Below is a copy of the letter I have sent to Westgate Resorts demanding release from this contract. From the looks of others complaints we will probably not be successful. Please If anyone wants to go in together for a Class Action Law Suit.include me.
Westgate Resorts
2801 Old Winter Garden Rd
Ocoee, Fl 34761
Westgate Resorts,
This is our first notice of intentions to file legal action against Westgate Resorts if we are not released from this contract.
The week of November 15th thru November 22nd we stayed with Westgate Resorts. My wife and I are frequent visitors to Gatlinburg and in all of the years we have stayed there this was without a doubt the worst vacation we have ever taken to Gatlinburg.
November of last year I returned home from Iraq. My wife and I had been separated for over a year while I was in Iraq with the US Army. We came to Gatlinburg to spend time together and relax. We came upon one of your street sales people and decided to actually look into a timeshare. We vacation to Gatlinburg a lot and thought it might be a good deal for us. We went to the Seminar, listened to the Used Car Salesman talk us into what we thought was a good deal. He showed us several units, and really impressed us with what Westgate had to offer. We asked to see the Unit we would be getting and he said he could not do that because it was in use at the time. We understood that, and didnt want to interrupt another familys vacation. He assured us the unit was exactly like the unit we looked at located at unit 204. All of the promises and the overwhelming amount of information we were being told about as far as being able to use this in many other places around the US and the world; really peaked our interest. So we bought into this scheme.
We spent a whole year paying our monthly payments; we paid the maintenance fees and looked forward to actually using it this year. We even brought my parents along to share this wonderful vacation with us.
Well this years time in Gatlinburg was the worst experience of our lives together.in all of the years we have stayed in Gatlinburg, this was the worst place we have stayed at. We normally rent a Chalet, and we always had a peaceful, quite, photographic, fun vacation. This year was fun and beautiful In Gatlinburg, not at Westgate. We stayed off Westgate grounds except to sleep and that was difficult. We had to call Security because the people above us were loud. This went on all week, we tried to ignore it turned on fans to try to drown it out, but we eventually we had to call security. My mother said she say people going up and down the stairs carrying boxes. It turned out to be the Housekeeping staff carrying the plastic boxes that contained the fresh linen they use to replace old linen. Our Unit is just below a Storage room for housekeeping. Ridiculous!
The unit we came to find out was ours had a horrible view. I have photos to prove what I am saying. We have the view of the roof of the Waterpark. It is a view of the Immigrant Workers folding Laundry, (I Wander if Immigration, Customs Enforcement has ever been there to inspect.); it is a view of a green pool of water with trash floating in it. I had my parents come with us, so I could get nice photos of all of us for the Christmas Holiday. I even brought an Antique Camera to use for photos. Needless to say this view prevented that. A plan to sit on the Balcony to eat a lunch was prevented. Why does Westgate even have a Balcony? This is similar to the floor plan we signed, just mirrored image. However, if we where shown this unit, there is no way we would have bought into Westgate.
Here is a list of other issues we had this week. Some of these are petty and no big deal. However, if you put them together and look at the big picture youll see on a whole it played a part in making our first experience with Westgate an awful experience.
1. WiFi is not provided. We stayed at a 5 star resort and WiFi costs $4.95 a day. 1 Star Motels provide this for free. Nickel and Dimed. We were able to access it one time. I tried it once more on a later date and was not able to make a connection. I used another computer just in case it was an issue we was having and it could not connect either. I called the front desk for help she gave me a phone number to call for Tech Support. 1-866-900-3988. I called twice and had no luck contacting anyone.
2. No TV Station that told us about sights and events in Gatlinburg. We had two stations that showed us Stuff about Westgate. Do you actually think people come to Gatlinburg to spend their time only on Westgate Properties? It was a case of censorship by Westgate to prevent people staying there from spending their money in places other then Westgate. That is insulting and ridiculous. This was one of the many reasons we did not spend any more money at Westgate then we had to. It is fine to have a channel for Westgate Activities, but you need one to show what is going on outside Westgate too.
3. We tried to use a Westgate service once. We called to order a Pizza at 7:20 PM, and they stopped Pizza Service at 7:00 PM. That was the last time we tried to get a meal at Westgate. I have read Complaints and have spoken with many Westgate owners who have had a bad experience with the Pizza Service.
