We attended a presentation in March on the promise of receiving 2 free roundrip airline tickets and a cruise voucher. During the presentation the presenters made it clear they were not a timeshare company but a travel club that had access to lower-than-wholesale costs in the travel industry. Airfare discounts were mentioned frequently in examples during the presentation, although it was stressed that because of the nature of the travel industry, the prime discounts were in international airfare and not domestic airfare. After the presentation the sales people sat down with the various attendees.
Our salesperson, Robert McCarthy, noting that we owned existing timeshare that we were eager to offload, told us that they had a program for that. He even called a person in Florida and had me speak with him on his cellphone. The person at the other end expressed great interest in selling our timeshare. The program was revealed during the presentation to cost about $10000, plus a $200 annual renewal fee and 6 weeks of free condo usage included. We felt this was too expensive and turned it down.
That's when they unleashed the special $5000 version with $150 annual renewal fee and 2 weeks of free condo usage. This seemed like a good deal so we took it. We received very little paperwork to take home, the presenters telling us that they were going to mail everything. This is what we found out after we had paid and left: There are NO airfare discounts, PERIOD. There is no timeshare resale division in the company, the "agent" was a friend of the salesperson who was scamming us, as I later found out when after a couple of follow-up phone calls he ceased to be reachable (luckily no money was paid to us). The condo weeks are not free, you still have to pay for them.
The membership to Grand Vacation Club is not worth the paper the contract was printed on, as they supposedly send you rebates on travel but in reality this amounts to a few dollars sent months after the travel was taken (if they determine at their own discretion that the travel was even commissionable, something they let you know only if you call them asking why you haven't received a rebate check yet). The phone number for Worldwide Luxury Vacations always leads you to a generic voice message box. We only ever hear from a person named Diane who sounds like she's operating out of a trailer park. I've aired my grievances with her a few times only to be told that the paperwork we signed clears them of culpability. At this point, I'd like to know how I can go after them to get my money back.
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