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Wyndham Vacation Ownership

Wyndham Vacation Ownership review: no availability! 43

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As a family with school age children, it is nearly impossible to make reservations at popular vacation resorts, unless you book 10 months in advance. The process of making reservations is very cumbersome, as you cannot book resorts online yourself but you have to go through customer service. I filled out a reservation request form online but I could have saved the time filling it out because they will not contact you if there is availability. Instead, they ask you to call back and check availability again and again at your convenience.

Also, when we signed up for our membership for discovery vacations, we got a get up & go package that entitles us to a 3 day & 2 night stay in a standard hotel at 18 different destinations in the united states. The reservation system there is even worse than at the wyndham vacation resorts. When I tried to make a reservation, they hung up on me twice before the transaction was completed, one time after they took down all my information including the birth dates, first and last names of all people traveling with me.

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43 comments
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SarBear
, US
Jul 25, 2017 5:59 pm EDT

If anyone wants help getting out of their contract [protected]

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bedr1
Springfield, US
Nov 10, 2011 3:34 am EST

Okay, I use to sell Wyndham timeshares - what I notice is most people hear what they want to hear and forget the important details LIKE if you want to book during a busy season, book farther out. Of course if you want to go July 4th week YOU are not going to be able to book that 2 months out. Sure there are liars out there, as everywhere. If it sounds too good to be true then it is. Wyndham is not perfect, if you are going to buy, PURCHASE FROM THE COMPANY, not resale. Sure you get a cheap purchase price, but you can't do a whole bunch of stuff like reserve online, bank points, etc. Most of these timeshare forums are here for one reason, to sell you a resale timeshare that they got for free. If you don't mind staying at the same resort year after year, resale is fine. But don't expect to easily go to other Wyndham locations from a resale deed. Won't happen.

And for those people that just want the free stuff, please please do NOT take a timeshare presentation. You are the people that cause the salespeople to be rude. Do you really think they want to be with you for 2 hours, NO, they have to or they get in trouble. These people work straight commission or FREE. You are not hurting Wyndham, you are hurting them. As with any sales job, if you are there to just screw with them for free stuff, they will probably be cranky. Who wouldn't - oh wait I guess they are suppose to be cheerful when they know they have a bottom feeder in front of them with no intention or interest. Please control yourself from being greedy and forget the free stuff and the presentation.
If you are really interested and open minded and decide not to buy, no problem with that, it wasn't for you.

Now a secret for all you owners, wait till the very least minute when you book your vacation less than 15 days out. You will just about get anywhere you want to go.

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yourdave
Rockwall, US
Oct 30, 2011 8:03 pm EDT

I want tell the other side of the Wyndham story. I am very happy with my Wyndham timeshare. Of course I bought resale so I spent less than $2k for my 385k points. My Mf’s run $1800 per yr. If anyone reading this is about to go to a timeshare presentation you need to check eBay first. The first thing you should consider before buying a timeshare is how you travel. First, if you are ok staying in a hotel you should stay away from timeshares. The hotel will be cheaper. When we vacation my wife and I don’t like sharing a room with an 11 yr old for a week. We also know that someday our daughter will want to bring friends so we want 2 bedroom units. Secondly, if you have a particular place in mind you will need to book 10 months in advance. If you are not picky 6-8 months will do. If you vacation during the off season 3 months will do. By the way you save lots of money during the off season. I just took a motorcycle trip to Colorado in October staying in a 1br for 21k pts. That’s $100 for 4 nights.
If you decide you want to buy a timeshare you also have to pay attention to the maintenance fees. You should look to pay about $5 per 1000 pts. If the cost is more than that you are paying too much. I pay $4.70 per 1k. People always say mfs will go up. Yes they will, but I also know that the 2br condo we rented for $175 per night last year will go up too. If you find the right mfs the next question is how many points do you need. When I went to my timeshare tour they offered me 84k for $12, 500. They told me I could get anything I wanted for that. Needless to say they lied I wish I could say I didn’t buy b/c I’m smart, but the truth is I’m just cheap. My wife’s car cost less than that and I was mad about that. There is no 2br condo during the summer in the system for 84k. If you want a 2br during the summer for a week you will need 175k. That will get you to most places. That equals $875 of points or 125 per night. If you want the nicer places you’re looking at 224k or $1120 for a week. That’s $160 per night. We picked a 224k resort this yr b/c it has the indoor outdoor water park. That sounds a little pricey buy we paid $175/night last yr for a condo with 1 pool. I just wanted to post this b/c I read so much negative stuff about Wyndham. I agree that anyone who paid retail got a horrible deal. 385k points would cost over $50k bought from Wyndham. That being said, if you like to travel (we do about 23 days per yr) and you don’t like hotels you should look into Wyndham just buy resale.

