Expert: Andreas Rossler - 11/25/2007

Question
We signed on the contract on 11/7/07 in las vegas for planet hollywood, when we were there on vacation. we realized that we made a mistake on the very same day, but we didn't know what to do. We thought it was already too late to do anything.

On 11/13/07 I found out that we do have right to cancel timeshare contract in certain days, so I called the sales office and asked about it. The answer was, NV only provides 5 calendar days to cancel and we were one day late.

However, I also read someplace that says they should have explained to us about the right to cancel and if we didn't know the date doesn't start counting from the moment we know. So I just wrote a letter and sent 2 different places. Since nobody told me where to send the letter, I just picked some addresses and sent them asap.

However, I figured out the address was not correct after reading the thick book they gave me (Public Offering statement) so I resent the same letter on 11/14/07

The agent we processed our paperwork told us there's no way we're gonna read all the thick book so he's gonna just cover what's in there and had us sign on the paper that says we read the book. Of course he never mentioned anything about our right to cancel.

Today 11/25/07, we got a letter from westgate stating we can't terminate the contract because of the 5days had passed.

Do you think there's anything else I can do? I'm still thinking about writing a letter but not sure if it's gonna work. Please help me.. Thanks.

Answer
Well, I'm not sure - but let's give it a try.  In a sense, the issue here is misrepresentation.  You relied on the salesperson's explanation of the Public Report and he purposely omitted the only portion that was truly important - the cancellation period.

That is the tactic I would pursue - that this is a case of misrepresentation. It will take a bit of work and headache, but you might be able to get out of this in the end (no guarantees).

What you need to do is to send another letter to the company - send it to the sales office where you purchased, send it to the address needed to cancel in the first place, and send it to their legal department.

In the letter simply explain that there was misrepresentation during the sales process and the omission of relevant facts when asked direct questions of the sales representative.  Explain that if misrepresentation is involved, then the 5 day cancellation period does not apply and that you have the right to cancel at anytime.  Explain that you are also aware of Nevada Law that requires they give you a full refund of your monies within 15 days of cancellation, as required by Nevada Timeshare Laws.

In the letter, state that you will take the following actions if they do not agree to cancel and refund your money (I provide the list below - not all of it is applicable so please chose accordingly).  Send the letters via certified mail, return receipt requested (and in the letter make sure that each department knows you sent it to the other departments).  Here is the list - good luck!

  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.