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Having recently been contacted by a consumer we at TCA feel we should share with you their story regarding their timeshare experience.

A family of four were contacted in their home by Gold Key Resorts, Ocean Beach Club. They were offered a family holiday at the Ocean Beach Club resort and offered a reduced rate for the weekend long holiday, informing them that they would only need to sit through a 90-minute presentation and a tour of the premises.  Normally the family would not be interested by this type of offer, especially via a cold call. However, the deal for the weekend away was sweet and they decided on this occasion to agree to the conditions of the good value weekend break.

Having arrived at the resort and taken on a tour. The resort was completely new, beautiful and also the people seemed very helpful and friendly. They were then asked to attend the presentation. The presentation inevitably ended up being a 3.5 hour presentation and not the promised 90 minutes. They missed lunch and the children, of course, were getting bored and hungry.

They listened to multiple pitches from the sales representative, albeit they kept saying no and that they were not interested. However, the sales rep kept offering lower prices and made various promises to make their offer appear better. The family raised their concerns as the week they were being offered was not when they would normally take their holiday. They were told that wasn’t a problem and if they purchased a red week they could pick anywhere in the world at any time of the year. They asked to go home and think about it before they made such a big decision. They were told that the offer was only available for that day and that day only. They didn’t want to lose such a sweet offer and gave in to the sales pressure.

This happened in June 2008. They were told that they wouldn’t be able to use their week (52) until 2009 since some of the construction was not yet complete. At this point it wasn’t a problem because they weren’t planning on using their week until Spring/Summer the following year. Their first maintenance fee was charged in November 2008 at $652, also the mortgage payments also started coming out of the account automatically in November 2008.

Since purchasing the timeshare, they have only been able to use it once! That was in Daytona Beach Florida, because there was no availability at Ocean Beach Club, and has been the issue since the timeshare was purchased. They cannot book their ‘home’ resort because there is never any availability.

They have lost weeks because they have not been able to use their timeshare. Nevertheless, when they purchased the timeshare they were told that they would be able to use the red week, wherever and whenever they wanted to, this feels like fraud to the customer. Fraud which they are paying nearly $5000 per year in mortgage payments and ever increasing maintenance fees that they were not aware would increase year on year.

They have contacted the resort to tell them of their displeasure and they have been very unfriendly and uncommunicative. After researching, it seems that the resort actually prioritises holiday makers and not the timeshare owners, which has meant that they have not once been able to stay at the home resort when they wanted to.

Over the past 9 years this unfortunate couple have paid over $35,000 for their timeshare and have been on a one week holiday! It seems a little excessive and expensive do you not think!! The couple continue to fight and are trying to take action against the resort. This very thing is the risk you run when purchasing timeshare in this kind of situation. It’s difficult to understand, it’s full of excessive pressure and it’s rife with shocking customer care. Take note of this tale and act with caution.

 

For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk