY FROM WESTGATE!
Lisa o
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.
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