Should you upgrade your timeshare to solve the problems you are currently facing? Learn the tricks used by timeshare resorts so you can upgrade unnecessarily.
Several timeshare companies have trained salespeople who can scam innocent vacationers not just once, but two or even three times by selling a timeshare upgrade.
Disgruntled clients often return to the resort to complain about their timeshare contracts. When they get there, instead of dealing with a member services department, they are often referred to the sales department where they will be forced to attend another sales presentation. Sellers then make various types of claims for the consumer to update their timeshare to try to solve their initial problem.
Timeshare update: another waste of money
If a timeshare company scammed you once, don’t invest more money with the same company to try to fix the problem. The following are some of the common timeshare scams associated with the timeshare upgrade.
In order to ensure high sales volume, many timeshare scam companies display incredibly beautiful rooms to potential customers to induce them to buy a luxury timeshare contract. When the client visits the resort, they are placed in a room of a much lower quality. We have heard from many customers who thought they were purchasing a larger unit, for example a one or two bedroom unit, but when they visited the hotel they were given a standard room.
Other complaints were that they were shown a new suite in perfect condition, but when they arrived, they were given a unit in an older building, with mold or damp problems. This is not acceptable when the customer has purchased a deal based on the unit they saw during the sales presentation.
A normal first step for victims of a timeshare scam is to contact the resort to try to complain about the membership or cancel the deal. Some customers do this in person while visiting the resort and have found that what they bought was not what they were promised. A common response is for the new seller to apologize for the previous seller’s mistake and offer a timeshare upgrade to your timeshare so that you can reserve the higher quality room. This comes at another cost to the consumer and often does not solve the problem, as many resorts build special suites only for sales presentations that do not correspond to the quality of their usual rooms.
Another timeshare scam, regarding the timeshare upgrade, comes with the rental scams. Many timeshare buyers are promised that they can easily rent their timeshare weeks through an affiliated rental agency. After a while, the vast majority of clients are unable to rent any of their weeks and are also spending more money for the listing fee at the rental agency. When the client complains to the resort, they sometimes claim that guaranteed rentals are not offered with their timeshare contract level, but if they upgrade to a higher membership then their weeks rental is guaranteed. This is another timeshare scam that can often lead to the loss of several thousand dollars more to the client in the purchase of the upgrade, and another quote fee to the rental agents.
Some customers choose to upgrade to a better unit, a more desirable week, or a higher number of weeks per year. The seller asks them to sign an upgraded contract, which does not mention the previous timeshare they had with the same resort. In essence, the seller is selling the customer a new timeshare contract that does not replace the previous timeshare contract. The client thinks they are purchasing an upgrade, but in reality they are purchasing a completely separate contract and are now responsible for two maintenance fees for the resort. They can also end up with twice as much time, when they don’t need as many weeks of vacation.
This timeshare scam is financially detrimental as maintenance costs are difficult for most buyers to maintain, and if you don’t pay maintenance fees, the resort will attack your credit score in the US or Canada.
If you are planning to buy an upgrade to your timeshare that is already disappointing you, think again. Don’t throw more of your hard-earned money away from a company that let you down with thousands of dollars in the first place. If your timeshare contract is not what you were promised, the best solution is to cancel your timeshare contract and get rid of any future payments to the timeshare complex.
At Mexican Timeshare Solutions we offer you a free consultation so that you know your options and can decide if canceling the contract is the best option for you. In many situations, we can even get back the money you paid for the timeshare scam. Don’t put in a lot of money after the bad to try to solve your fraudulent timeshare situation. Contact us today and free yourself from the burden of owning an unproductive timeshare.