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LSJS
, US
Sep 29, 2011 7:37 pm EDT

My husband and I became suckers in october 2008! We purchased the Wyndham in Myrtle beach South carolina. The one we purchased was for 168, 000 points on the odd years. I think we both knew that we were suckers when we walked away. I must admit, we have used the heck out of it, but now circumstances and other financial stressors have come up, and we no longer can afford the monthly fee. The maintenance we have coming out of our bank account, but the mortgage each month is not. We have tried everything to get out of it, but we can not. I feel that we are just going to stop paying it and let the cards fall where they may. Does anyone have any other suggestions of how we can get out of this thing without ruining our credit?

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lambchop10
Little Rock, US
Jul 20, 2011 8:52 pm EDT

Has anyone ever found a class action suit against Wyndham? I want to join one!

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BBQME2
Cedar Rapids, US
Jan 23, 2011 11:07 pm EST

Yes the do rent out to nonowners. WE HAVE RENTED our condo and had to pay for it VS using our points because when we called they were booked and we couldn't use them. So, we called Glacier Canyons in the Dells (where our condo is) and low and behold they did have a condo available FOR RENT. Wyndham is nothing but corporate greed at it's finest.

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SBSue
Goleta, US
Nov 29, 2010 4:42 am EST

I am looking to join a class action suit against Wyndham due to our horrible experience of lies, deception, and corporate greed! Does anyone know where I start?

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sohllee
Kent, US
Nov 21, 2010 6:19 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I agree - this timeshare was the biggest mistake we have ever made!

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jlrp2
Columbia, US
Nov 12, 2010 1:46 pm EST

i also agree with all of you that have been scammed by this company. it is always thier way or no way. i would love to start a class action suite against them. jlrp2@juno.com

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DeeLB
Orlando, US
Nov 01, 2010 2:17 am EDT

I am with everyone on here. I have had nothing but bad experience with Wyndham. I too cannot book anything at anytime 10 months out or not. I've had to settle for a few short visits when I could and places I settled for not where I really wanted to go. Last year I called in Jan. to book my whole years vacations and couldn't get anything, even in areas I didn't want. So I too have wasted points. If anyone is doing a lawsuit I'd love to get on that bankwagon. Email me at dlblaw@hotmail.com.

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Dontbeshamed
Gilbert, US
Jul 29, 2010 10:34 am EDT

For those thinking about purchasing wyndham timeshares, let me give advice I wish someone had given me. Don't do it. Why? Because quite simple it is very expensive for what you get.
We own both wyndham and marriott time shares so let me give you a comparison. With wyndham, staying at Myrtle beach every year during the high season(summer) for a week will cost you 300, 000 points or so. 308, 000 points is what they will try to sell you for roughly 60k( we bought in 2008 and went through another pitch in July 2010) . With about 1k yearly maintence fee.
With Marriott, we get a week a year for any season(including high) . We can trade our week for any of the marriott vacation loacations. This cost us 10k back in 2006 when we purchased it. With about $1200 yearly maintence fee. We went through sales pitch in 2010(for free golf) and a week has gone up to 18k. But still much cheaper than week with Wyndham

However, the marriott has a much higher quality in thier product as compared to the wyndham. And they have roughly the same amount of resorts.

Staying at the wyndham I cannot count the number of issues 1st trying to and then with the place we stayed at. Oven broken, dryer squeaking, light switch trips, smoke alarm sounds if the door is left open, smokers in non smoking rooms, cigars not cleaned an left on porch, floor was not cleaned throuroughly, 1.5 hours to checking, etc...

At Marriott it was smooth sailing, bigger rooms all around- like noticebly bigger--not sure of the sqt ft difference. Fluffy pillows and blankets, 15 minutes to check in, not a problem at all in the 5 years I've used them.
Really a vacation, on our first day of our vacation with the wyndham we had yet another 3 hour sales pitch.
Booking was somewhat cumbersome however, but calling in made it easy. Still way easier than the wyndham were we could not book out home resort for 2 years.

BTW. At myrtle beack for 5k, you could find and rent for a week one of those 5 bdrm beach houses with pool directly on the beach. 60k would be over 10 years worth even counting inflation!

