Expert: Andreas Rossler - 9/28/2007

Question
I am trying to sell my Sands of Kahana timeshare.  However, the resort told one of my prospective buyers that they will receive NO resort benefits,especially in the area of golf, as a resale buyer; that is, when it comes to the benefits of the golf on or near the resort, they will receive no preferred tee times or will be put at the "bottom of the list" (their quote) for resort benefits.  They are pressuring my buyers to buy directly from their sales office to receive full benefits. Is this legal?  Can I cite a document which spells this out?  Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

Answer
I need to vent a little, but read on, there may be something you can do.  Please, follow up and let me know the result so I can help others.  This is the next level of dishonest and unethical dealings by timeshare companies.  Before the Internet - there was no resale market.  Timeshare developers never had to worry about the resale market affecting their sales - so they would readily explain to buyers during the sales presentation how they "could sell it anytime" if they no longer wanted it.  They said that knowing very well that timeshares were impossible to sell.  Developers knew this and never bothered to figure out a way to exclude benefits from the resale market.

Now came the Internet.  The resale market matured.  It is affecting ALL timeshare developers.  Their cancellation rates are higher, their sales are down.  So, they are trying to figure out ways to curtail the resale market.  I know of two major players that are implementing this practice as we speak - excluding certain benefits if you resell.

Think about it.  Timeshares sell on the resale market for much less than retail.  Now, if timeshares are excluding certain benefits from being resold, what will be the effect?    Answer:  to make resales even worth less than before - thereby screwing owners who want to sell.  Instead of doing the right thing, like buying back from owners who are dissatisfied or working with resellers, they are figuring out a way to screw new owners and destroy the resale market (thereby excluding many families from owning timeshare who can't afford resale prices).

Check your contract - it must be in there somewhere that says specifically that certain benefits are nontransferable.  If it doesn't, I would immediately sue in small claims (Listen carefully:  if they called you in your home state to attend the presentation to buy, then you can sue them there as well - at your local small claims court - just make sure to have them served by a professional.  Sue them for the amount you sold your timeshare for.)  In addition, I think you might find out that so called "preferred tee" times are a load of crap - just another dishonest tactic to get people to buy (my opinion, not based on fact - to protect myself against libel).

Scour your contract - see if preferred tee times are specifically excluded when you resell (it may say "some benefits" are excluded, and that isn't good enough).  Also, I am going to give you a list of things you can do to complain - pick what is appropriate from this list (I cut and paste it).  Do not take this lying down.  You may want to write them a letter to the effect that during the sales presentation they told you you could sell it, however they never mentioned that there were barriers to sell, such as excluding benefits - this should have been fully disclosed during the sales process.  That they need to buy back your timeshare at the price you were able to sell it and that you plan to take the actions listed below.

1.   The Attorney General.  You should file a complaint with the Attorney General where the company is headquartered, the state where you purchased, and your home state.  Here is a good site where you can link to Attorney General complaint forms online:  http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/attorneys.html
2.   See if the company is listed with the Better Business Bureau; file a complaint with the BBB.  Here is their online complaint form:  http://www.bbb.org/complaint.asp
3.   A good site is the Rip-off Report.  Be careful when writing up a report on that site – state the truth and nothing but the truth.  This site is caught by search engines, so be sure to use the company name.  Here is their site:  http://ripoffreport.com/
4.   Complaints.com is similar to Rip-off Report.  Here is their website:  http://www.complaints.com/  (#3 and #4 have a simple purpose, to get the company’s name to show up on search engines.  This is the worst possible publicity and can cause the loss of an untold amount of business).
5.   The FTC (Federal Trade Commission).  They are very much interested in hearing about shady timeshare developers or rip-offs.  The reason being that most timeshares solicit individuals via the telephone.  Here is their online complaint form:  https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
6.   For reference purposes, you may want to check out the National Association for Members - http://www.natlassoc.org/ - lots of good stuff.
7.   If a lawyer or other professional (CPA) was involved in the transfer or escrow process, you may be able to file a complaint with the state bar or other professional organization they belong to – depending on the nature of your situation.
8.   Report the company to the state agency that regulates real estate.  It is best to do a Yahoo search like this:  “Florida Department of Real Estate”.  You could however start here and drill down to the right website:  http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/State_and_Territories.shtml
9.   If your situation involved a credit card purchase and you’re not getting your refund, definitely call the credit card company and find out their policy on filing a complaint.
10.   File complaints with State, County and City Consumer Protection Offices.  Here you’ll find a list of all of them: http://consumeraction.gov/state.shtml
11.   File a complaint with the National Consumer’s League Fraud Center.  Here’s the web site:  http://www.fraud.org/
12.   File a Complaint with the National Association of Consumer Advocates.  Here is their website:  http://www.naca.net/
13.   Small Claims Court.  What’s good about small claims is that it is easy and can cause huge head aches for the company.