Wyndham Vacation Ownership
reviews and complaints

Although I have already contacted the "escalation" department with this company, I find it necessary to inform you of the constant wrongdoings I have received. After over 12 years of vacation ownership with this company, and many arguments as well, it saddens me to think I had been yet swindled again. I was promised a credit voucher for a stay up to $100 dollars and because I live in 2013 and used the internet to book my stay instead of calling in the reservation, my rebate was denied. When I called to see why my check hadn't come for the "rebate" it was explained to me that because I did not follow steps 1-7 on the back of the rebate, I was not getting my money back. Well, the only step I did not follow was number 1- it did not say you MUST call it said to call to book reservation. I went on the website instead since that's what most of us do these days and booked my room. I paid for it therefore I should be entitled to a rebate if a receipt was sent in. It is a scam! The first women i spoke to said many people make this mistake- well I guess that's a good way for their company to get lots of money from "mistake " makers like me. So sad a company can go downhill because of bad press- they should be ashamed of the amount of complaints they get.

We have had a timeshare since it was Fairfield.
Wyndham changes it policy to its advantage on a regular basis.
We were sold a second account (6 months offset expiration date) in order to transfer points from one account to another. They called it "points that never expire". Now we were told that they "Wyndham " has fixed the glitch and this is no longer possible.
I am going to contact the Attorney General in all states involved. FL, NC, NV, NY and AZ. All the states that there reps lied to us.
Has anyone else had this problem. I am looking to see if there is a class action lawsuit.

On 11 November 2012 a friend and I were at Wyndham Vacation Resorts, INC., located at 226 Dwyer Ave., San Antonio, TX, [protected] to hear a sales presentation. During the course of the sales pitch I repeated asked several questions (i.e., how much is the down payment, what is the TOTAL cost to me, how much will my total monthly payments be, etc.). Since I already own a timeshare with Wyndham, they told me if I transferred to their location, it would only cost me $3000 more total over the course of the loan. This is blatantly WRONG. My original loan was for $12, 000 of which half was already paid for. The new loan was for $14, 030.26 and that was after they applied the equity in my other timeshare property (approximately $5000) and after they put almost $10, 000 on credit cards they applied for in my name! When I asked what was going on the credit cards and how much was going on then and WHY did I need them, they kept talking about how it would “reduce the maintenance fees and add points.” Again, I asked several times if this was a DOWN PAYMENT and they insisted there was NO down payment. I repeated asked how much my TOTAL monthly payment would be and was told $203.93 – this however did NOT include the monthly maintenance fees(another $75.) nor did it include the monthly payment I would have to make on TWO new credit cards with almost $10, 000 on them, and of course it did not account for interest on all of the above. Instead of actually answering any of my questions, they consistently kept saying that it would cost me less than what I was currently paying -if fact, after reading the document after I got home the total cost was going to be (including interest on the Wyndham loan but NOT interest on the credit cards they applied for on my behalf) the final cost of the timeshare turned out to be over $41, 000 over the course of ten years!

When I returned home, I checked the Texas Timeshare Act and learned I had 6 days starting, from the time I signed the paper, to cancel. I immediately sent them a letter to cancel my contract. I had to search through several documents to a) find the actual cost of everything, b) find out how to cancel the contract and where to send it to (Las Vegas, NV), and c) no place on any of the documents did it mention you only had SIX days. I don’t know if it will ultimately cost me anything since I met the deadline but I could incur possible cancellation fees and interest fees before this is settled.

Like all the other unsuspecting, honest, hard working people, we too were scammed by the Wyndham Jessie James formation team.We too, were told all the blatant lies, relating to their not so wonderful vacation world.Unlike Jessie James, who eventually paid for his life of crime, Wyndham seem to be above the law in the U.S.A, for crimes that make Jessie James look like Mother Theresa..How on earth have the authorities allowed these criminal activities to proceed for so long?Iv'e discovered that the timeshare industry, is full of despicable people and scammers, but the main criminal element lie within the likes of the major t/share retail companies, Wyndham, etc.where lying, deception, fraud and theft, seem to go hand in hand.

