Timeshare Lawsuits Raise A Red Flag
A Timeshare Real Estate writer observed online recently, “Lawmakers have chased away most of the con men who roamed the timeshare industry in its early days… But in their place, Corporate America has swallowed the market and filled it with fine print.”
We read routinely about states prosecuting scammers who prey on stressed timeshare owners who need to rid themselves of burdensome timeshares, making fraudulent claims and collecting up-front fees for no service. But the stories involving action against the timeshare sellers are all reports of owners who have had to take matters into their own hands-and out of their own pocketbooks.
In the last decade, there have been numerous actions:
Timeshare owners at Island Links Resort on Hilton Head Island filed a lawsuit for a declaratory judgment against Reba Management and Island Links Horizontal Property Regime, claiming that management made changes to the master deed and the property association’s covenants without approval from any property owners. At issue was the addition of assessment fees in addition to annual maintenance fees: a one-time fee of about $6,000 in addition to a new total of $3,000 in annual fees.
In 2006, a group of RCI Timeshare Owners began the process of filing a class-action timeshare lawsuit against the timeshare-exchange giant, alleging that RCI takes a large number of highly sought-after properties out of the available pool to rent to the general public for profit. “This skimming of available weeks makes it difficult for RCI timeshare resort weeks members to bank weeks for exchange at other resorts,” says a report on the action.
Four members of WorldMark, on behalf of others similarly situated, filed suit in California in 2008 against Wyndham for monopolizing the board of WorldMark and devaluing their ownership.
In 2008, property owners at Daytona Beach Ocean Walk Resort Condominium Association filed a 50-count complaint against Wyndham Vacation Resorts, alleging that Wyndham, which managed the condo association, misused association money and staff for the benefit of their timeshare expenses.
A professional Timeshare Attorney can help a prospective timeshare owner find any pitfalls in the fine print of a contract, and is of course essential if owners believe management is not living up to the agreement or has made unauthorized assessments.
Class-action Timeshare Lawsuits offer some hope of relief, and even, perhaps, may have some effect on management practices, but they take years to settle. And of course they’re expensive. It’s a David-and-Goliath scenario.
And even the most carefully-vetted fine print seems subject to change. One wonders whether a vacation timeshare, purchased to make precious down time carefree and relaxing, doesn’t come at far too high a cost.
If you would like information on how to legally get out of a timeshare contract without hiring an expensive timeshare attorney visit www.ProfessionalTimeshareServices.com and request a free consultation.