For all its worth, I would save your money and look for other options vs wyndham, they are very overpriced.

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JSMWisc
Mellen, US
Dec 29, 2009 1:42 pm EST

On a scale of 1 to 10 (highest), how much do we regret being owners with Wyndham? Score: a big fat 10!

Absolutely, you are better off paying yourself each month by putting cash in the bank and using that for your vacations! There are many avenues by which you can rent these same rooms for much less cost per night and avoid the timeshare contract with its inflated interest rate and purchase price, as well as the mind-blowing monthly/annual maintenance fees.

If you are compelled to go to a presentation for the promise of free tickets, breakfast (think OJ and store-bought donuts), gift card, etc -- upon entering the sales arena, set your watch to the agreed-upon time limit, notify your sales rep that the clock is ticking, glue a smile to your face, take frequent bathroom breaks, and --DO NOT SIGN or BUY anything. When your timer beeps, turn and run!

JSM | Wisc

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VOGROUP
Myrtle Beach, US
Nov 08, 2009 6:47 pm EST

FIGHT BACK

WWW.VOGROUP.NET

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vnolt
Saint Clairsville, US
Oct 22, 2009 9:29 pm EDT

These people abuse the older people with their wording when they high pressure them. My mother went to the presentation with one other elderly person and ended up signing up for something that she did not understand.
After contacting Wyndham and explaining the situation that is ending up costing my mother $560.00 more a month plus her maintainence fees for a total of $710.00 a month, I was told that there is nothing that they could do. She signed the contract so she is liable. These people do not care about anything except the act of seeing how much money they can get out of decieving everyone/

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rickyb
Elkhorn, US
Sep 29, 2009 7:24 am EDT

After reading all these complaints I felt compelled to tell you how easy this process really is. My friend and I have been in sales for many years as well as have owned several rental properties, so trying to scam us with a time share wasn't going to happen. We attented a presentation at the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells about a year ago. The salesman never pressured us at all and quite honestly he was very professional and the whole experience was actually pleasant. Of course he did try to sell us a $21, 000 timeshare but to no avail. After four hours we took our $100 gift card and went home. The only reason we attended was to learn the process and use it to our advantage which is exactly what we did. This is what we did and this is the way to go. We spent some time watching Ebay for Wyndham timeshares to go up for bid. After just 3 days we bought 3 timeshares 2 in Wi. Dells and 1 in Branson. We paid less that $2000 for all three. Once the properties were deeded to us we began to try to setup reservations. At first he couldn't get the dates we wanted but we found that if you call every morning at 7 am eventually you'll catch a cancellation and get what you want. So far we have taken 3 vacations all at the resort we wanted and all at the times we wanted. If managed properly we have about 6 weeks worth of points to use up. 3 of those weeks we sell to other people and 3 of them we use. We take the cash from the 3 weeks we sell and that pays for any maid fees and the maintenance fees. So in a nutshell we got a free $100 dollar gift card, bought 3 timeshares for .10 on the dollar, always get the dates we want and have all of our fees paid for. It doesn't get much better than that!

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LadyEllen
Renton, US
Aug 31, 2009 10:10 pm EDT

We went to Branson last year and was high pressured for more than four hours! We ended up paying $2, 598.00 for 308, 000 "points". We just used one-half of our points in Williamsburg, VA. You guessed it! We were contacted to come to breakfast and they would show us how to better take advantage of our membership. I kept telling them we didn't want anymore sales pitches. But that was exactly what happened...however, we held our ground and escaped without giving them anymore money but two hours of our time. We have enough points left for one more "Wyndham Vacation" and you can bet we won't be taking advantage of their free breakfast!

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nikeboy19882009
Fort Lauderdale, US
Aug 27, 2009 8:26 pm EDT
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LISTEN TO ME

I currently work for Wyndham---- THE BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR! You should read every print letter on the contract that YOU SIGN- you are not forced to sign anything. I work in reservations for PROMOTIONAL PACKAGES- not for owners in the margate, fl office.

WYNDHAM IS THE BEST!