Wyndham Vacation Resorts has the most user unfriendly online mortgage payment system I have ever encountered. First of all, the only option you are given to pay your mortgage online is via auto bank withdrawal. You are not able to make any extra online payments through their website. Also, you have accessibility to your current balance or information that indicates how much of your mortgage is being applied to principle and/or interest. In order to obtain this information, you have to call Wyndham's business office M-F from 9 am to 5 pm EST. The only other option to email them for this request. If you are lucky, you will get a response in 5-7 business days. I have confronted their business office numerous times about this inconvenience and their stock answer is always "we are working on making this service available to our members in the near future." GIVE ME A FRIGGEN BREAK. I've been told this for the last 3 years. I pay nearly all my bills online. WYNDHAM IS THE ONLY COMPANY THAT DOES NOT ALLOW ME TO SEE ONLINE STATEMENTS OR PAY ANY PORTION OF MY BILL DIRECTLY ONLINE. They wonder why nearly every customer they have hates them with a passion. They are the epitome of a company that "has their consumers by the balls" and just doesn't care about them. I would never recommend them to anyone. I WISH I COULD GIVE MY NEARLY PAID OFF TIMESHARE AWAY !

July 15 we arrived at Ocean Walk and Wyndham. I had made reservations the week before on the phone and was told we would have ocean/front condo. I was told a lady name Chris would check us in and meet us when we arrived with our room keys, bands, and parking permit. She did. When we got to our room, we found our balcony overlooking the Hilton’s swimming pool. I called Chris and she referred
me to Vickie the lady I made reservations with. First she told me to up grade to another room would be an extra $300. When I told her I would pay it, she said it would be an extra $800. I wanted to cancel the room but she told me I was already charged through my credit card. We went to welcome center to receive our bands. (Chris didn’t have those!) The lady there said she would give me $100 AmEX card and a free vacation to attend the presentation. I told her I would think about it. She offered the same deal to my sister who was staying with us in the Condo. When I realized I had no internet in the condo, I called the service desk and they informed me that I wasn’t even checked in the room. Chris was. Chris had checked in under her name. That was why they didn’t want me to check out on Thursday of that week. Chris would handle it. They said I must be using Chris’s points. Anyway I agreed to attend the presentation to let others know how I was being treated. The girl who set the appointment left notice at our door saying I would receive $50 AmEX and a vacation and my sister would receive $50 Am/Ex and a vacation. My sister said she wouldn’t sit through it for $50 since she was promised $100. That morning of presentation, July 16th, the lady called to remind us of the presentation. I asked about the Am/EX amount. She said she could only give $100 per condo. My sister decided to hit the beach and my husband and I went.
They wanted to see a credit card with our driver’s license. I told them they could look but no one was getting the numbers.
We were promised breakfast and ended up with only water and coffee. We were starving before the presentation was over. Our sales rep’s manager came to our table and wanted us to fill out some paper work to speed things up after the tour. I told her I didn’t want our credit checked until we decided If this was for us. I knew it wasn’t. She promised that nothing would be done until we signed up.
A week later we received notice that we were approved for the timeshare. They had checked our credit without our permission. I have tried to contact the people at Ocean Walk about this. I have been getting a run around.
I will continue to do my part to education people about these scams with Wyndham. It is so sad to read these other complaints. Please help me stop these people from preying on others.

Our experience with Wyndham Vacation Resorts begins differently than most of the Wyndham nightmares that we’ve encountered, but; as a result of the predatory and fraudulent methods employed by Wyndham “representatives, ” at the Smoky Mountain Resort, in Sevierville, TN., we have been continually harassed by their collection department and systematically ignored by their Owner Services Department. As of this writing, I have been contacted over 200 times by Wyndham collections and only once by Owner Services on February 17, 2012. This lone call was from Owner Services representative, Allerice Duncanson, who left a message on my voicemail. I endeavored to return that call on 30 different occasions. All of these calls went directly to Ms. Duncanson’s voicemail and none of them have been returned to date.
Our story begins as follows:

