9 Timeshare Cancellation Reasons and Strategies

9 Timeshare Cancellation Reasons and Strategies

There are more than nine reasons to cancel a timeshare. In fact, there is hundreds. Each timeshare owners have their own list of cancellation desires. Some can be proven, and some cannot. This is the most used cancellation topics, and techniques. These reasons are the timeshare cancellation industries top tactics, and procedures. However, some timeshare owners attempt on their own and fail. You must keep into consideration a company or law firm who specializes in timeshare cancellation has the process perfected and the power behind them to go after the timeshare company in numbers. It only takes 3 to file a class action. This does not mean every timeshare owner should hire someone to cancel their timeshare. In fact, you should always call the resort first and see what options they have for you to cancel the contract or stop the billing. If they comeback with no options, or are unreasonable, then you next step is to call in the big dogs.

Timeshare cancellation is not as easy as one would think. Hence you do not see a massive amount of attorney’s diving into this industry. Some of the reasons below are hard to prove and if you cannot prove it in court than most attorneys do not want to mess with it.

So, if you hired an attorney at this point, I want you to put these facts together.

Does the contract have your signature on it?

Have you made any payments to the timeshare?

Did you cancel within the rescission period?

Have you ever used the timeshare?

If you answered yes to 2-4 of those than going to court is not in your best interest. Any attorney taking on that case is just using the retainer money to go golfing.  But continue reading and see some of the tactics or options you may have.

So, you bought a timeshare. Now what?

This is where most new timeshare owners start to plan their future vacations. Their daydreams are filled white sandy beaches, blue Caribbean water, or beautiful mountain escapes. Wherever you chose your timeshare destination we do not have to be convinced the location is probably amazing. The travel industry is massive, and the timeshare industry alone is $9.8 billion dollar one. So, it is safe to say most resorts are luxurious, the destinations are major tourism spots, and the hospitality is supposed to be top notch.

When you first bought this timeshare, you were treated like royalty. If you purchased it at the beginning of your trip you might as well have been referred to as “your grace” or “your highness”. In fact, you may have even noticed you had above average treatment, robes, chocolates on the bed, free tickets to events, or theme parks. If you had 5-7 days in your total trip this may have been one the best 5-7 days on vacation, you had in a while.

This portion of your timeshare adventure is typically overlooked and the over the top hospitality has no meaning to you at the time. However, most timeshare owners realize later what happened resulting in buyer’s remorse.

Do you want to know why you are treated like royalty?

Do you wonder why the extra robes, or tickets?

There is a clause in your timeshare contract called the rescission period. Also, every state has a predetermined amount of days for cancellations, buyer’s remorse, and refunds. Some are 3 days like in Massachusetts, and some are 7 days like Florida. You now are thinking back to your initial purchase and reminiscing the amazing service your salesperson was providing to ensure you do not cancel. After the rescission period is over you are locked in and your royal treatment slowly diminishes.