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PRoberts
, US
Jul 27, 2009 8:43 am EDT

We recently purchased through Wyndham in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Unfortunately, I missed my 7 day deadline to cancel the contract. Now I am in the process of trying to fight them - by myself - very time consuming. I am now in the process of sending letters to the New Jersey Real estate Commission, and the banking and financial institution. Although we purchased in New Jersey, New Jersey Banking says we must do the complaint in Maryland.
We never received ALL of our signed papers for the review period. All of the information pertaining to a credit card with RCI which was SUPPOSED to be an added perk, but had an additional deposit placed on it for Wyndham was conveniently left out of our papers for review. The papers were notarized without actually having face to face with the Notary. And, we found out the Notary was also the Seller's Agent. I would love to join a class action suite against Wyndham.

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Jim6619
East Rochester, US
Jul 15, 2009 2:41 pm EDT

Our experience is the same as eveyones. Hi pressure sales, deceptive practices, and unavailable rooms. I found this list of Wyndham-related lawsuits on behalf of owners. http://www.wyndsham.com/Lawsuits.aspx

But! We've had one experience not mentioned. We received a check from Wyndham for $4, 761. Uncertain what the check was for, we contacted them at 1-800/251-8736 and spoke to their finance department. We were told the check was valid it was issued as a refund for overpayment of processing fees. So we take it to the bank to deposit. As soon as the teller saw the check she starts asking questions. She asks if we mind if she gives it to their fraud department. Our bank contacts the bank that issued the check and finds that it is COUNTERFEIT. If you deposit a counterfeit check and spend that money. You are liable. We did contact Wyndham and tell them what happened. They will look into is and call me back. Also our time share has been paid for about 6-8 weeks. We contacted Wyndhams title department to see what was holding up the title/deed. We were told it will take 6 months or more to get it! Needless to say, we are also interested in class action suit. We will additionally but contacting attorney general and Fedearl Trade Commission. See this website for information. http://www.wyndsham.com/TakeAction.aspx

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Masoniclamen
Bainbridge, US
Jul 14, 2009 10:02 pm EDT

My husband and I have 5 children and were so excited to have a timeshare. We bought into the Discovery package last year with the intention of moving forward into a timeshare ownership. They told us that our credit wasn't good enough to finance the large package they were offering, but we could do the Discovery and use all the money we pay into it for a downpayment when we came back this year. Well, we got into Orlando and a horriffic experience at Bonnett Creek. Our room wasn't ready on time so we were asked to come back in an hour. After we just literally drove 24 hours in a mini-van full of our baby, tots and 6 and 7 year olds. So, then our room had ants in the kitchen and bathrooms really bad! We complained and it took 4 days to get anyone to reply. Them manager said he would be down that day within 2 hours to fix the problem. He never came! We asked the front desk what time and where did we get on the bus to take us to Disney. We did EXACTLY as told. Well, there was apparently two bus routes and the wrong one took us. We were transferred 4 times and had to walk several miles before we made it to Disney 2 hours late. Then @ 10p I called and asked what time they would pick us up. I was told every half hour til 12 midnight and then sometimes 1230. So, I planned to leave the park @ 1130p. We got to the pick-up spot @ 1125p. And no one ever came. I called and called until 230a in the cold with our 2 month old, 2 2 year olds and our 6 and 7 year olds! No one answered our resort phone. I finally got through and they accused me of not knowing what time I was there! We were with the security guard the whole time so he witnessed what had happened. Then they put me through to the bus lines and the bus lines told me I should have called sooner. I was like how in the world would I have known your number. She told me that she could call me a taxi and since my family is so large it would take two at $30 a piece our cost! The guard felt so bad that he took us back to the resort. The next day I told the Manager what had happened. He apologized and offered me $25 at the little cafe. I mean truly that bought like our ice water and a pretzel. Wyndham never returned my calls either! We had a very pushy sales lady at our presentation. She was no help. We didn't buy! Then we used more of our points to stay in Destin that was horrible. They were so unorganized. My shoes and my purse which had EVERY bit of our $ and CC in it) got stolen! THey didn't even offer us to extend our stay til we could get $ wired from home. We had a lieing horrible presentation there. We did not realize until then that every time we stay somewhere we had to go through a presentation! On our way home we were soooo tired after the weeks events that we decided to stay in The Glades in TN. Well, even though that Resort is basic, it was perfect. We loved our stay. The place was like a home. It was a community. The sales guy was just absolutely respectable of our situation. He even came to our room instead of us coming to him. He truly tried to see what if anything we wanted out of Wyndham. We told him how the other 2 sales reps told us we could NOT use our $$$$ we had been paying into the Discovery Package as we were told before. He got it fixed where if we decide to we are SUPPOSE to be able to use it as down payment to buy into a Timeshare. LONG story huh, well just BEWARE that if they tell you to use the $ from what you pay into Discovery for a down payment next year they will lie next year and say the rules changed. We Love the idea of a Timeshare, but we have not decided whether or not to put any more trust into this company! Good Luck! I have been trying to use my remaining points to go to Wisconsin Dells for 4 months now and NO OPENINGS!

