By Larry Lobbyist, a Westgate Timeshare Hostage
Join us as we protest outside of the Westgate Annual Meeting on January 5th near Westgate Lakes in Orlando during the hours of 9 am to 6 pm. Join us when you can, for as long as you can. We will not hold you hostage! The Annual Meeting begins at 6 pm. Volunteers have researched the rules and laws that allow our protest.
If you are able to attend, join our Westgate Timeshare Hostages Facebook Group. The group was launched at the end of December 2021. Membership has grown to over 1,500 members. #StrongerTogether #WestgateProtest
https://www.facebook.com/groups/westgatehostages/members
Westgate claims that thousands of people love their Westgate timeshare – THEN WHY NOT RELEASE THOSE WHO DON’T? Many of us have reported that we were told we could rent out our timeshare to cover costs. Since this is hardly possible, due to fees and obstacles detailed in prior reports, many are left with little choice but to default. One veteran, who served 24 years overseas, and is awaiting a lung transplant as a consequence of his service, reported that he had been promised the ability to rent to cover costs. Westgate denied him a hardship release. As a result of his loan default, his security clearance is in jeopardy.
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=1295
Does the Florida Attorney General Protect Developers from Consumers?
Florida Attorney General, Ashley Moody, along with the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR), claim that “proof of deception” is needed. A Public Records Request, filed with the state of Florida, produced 584 complaints (over 4,000 pages). The dollar amount totaled over $4 million. Nearly half of the complaints complained of being assured it would be easy to rent out the timeshare to cover costs.
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/does-the-florida-a-g-protect-timeshare-developers-or-consumers/
We are encouraged by governmental agencies that seem to be taking note. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), as well as several military and veteran organizations, weighed in about the harm done to active duty service members who can easily find their security clearances in jeopardy due to a timeshare default:
As reported by AARP, in 2020, the FTC initially listed Timeshare Sales at #7 on their Top Ten Scams List (later Timeshare Sales dropped to #9). Timeshare Resales (fake buyers) came in at #10.
- Romance Scams$83.7 million
- Imposter: Government: $61 million
- Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries: $51.4 million
- Impostor: Business $34.3 million
- Investments: $25.4 million
- Computer Tech Support Scams: $24.1 million
- Timeshare Sales: $17.4 million
- Impostor: Family/Friends: $17.1 million
- Online Shopping: $14.2 million
- Timeshare Resales: $12.5 million
The oral representation clause, buried in fine print, should be disclosed PRIOR to a sales presentation. Shouldn’t the consumer be informed BEFORE listening for hours to a tag team of salespeople – that you should not believe a word a sales agent says?
The Public Offering Statement (POS) discloses the oral representation clause (non-reliance clause), along with other important information. As documented below, the Public Offering Statement one of our Westgate hostages received was hidden from view. In addition, a lawsuit complaint, Moore Vs Westgate Case 3:18-cv-00410, Eastern District of Tennessee, Knoxville Division, also mentioned that the POS was hidden:
2 . Westgate relies on its closing agents to provide written disclosures but then provides them with a closing folio to use that contains a “secret pocket” where the closing officers can conceal legally required disclosures about the purchasers’ rights, including their statutory right to rescind their purchase.
34. Defendant hid the public offering statement on a flash drive containing hundreds of pages of documents. Defendant’s surreptitious behavior prevented the Plaintiffs from ever finding the public offering statement.
How would a purchaser find it in a timely manner? The burden should be on the resort to present the POS conspicuously.
Follow this link to see the full video of the search:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iRfrBGdGjSmnbProINila4rFRIDpMJXI/view?usp=drive_web
The Secret Compartment Holding the CD-ROM:
Top photo: Bottom left side with the Westgate emblem is a compartment the size of a CD-ROM, Middle bottom photo: Taken with a flashlight shows the secret compartment that held the POS; Left bottom photo: Taken without a flashlight.
Florida’s Timeshare Act was amended to allow all documents to be provided electronically.
Florida HB 575 was signed into law this year allowing all contract documents to be provided electronically, including the Public Offering Statement. Instead of being presented at or prior to signing a timeshare contract, as mandated in other states, the purchaser now has 10 days to review the POS. One of the four sentences on the cover of a Florida 3/8/2018 POS advises in all caps:
DO NOT RELY ON ORAL REPRESENTATIONS
For those who have been wronged, Jan 5, 2023, is your chance to be heard. Let us know if you are on board to be a catalyst for change.