9 Timeshare Cancellation Reasons and Strategies

1. The Rescission Period.                                                                                                                              If you are still within your rescission period then you must follow the proper procedure and cancel it immediately, for ever hold your peace. This is where most timeshare owners believed a phone call to the resort stating they wanted to cancel their timeshare was good enough. Unfortunately, phone calls cannot cancel the contract. The demand to cancel the timeshare contract and stop billing must be delivered in writing and must arrive before the last day of the rescission period. If you are mailing it then please send it certified with signature delivery confirmation. No confirmation, no cancellation.
2. Usage or the lack there of.                                                                                                                     So, you have this wonderful 4 bedroom lock off, but you can never get an open week. Maybe you do not have enough points. There could be 100 different reasons why you cannot book or make the vacation. But in some cases, the inability to travel such as medical conditions, travel restrictions, and job restrictions/or loss. The out of your control restrictions is a viable cancellation solution. The restrictions must be documented or have a reported history, but it is a solid cancellation request.
3. Loss of Family, Co-Owners, or Partners.                                                                                           Most timeshares are purchased in pairs. Meaning couples, lovers, friends, relatives, and business associates. It is rare to find a single person owning a timeshare, but it happens occasionally. With two names being identified as the timeshare owners and one passes away, becomes disabled, placed on active duty and sent overseas, incarcerated, is in medical care, or is not locatable ownership questions are now in question. The claim of the previous situation has caused the inability to pay m use the timeshare, sell it, rent it, or upgrade becomes difficult or impossible. This claim to cancel the contract is a strong demand with good results, but it may require proof, such as a death certificate, arrest record, court paperwork, hospital note, etc
4. Unauthorized Transactions, Account Openings, or Credit Cards.                                                         There are many times the timeshare company or its processing partners will automatically ACH payments right out of your account or bill the credit card they sign you up for. Well if these transactions are not disclosed or pre-authorized then charge backs are inclined to happen. In fact, depending on the type of transaction and the level of fraud the salesperson or timeshare company has committed, felonies could be passed out.
5. No Contract, No Signature, No Agreement.                                                                                            Have you received your contract? Does it have your signature on it? Many timeshare owners never received their contract or copy of the original. Believe it or not, if you just got home and do not have a copy of the contract the resort may not either. Demanding for validation of the contract and investigation of validity can bring immense pressure to the timeshare company. If they cannot provide a contract with your signature it becomes difficult to hold you accountable to this outrageous timeshare.
6. Promises of Value? Profit?, Tax Benefits? I am sure you were sold on the idea the timeshare increases in value. You may have even been told you can file it on your taxes. Unfortunately, the IRS values timeshares as worthless, and there is not value gained on timeshares. This comes as very disappointing news I am sure. Contesting your contract based on these claims is extremely difficult. Why is that? In the timeshare contract you signed it voids any verbal agreements or promises and only makes what is written in the contract valid or enforceable. In your timeshare contract is states no tax benefit, no resale value, etc. This does not mean you have no valid claim or solid stance in this matter. But it is a long drawn out process and the timeshare company will always direct your demands to the contract stating they never promised the sale, value increase, or tax benefit.
7. Who Am I Paying?                                                                                                                             There are many receivables companies out there, and act as a middleman for some of the timeshare companies. You may have heard about some of them. Such as, Equiant Financial, or Resort Funding. These companies take receipt of your timeshare account and manage the payments, collections, foreclosures, disputes, lawsuits, harassment, and whatever else they can do to ensure you keep paying. Most of you probably have no idea these companies are handling your payments. Believe it or not they are even reporting these accounts on your credit report. Wait a minute. I do not have an account with this company. How are they reporting an account I have with them? This seems to be inaccurate. Exactly! Disputing these accounts will force these companies to shut them down and furnish them back to the original creditor, being your timeshare company. Now at this point the timeshare company may send the account back to the receivables firm to engage in the debt collection process. So, your account now has changed multiple hands and the timeline becomes blurry on who and when you are to pay. Well as they continue to change hands they lose the control of the account. We call this chain of title. When this account is disputed, they must show the chain of custody the account had and who had the authority to collect on the account. Who ad the right to report it? How has the right to hold your personal information? And so on.
8. Opened Unauthorized Accounts, Credit Cards, Personal Loans.                                                             There are some timeshare owners who had credit card accounts, PayPal accounts, mortgage accounts, and personal loan accounts open without their knowledge or permission. If this is your case, then you have a strong one for cancellation. Filing fraud claims, reporting the accounts, and damages that happened because of these accounts are critical. Resourcing agencies such as the FTC, and Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is the first step in fraud recovery. With fraud on the rise locally and on the web, identity theft, and scammers have targeted every industry. In the timeshare industry fraud claims are taken seriously and must be handled in a certain process.
9. Just Down Right Lied To!                                                                                                                            The salesperson just lied right through their teeth. Hook line and sinker, they call it. Over exaggerated benefits of the timeshare you bought overpriced and over sold. But it is extremely hard to prove the lies. Most likely you did not record the salesperson talking. You also signed the contract, and even completed the financial paperwork to finance the timeshare. You may have even been lied to about the financing and told it was in house and ended up with a Barclays card 30 days later in the mail. “Truth in Lending Violation”, or “Consumer Rights Violations”, where most people stomp their feet, and say,” I was lied to and I want to cancel”. This is an angle most timeshare owners use. It does not have great of success because it is the most common. Its like every timeshare owner crying wolf.

These 9 timeshare cancellation reasons and strategies are used industry wide. There are specific tactics, built relationships, years of experience, and proven results that make these 9 reasons work effectively. Timeshare cancellation may include 3-5 of the above reasons. A combination of events, violations, and life changing events forms the timeshare cancellation formula.

Remember there is no “One Size Fits All”, or “Cookie Cutter” strategy. Individual, and specific strategy is needed to cancel a timeshare contract. Generic letters found online, or Amazon how to books will not help you in this situation. You must have an in depth look at your situation. How is the timeshare reported, is on your credit, who is charging you, what are the terms, and what provable events are there?

All of the reasons are valid. You may even be lucky enough or unlucky enough to have all of them be your situation. I have cancelled timeshares with less information and barely provable anything. Its process, strategy, and dedication.

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