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Pauly Walnuts
Barrington, US
Jun 14, 2009 12:31 pm EDT

The first thing I want to know is, are they selling vacation packages to non-owners, and this is why all the resorts are booked. We pay the maintenence fee's, and they rent the units out as though they where hotel resorts, and not time share. We have had this timeshare for about six years, and if it where run by share holder's, and not by this greedy corporation, it would be a great way to take a vacation. Just the money saved on eating in, for breakfast, and a couple of nights for dinner, pays the maintenance fees.
The next trip I have booked is Washington, DC in June, and I could only get 3 nights, had to bank my remaining points with RCI, for a fee, and since RCI doesn't book day's, only week's, we will have to kick in another couple of hundred dollars to buy the extra days.
It seems as though they make the rules on the fly, and they have the BALL's to try to get us to buy more points.
Count me in on this class action suit, I am sick of being scammed by this company, and every other company, Senator, Congressman, Bank, Stock Market, Morgage Company.It is time we took back our Country, and this would be a good place to start. (barman644@cox.net). As Al Bundy would say, "Let's Rock".

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MPC
Lindale, US
Jun 08, 2009 12:01 am EDT

Just had horrible experience with Wyndham in San Antonio La Cantera resort. We were completely overlooked for their "merger dinner" to inform us that if we didn't "buy into a property that by itself was considered VIP", that all of our PIC points (the reason we bought to begin with) were going to go away and we were no longer going to be considered VIP. We were asked who our VIP coordinator was...Who? Why did we decline the offer to upgrade to maintain our VIP status? Never had an offer made or heard anything about it...and the guy really thought we were lying, until he pulled the computer report and it showed we'd NEVER been contacted by corporate or met with anyone. He really wanted to go back to bed that day, and his boss chewed him royally. They then wanted a CYA meeting with him...too late in my book.

I'm in and looking over this and any other site I can find to see who else has been lied to, cheated, defrauded, and breached in their contracts by Wyndham, and I'm hunting attorneys that have won against them and I'm ready to go with a class action lawsuit, so count me in and consider me actively involved. Please contact me at childscapitalgroup@yahoo.com if you are in the same situation and let's get some organization to this thing and go after them.

MPC in Texas

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CStivers
, US
Aug 22, 2018 10:55 am EDT
Replying to comment of MPC

Hello just found this site. I'm wondering if a class action lawsuit started. If so please contact me.

Thank you
CStivers

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P. Crawfprd
Burlington, CA
May 27, 2009 9:55 am EDT

Is there anyone out there who has had a good experience with Wyndham?

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powfred
Milford, US
May 23, 2009 12:19 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

All of the complaints I read I believe to be valid. Wyndham (Fairfiled) feeds you a line of bullcrap a mile long. I have owned with them since about 1989 and at first things were great and now I own over 1 million points. Many of the promises they make to you are nothing but lies. Some for example are
1. Upgrades when booking 60 days or less out. I have been able to do this rarely, even if I can get booked at all.
2. Point discounts when booking 45 days or less out. Again, if you can get booked.
They make this sound like it can happen everytime when they are giving you a sales presentation, but in all honesty it doesn't happen very often.

One of the main things they tell is to you to book 10 months or so out to be sure to get booked where you want to go. Then when you get to the free upgrade time try booking a smaller unit and get your free upgrade to the next size unit and cancel the first booking. Then when you get to the point discount time do it again to get your and get an additional point discount. (This depends on the level you own at). Nine times out of ten it doesn't work because there is nothing available when you try to book again. Then of course if you cancel your reservation your points go into what the call "cancelled points" and you can only uless them when booking 90 days or less out. Now try to book where YOU want to go and when YOU want to go and again there is usually no availability. So wht happens? You end up losing your points.

There are so many other things I could tell you about them that it probably would take a large book to put it in.

Oh, I did work for them selling their timeshares and tried to do it honestly and sincerely, but they didn't want me to so I ended up quitting. I never lied to people and never pressured them or made them stay until they finally were worn out and bought.