Related articles, including 31 families forced to default and unable to rent to cover costs:
Bluegreen Account Suspension for Renting, Angela, October 7, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=1602
Wyndham Sues Their Agent for Renting September 23, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=1530
Nine Westgate Families (2 – 10) March 4, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=440
Exploria v Austin Aaronson March 11, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=475
Vacation Village March 18, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=517
Vacation Village (2)
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=1419
Vacation Village (3) July 1, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=1071
Westgate by Abdur Rashid (11) April 22, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=723.
Jackie’s Vacays Westgate (12) June 10, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=955
Branson’s Nantucket (3) May 13, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=836
Diamond Resorts including Veteran David Young (3) August 26, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=1301
Westgate Arbitration and the Military Lending Act Lawsuit June 17, 2021
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=982
PDF Link: Westgate Case No 8;22CV-0028-CEH-JSS
Are my Consumer Rights being eroded? February 25, 2022
https://afterinsidetimeshare.com/?p=394
Thank you, Larry Lobbyist, this has certainly given our readers plenty of examples of why a “Protest” by you the consumer is so important, it needs numbers to have any impact in the media. To us it is a news story, to them, it is a small number of no significance, unless they “smell” a bigger story they will have no interest, so your support is vital. If you are unable to attend, even for a short while, you can have an impact, use your social media and flooding it with posts leading up to the day and especially on the day itself.
IT IS YOUR VOICE: USE IT!
Details and directions are available on our events calendar and can be found at this link:
That is all for this year, it just leaves us to wish you a very Happy & Prosperous New Year from all at AIT & TARDA, and thank you for your support.
Benn Dover
So if consumers are not to rely on oral presentation, why don’t they get rid of the sales presentation? Yes, we know it’s because they rely on misrepresentation to pull people in. I say they get rid of the sales pitch and see how well they do. Prove to us that they are not relying on the misrepresentation for profit!
Chris B.
The oral representation is obviously the only reason anybody purchases, because it’s all too good to be true: lifetime of low-costs vacations, anywhere you want to travel, save money, etc. etc. etc. I discovered that the “vacation package” would hemorrhage us thousands upon thousands of dollars, and it would be so much cheaper booking the same exact rooms through booking (dot) com than using the package, plus I could get the dates I wanted using booking (dot) com (the vacation “ownership” package seemed to favor non-owners vs owners in an attempt to trap more victims). I did not even recall seeing the oral rep clause bc at the end of the spiel I was so exhausted and drained – apparently by design.
Chris B.
Any so-called “business model” that requires psychological manipulation, deception, predatory behavior, coercing victims into buying at a high cost something that the manipulator knows has no financial value, thus harming victims, depriving them of cash, and holding people against their will, is not a “business model” that should EVER exist in ANY society that dare call itself “civilized.”
John W Collick
I’m an owner at The Colonies in Williamsburg, Virginia. We wanted a vacation for our disabled son over the New Year holiday, but all that was available was a 1 bedroom with a sleeper sofa.
We reluctantly accepted it, since it’s all that was available. We own two sides with two bedrooms each, every year – fully paid for, but have not received comparable accommodations outside of Williamsburg for quite a while.
When we arrived at Westgate, the employees were great. But when we started getting our son ready for bed, we found the sleeper sofa was not safe; it took several hours for someone to come and explain “it’s mechanically sound,” only after rigging it so my son would have to sleep with his head inclined.
We also found out that if we had booked the reservation and paid cash (around the same time we booked our room), we could have gotten a two bedroom suite. To get that, I was informed by an employee, you have to talk to a manager, not use the online booking service.
Because it was unsafe for our son to sleep on the sleeper sofa, we decided that we had to use a hotel – at a cost of over $1,100 more than we planned.
It seems that when buying a timeshare, you’ll be told so many great things, but in reality, you’ll be paying for the upkeep of the facilities so the management can rent (for cash) the best rooms and turn a substantial profit, while giving timeshare owners some very basic accommodations.
Daniel Pinkney
And this all factual, I know everything you talking about through first hand knowledge. I’ve worked for Westgate towers resort for an entire 1 1/2 years. I truly learned through my employment there, so MUCH more about how timeshare works. And all I could think of, was how much of a gimmick this whole thing was/is.
Irene Parker
We very much appreciate your speaking out.