My father Jimmy had been a long time owner at RCI and Fairfield, then subsequently Wyndham. In his later years he was convinced to purchase a 2nd and 3rd contract. In wasn’t until after his death, in March of 2011, that we became aware of this. With his 3 different contracts, Dad had accumulated over 300, 000 points. Before his death, Dad insisted that my wife and I should use these points for a vacation. We did book a stay at the aforementioned Smoky Mountain Resort for late October, to be followed by a 3 night stay at Wyndham Ocean Ridge Resort in Edisto Island, South Carolina. In addition to our desire to tour the nearby National Park and the Biltmore Mansion near Sevierville, we wanted take the opportunity to talk to someone about Dad’s contracts and the ‘points program.’ Based on the understanding that there was no way we could ever use what he had, our intention was to lessen the amount of financial exposure within his multiple Wyndham contracts.
Upon our 1st morning (10/25/11) at the Sevierville we were awakened by a knock on our door by Nick Lucas, who purported to be a Wyndham owner services representative. Mr. Lucas had a handful of brochures and discount books for area attractions and asked me if I had any questions about ownership. In hindsight, my first mistake was to answer that early morning knock and my second was to ask him any questions about ownership. I told Mr. Lucas about my father’s 3 separate contracts and how we would like to rid my widowed mother of some financially burdensome maintenance fees and contracts she can never use. Mr. Lucas then said, “Well Wyndham reserves the right to get the first opportunity to buy back contracts like your father’s. Why don’t you drop by our office and we’ll discuss it.” I immediately responded that I had no intention of going through any kind of sales presentation for Wyndham or any other time share sales pitch. I was there to see what Dad had and what could be done to reduce or totally eliminate any further financial exposure. Mr. Lucas vehemently assured me that he was there as an Owner Services Rep, not in anyway associated with sales. He further stated, this time overheard by my wife, that the office we were to visit was not sales, but rather an Owner Services Area. He additionally stated that whatever we wanted to do would take no more than an hour or so. As it would turn out, Mr. Lucas had been in my presence for less than 5 minute and had lied to me 4 times. Unfortunately, this would not be the last time he and other Wyndham employees would perpetuate misleading and fraudulent discourse at our expense.
In would appear that from the time of my first encounter with my Owner Services Rep, on October 25th until our meeting at noon on October 27th, Mr. Lucas and Company had done their homework and metaphorically baited their hook. From the moment we arrived in the Owner Service Area, we let it be known that we had no intention of going through a sales presentation of any kind. I went as far as to tell the receptionist that I was there to discuss my father’s contracts, nothing more. I was assured by that I was in the Owner Relations Department and that all sales were downstairs.
After an obligatory round of introductions, I restated that we were there to discuss what could be done to rid my mother and her fixed income of the costly maintenance fees associated with my late father’s excessive contracts. Again, we were assured by Mr. Lucas was that he was there to help us and the sales office was downstairs. Carefully, avoiding the word ‘commission’ he stated that he “got paid to help owners like us.” After excusing himself for the first of at least a dozen times over the next 6 hours, he returned with a lengthy printout. And under the guise of not understanding what was on the stack of paper he had just retrieved, he said, “Excuse me again, but; I have to get some help on this. There’s a guy back there that’s an expert on this stuff. I’ll be right back.” After a prolonged absence, which in hindsight, I realize gave Lucas and the other conspirator in this affair, plenty of time to put together their predatory plot. Our ‘Owner Services Rep’ did eventually return with his expert, Russ Cooper now in tow. I did, however; notice that both Cooper and Lucas returned from the downstairs ‘sales only’ area. I immediately called the two of them on this apparent anomaly and was assured that owner services and sales shared some common office equipment in the lower level.
With the arrival of Mr. Cooper and his aforementioned expertise, the double team sales tactics began in earnest. With the expert/closer now at the table, Patti and I both restated our position that we simply wanted to ascertain the status of Dad’s contracts. After a while, it was determined that Dad was paying maintenance fees on at least 3 separate contracts still had 33 payments of approximately $110 remaining on his final contract. Patti and I informed them that we would like to pay off the outstanding balance (the 33 payments) and any outstanding maintenance fees so we could go about the business of selling one or all of the contracts. Bear in mind, it has taken us almost an hour to get to this point of the story. As soon as we made our intentions known, the hard sell tag team dance began. Over the next 5 hours we were put through every possible sales tactic imaginable. We were alternately left alone for long stretches of time while one or both of the Wyndham reps would disappear…you guessed it, downstairs. When one of them would return, they would try and assuage us with cheap giveaways, i.e ballcaps, blankets, backpacks etc.