Sure, I would join a class action lawsuit and I could tell a lawyer many things about their tactics. fredpowell@bnin.net

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Maloney
Livingston, US
May 05, 2009 4:09 pm EDT

I don't know if I got the same scam you did...but I also was suckered into purchasing a Wyndham resort package for 10k on credit that has never been used and is now on my credit. I try to get a hold of Wyndham constantly and no one ever returns any of my phone calls. I am pissed and want something done about this just as from reading I see all of you are too. I would love to join in a class action suit against Wyndham. Oh and I love their famous line...we are not a business that sells timeshares and this is nothing like a timeshare.

My parents have this same exact problem with Wyndham and I know they would be interested as well in joining in on a class action suit.

if any one has any suggestions or whatever you can contact at prpletazzy@hotmail.com

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ScammedbyWyndham
Searingtown, US
Apr 21, 2009 2:17 pm EDT

I am trying to start a class action suit against RCI for their Discovery Vacations scam. Is anyone interested? Please let me know if you are.

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gmoney
Bethlehem, US
Apr 11, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

My wife and I were approached by a Wyndham rep in Atlantic City. For seventy five dollars cash, we agree to do the little tour across the street. We also got additional fifteen dollars cash for travel expenses to and from the Wyndham sales office (we drove and parked across the street for less than a dollar). Yes, they paid up, so were satisfied with that.

To make a long story short, my wife and I were very guarded the minute the sales presentation began...to the point the 25 year old saleswomen called us out on it. My wife and I are both lawyers, so we listened to every little detail that was thrown our way. MORE IMPORTANTLY, we paid attention to what they weren't telling us!

To start off, they had a paper (filled in by the boiler-room Wyndham sales people) with our names and a Owner/Referral reference number. The saleswoman asked us who referred us…we told her we weren’t referred by anyone…just an old Indian lady with a Wyndham name tag. The saleswoman told us that if we were referred by someone we would be offered a special package deal that isn’t available to the general public. THIS IS THE SALES GIMMICK! We weren’t referred by anyone…they wrote in fake referral number, with the hopes that we believe we’re getting an “owner/referral deal”! If you’ve ever watched a tv-infomercial, it’s the same gimmick as “if you call in the next 5 minutes, we’ll cut the price in half” or “we’ll throw in a second widget for free”. Everyone knows that these infomercials play all across the across the country, at various times of the day and that there is no way the toll-free number representative knows when the commercial is airing.” This Wyndham Vacation Resort sales gimmick is an attempt to make you believe you must act out on their error so you can get the best deal possible. For my wife and I, that meant being able to purchase 127, 000 points for $15, 049 instead of $30, 000.

The best part is, the saleswoman had a higher up come over and talk to us. He asked us who referred us, and we told him no one. I ordered him to check out the referral number and let us know who referred us (after all, if someone was referring me, shouldn’t they get a referral fee for referring us?). He came back in about 10 minutes and said he couldn’t locate that owner/referral number in the computer, but they would give us the benefit and offer us the owner/referral rate. Again, THIS IS THE SALES GIMMICK!

The special offer for us was 127, 000 points, plus 175, 000 points (which would make us VIP) for $15, 000. Oh yes, we would also have to pay a monthly fee of $68 every month (which is subject to increase), for the rest of our lives. People, that adds up to $816 a year. For approximately $900, I am sure that everyone out there with an internet connection can find a fantastic vacation deal from the thousands of vacation deals that are all over the internet.

So, gimmick #2 is the discrete monthly maintenance fee that truly will add up to over a thousand dollars a year in the near future.

Financially, what really bothered me was the salesman (that took over the saleswoman’s presentation) began writing numbers down, and for approximately $280 a month, this could all be mine (oops, I mean $280 plus the $68 monthly maintenance fee). He figured I’d purchase the $15, 049 “owner/referral rate” package, minus $2, 260 deposit, and finance the rest. But he never told me what the terms were. I did ask what the interest rate would be, and he said “16.9%”. I forgot to ask what the term was (60 months, 84 months, etc.). This is an extremely high interest rate. He jut ran our credit check, and said we had “A1” credit. He said “Wyndham would be committing fraud” if they charged me a lower interest rate than someone with B or C credit. So this goes without saying: Wyndham Vacation Resorts is in the business of selling you a time share (on the spot, under pressure) AND selling you a HIGH INTEREST LOAN.

The LOAN component is something that never gets mentioned throughout the “presentation”. This is where they make a chunk of their money.