4. TV Stations; there are 35 stations on the TVs at Westgate, 4 are music only, 2 are the resort channels. Surely there are more channels available than that. Basic cable in Louisville has more channels then that.
5. Local Calls;. 75 per call. Nickel and Dimed.
6. Water has so much chlorine that it gave my wife and mother stomach pains. It was not drinkable, we had to go to Wal-Mart and buy water to drink and use for Coffee.
7. The Oven stopped working. We had to have a Maintenance man fix it. It ruined a good breakfast. (photos Taken)
8. The Dishwasher would clean dishes only if they where already clean. We found old food from previous guests on the eating utensils and plates. My Wife had to clean all of the dishes we where going to use and after we used them by hand because of this useless dish washer. (photos taken)
9. Paint spots on the wall. (photo taken)
10. Could not open the refrigerator without rubbing the trim on the floor.
11. Toilet required more than one flush to get rid of Solid Waste.
12. No remote for the DVD player.
13. The TV in the unit we were shown are flat screen TVs these are not.
14. We were told that this was a pet friendly resort. NOT ONCE did he mention there were restrictions. Our dog is a German Shepherd / Lab mix. She lives in our home, not out side and is cleaner then a lot of people. She does not meet the 60 Lbs limit.
Again some of these are very minor issues, however if you total them up you can see how we feel we were taken in this deal. Not to mention if we have a deed to this property and all of these problems exist, then Westgate does not do a good job in protecting our investment.
Our Issues continue with these problems.
On Weds Johnny took us around the property to show us other units. We told him that we had several issues about the one we where placed in. Johnny told us there had been problems with former sales people who where selling units and placing people in units that where not shown to them. Sounds like what happened to us. He went on to say that some one went to jail over this.in 12 years of law Enforcement, I have not seen anyone go to jail over a civil issue, but not knowing all the details of the case, I just went along with it. However, I did make a written complaint about the issue of not being in the unit we where shown and other issues. This was written on a paper entitled In House Action Sheet.
Johnny wet on to tell us that everyone was sent a letter about Options. The form letter was titled the First Right of Refusal. This form was NEVER Sent to us. And as I have started Investigating into Westgate issues I have made contact with several Owners who where told some of the same things and they also was never sent this form.
On Friday, I went to the Westgate Sales room and looked for Johnny, I found him and today he had a name tag on that said Frankie. I am not sure which one is his, or what his name really is. I asked for copies of the complaint I had written. The woman in charge there refused to give it to me, she said it had been mailed to Westgate Corporate Office. I have a hard time believing that there was no copy made of the complaint kept in my file at Westgate Smoky Mountains and the only original copy was mailed to Westgate Corporate Office. After several demands I was given a copy of the First Right of Refusal form and a blank copy of the In House Action Sheet. I recorded all of our conversations on my Blackberry and made it obvious to the employees that I was doing so.
A copy of this letter will be sent to The Better Business Bureau in Florida. I contacted the Tennessee BBB and they referred us to the Florida branch due to the location of the Corporate Office. A copy will also be sent to the Gatlinburg - Sevier County Chamber Of Commerce. And I reserve a right to send this letter to any news media outlet, Political Representative, a branch of government, Attorney and or Law Office representing myself or others in any Class Action lawsuit against Westgate. I also reserve the right to post this letter on any Blog or internet media outlet like Topix, Facebook, MySpace, etc along with any and all responses from Westgate to our complaint.
I am demanding a complete stop from any further payments withdrawn form our account on the day the letter is received by Westgate, (date shown by signature on the Certified Mail receipt). With this we want to be released from the Westgate Resort Timeshare program. We also want a refund of the $686.00 (paid on 8/11) that we paid for on this horrible vacation. We will let Westgate keep the monthly payment we have made as well as any and all down payments prior to our vacation.
If we have to seek Legal Representation, we will seek all of the payments made from the beginning of my contract with Westgate, any and all legal fees, and expenses in pursuing legal action against Westgate. We will continue contacting other owners of Westgate and start a Class Action Lawsuit against Westgate Resorts. Any fees and costs associated with this investigation will be included with the claim made against Westgate resorts.
If Westgate agrees with our stipulations, refunds or makes an acceptable arrangement with us, a letter will be sent to the Better Business bureau and the Chamber of Commerce expressing our gratitude to Westgate Resorts in resolving our issues. We are not unreasonable people, but we do not feel Westgate and your associates where honest and committed fraud in the arrangement that was made.
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