No, we did not buy a timeshare. My wife and I agreed we would not before we stepped foot in the boiler room.

As we left, I told the saleswoman that her presentation tactics were the same tactics a basemen waterproofing company used on me. In that scenario, I didn’t want to pay $8000 for a water drainage system to be installed around the perimeter of my basement walls. When the waterproofing salesman knew I wasn’t going to pay $8000, he told me, “look, we had a job that fell through this week and we have already purchased all the equipment and labor for that job, so we can have them do your basement for $3000, but you have to buy it NOW” Yeah right! Are you kidding me! The Wyndham rep asked me “are you comparing me to a basement waterproofing salesman?” I said, “yes.”

Listen people, if you want a timeshare, do your research online. Realize that they want to sell you a timeshare at the highest possible price…on the spot without you having the opportunity to see if you are getting what you pay for. Then, realize that they want you to use their financing. Then realize that all the hoopla and claims of vacationing where and when you want is just not realistic. If the resort you want to stay at is booked…you are out of luck. From the previous posts on this site, it looks like that is a number one problem with this timeshare/points system.

If you were going to buy a used 2006 Mercedes E350 AWD sedan with 30, 000 miles, wouldn’t you shop around and see what the car is worth before buying it? And if you are going to finance the purchase, wouldn’t you research your financing options by seeing what interest rates you qualify for…from various banks/credit unions? Well, why should buying a timeshare be any different?

Here is something I haven’t googled yet. What percent of timeshare owners openly sought out a timeshare? What percent of timeshare owners bought a timeshare through a timeshare presentation with the promise of a free gift (tv, cash, a boat, etc.). I don’t know the answer.

I will end this comment with a funny story about my parents. Back in the 1980’s they received some junkmail that promised them a boat if they attended a timeshare presentation in Virginia. The mail piece advertised the following, “Cruise on your own lake in your boat.” When they came back home, they showed us the boat…it was an inflatable raft with two oars. Now that’s what I call “cruisin”.

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jasdeans
Branford, US
Feb 26, 2009 5:18 pm EST

Bunch of naive ignorant people that lay down and take this. Get up and do something about it, call
your attorney general and file a complaint, call your banker and dispute the charge, NEVER let anyone into your checking account by giving them account numbers. Write a check that you can post date the 7 days or put a stop payment on it. Use common sense people. Basic rules of life.

You have the power, there are laws that protect you, USE THEM. Find out what they are and file a complaint with the regulatory agency.

You are all like sheep being led to the slaughter. Your own lack of initiative, common sense and unwillingness to fight for your wallet and what is right, that is what has caused you to lose. You can get your money back, it happens all the time, for the really SMART people. I dont lose, I fight and I win. It is not hard, just time consuming and irritating, but my they depend on people like you, that is where they make their money.

quit whining and get off your duff and do something about it.

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CStivers
, US
Aug 22, 2018 10:40 am EDT
Replying to comment of jasdeans

jasdean thank you. So, I'm interested in your step by step process please send I would greatly appreciate.
Thank you
C Stivers

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Mike
Elmsford, US
Feb 13, 2009 5:12 pm EST

This Wyndham company is an absolute scam. I've never though "it could happen to me" - but I fell for it too. Don't be fooled - do NOT do business with this company. They never had availability and then your opportunity to use it that year goes and "oh well"... a SCAM

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kelleyk
Madeira Beach, US
Jan 12, 2009 5:03 am EST

Wyndham is not so great to work for, either. I spent one year at one of their properties and that was enough. I understand all of the complaints listed here and I feel so sorry for you folks.

This was by far, the worst hotel I have ever worked for. The employees are not treated any better than the guests who buy their timeshares. The sad part is, they own some very beautiful properties with excellent amenities. It is a sin they are run the way they are run.

I hope that you guys can find some kind of recourse, to get your money back. Especially when you are in the cancellation period. It's lousy to spend all this money and not be able to take your vacations.

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pastrychef
, US
Dec 22, 2008 4:45 pm EST

wyndham offers so called discounted travel. when calling the travel dept, the agents are only able to offer the HIGHEST airfare, hotel, car, or package.

i would suggest saving your $ and going online.
much faster, cheaper, and no need to beg anyone for discounted travel/air/car, package tour rate.

the travel dept should be taught what is a discounted rate. ridiculous to pay a membership and then get insulted w/ridiculous quotes. shame on wyndham/worldmark. you have scammed too many of us!

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Jodi Savitsky
,
Nov 28, 2008 10:33 pm EST

I just got home today from Atlantic City, New Jersey. My husband and I accidently ran into a Wyndham offer for their new property Skyline. We have owned a 40 year lease thru Fairshare Plus/Royal Vacations for almost 10 years. We had not had an owners update in some time and decided to attend. At the end of an hour and 1/2 with them pitching us all the way we find out that my lease is now invalid and I can only vacation in the place where we bought which is Las Vegas. All of the promises of "point travel" have been erased and we are left with a worthless piece of paper.

Evidently the program change requiring that you own deeded property thru Wyndham in the amount of 168, 000 which occurred in January 2007 was never conveyed to us in all this time. It was by shear luck that we stumbled upon the information. Fairfield/Wyndham have never been known for their excellent communications skills. We went back to our lease and I now have to consult an attorney. Legal fees alone will make this an impossible and probably make this a very costly battle with a very large company. What would you do in my situation?

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Jeremy Keeney
,
Nov 14, 2008 7:39 pm EST

I'm in complete agreement. What a horrible, stressful way to take a holiday. As with many people, I am unable to plan time off from work more than six months in advance, and if you find yourself in the same situation, please do not waste your money. We had in mind that this would be a great way to spend time together for weekend getaways, but on my first attempt to book a room, I was told that there was nothing available at all on the entire east coast for two months. So much for enjoying a weekend in Newport, or anywhere for that matter.

I did find the presentation quite nice though, however, high pressure sales do not intimidate me, if you know they make you uncomfortable, please hand up the phone when they call you for a free "free" vacation. Do not forget that you can politely say no and walk away.

With their Discovery package which is intended as a trial before purchasing a complete time share package, $2800 should be a good deal, if you could ever book a room. I would think that they would strive to assure my satisfaction so that I would purchase a time share at the end of my contract. I assure you that they don't.

I have now finally booked my first vacation after an entire afternoon on the phone. It's not exactly where I want to go, and not the exact dates I want to go, but after dealing with all this, I need a vacation!

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Dave
,
Nov 10, 2008 6:27 pm EST

Like Glenda after buying over 1 million points they now have the PERFECT option, “Presidential reserve”. Now they will guarantee a reservation it will only cost you anther $40K.

Over all I wish we had never gotten involved, and they have NO WAY OUT!
We do use all of our points every year for the past 3 years, but you have to make reservations 9-10 months out.

And what is with increasing the cost / 1, 000 points from $5 to $8 to rent! That is a 60% increase.

I rent out some of my points and I tell ALL my renters DO NOT go to a presentation and if you do DO NOT BUY. You are better off putting 25-60K in a bank and using that for you vacations!

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glenda julien
,
Oct 23, 2008 6:48 pm EDT

I have one better than that. I got a lady to rent mine out got one check and no more. She has rented out over 500, 000of my 1, 211, 000 points for 2009 so far. Plus a week that I had banked with RCI and was going to lose. Am seeing my attorney tomorrow.

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adfhh
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Oct 03, 2008 7:17 pm EDT

s;filghaosifgh

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LJ
,
Oct 03, 2008 6:53 pm EDT

I am in the same predicament. I bought 3 years ago and have only been able to use 1year out of it. There seems to be no availability everytime I call to use it. Has anyone been able to get out of this deal or sell. Please let me know if you have and how you did it.

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Wilmar
,
Sep 05, 2008 7:52 am EDT

How about starting a class action suit with this. I got scammed too.

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Taylor Champion
,
Mar 05, 2008 6:16 pm EST

I totally agree with all of you.. I am more than likely having to go bankrupt as they will not accept any payment arrangements based on my current financial situation. Its either pay your monthly amount or we'll send you to collections and put a default on your credit rating.

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Diana Lanier
,
Mar 03, 2008 5:36 pm EST

I totally agree with the previous comments. Wyndham Vacation Resorts is good at what it does and that is sucking unspecting, honest hard working people into years of debt. After hours of high pressure sales talk by more than one salesman we were finally worn down and signed. We financed the contract through a bank with the understanding that according to law we had seven days to change our minds. We did change our minds three days after the fact, went back to Wyndham , and notified them in writing as required along with the signed and completed necessary form provided by them in the multi-page packet they send you home with. We found out today at the bank that Wyndham submitted the request for payment and received it from our account on the day we signed the papers instead of waiting the seven days to expire in case we changed our minds. The company is a scam and will go to any length to get your money. Watch out!