Over this time we steadfastly maintained our no purchase decision regarding a new contract which finally forced this pair of predators to take a new tack. At one point we agreed that we would pay off the approximately $ 3, 500 owed on the final contract and the outstanding maintenance fees. This was a simple request that could have been resolved in moments. But this was not the answer that these men wanted and the two of them took a quick retreat and stayed gone for another prolonged period of time. Upon their return, Cooper took the lead and began another extremely hard sell. This time he urged us to apply for a Bank of America RCI Rewards Mastercard to pay off the back fees and payments. Touting the supposed enumerable benefits of the program, we were hammered with yet another sales attempt. Finally, albeit cautiously, we agreed to open the previously mentioned RCI Rewards Mastercard in order to pay off all the amounts owed. Let me emphasize the fact that both Patti and I agreed to take this action….AND NOTHING ELSE!
Having, in our minds, resolved the matter we waited for the paperwork in hopes of finally being on our way to our next destination, Edisto Island. S.C., 368 miles away. But that was not to be. Over the next 2 hours we were left alone at our table for several long periods of time and at one point we had actually discussed just fleeing the scene. But we knew that these men now had our credit information, returning just long enough to assured us that that paperwork was almost done and we would soon be on our way. That was another lie. Following another extended period, Mr. Cooper returned to the fray and announced that he had just noticed that my father’s account had not been updated with his 2010 points earned. He then deftly produced a document inferring that with our signatures he could get those points for us and we would certainly be getting on the road quickly. Bear in mind that we had decided to get a late lunch after our supposed 1 hour appointment, but; as the hour was now past 5:30 we needed to eat and chose an establishment across the street. Now, out of earshot of any Wyndham employees, we were able to discuss our predicament with candor. We took nearly an hour to dine, deciding how we were going defend ourselves against the last hard sell we were sure that we were going to have to endure.
When we did return to the office, we were taken back to the same table and we were made to wait again for Mr. Lucas and his cohort Mr. Cooper. Upon their arrival they assured us that they had managed to not only get us our additional points; but had also been able to rid us of one of my father’s burdensome contracts. Of course, all of this would require our respective signatures and initials on several more documents. By this time we’d already spent 6-1/2 hours doing what purportedly was to have been “Less than an hour” and we had a 6 hour drive in front of us. We had lost a day of our vacation just trying to do the right thing. After they hurriedly stuffed a backpack full of documents, we were finally allowed to leave. We had all kinds of questions, but; the fear of being held hostage for even another minute in that horrible office, with these predatory frauds was more than either of us could bear.
Since our return home, we were contacted by Wyndham Financial Services and advised that my father’s account was in arrears, on both the maintenance fees and the $110 monthly contract payment these men led us to believe had been paid. I told the collections person that I was sure there was some type of lag in the paperwork getting from Smoky Mountain Resort to the corporate office. This collection continues at this document’s writing. But along the way we have received a Wyndham Rewards Visa Card and a $10, 000 statement from company called ‘Bill Me Later, ’ in addition to the RCI Elite Rewards credit card The ‘Bill Me Later’ statement, which didn’t arrive until late April is for %19 interest. Let me state emphatically that neither my wife nor I have ever paid that kind of interest rate on anything and under no circumstances would we have knowingly signed such a document. We are able to get much better interest rates on our own and have no need to resort to such usury type contracts.
As I mentioned earlier, over the past several months we have been inundated by over 200 collection calls while we have tried to straighten out this horrific scenario. After explaining our case innumerable times to different collections people (note that it is never the same person and had to be restated with every subsequent contact), we finally got one of them to give us the number for the owner relations department that prompted our first contact with Ms. Duncanson. After leaving a message on her voicemail, we were finally contacted, nearly a week later. After explaining to her that we had been defrauded by the reps at Smoky Mountain Resort and that we were sure that we had been worn down to the point that we signed documents that were either misrepresented or switched, we were pretty sure that we had finally found an advocate. We stressed to Ms. Duncanson that we were sure that a company of Wyndham’s stature would never advocate nor abide the tactics that we had been forced to endure at the hands of their purported ‘Owner Services Department’ at Smoky Mountain Resort. We further pointed out to her that we had wanted to do the right thing by paying off my father’s note and back fees. What those men in Tennessee did to us is unconscionable. They have turned our good intentions inside out for the sake of a commission. All we wanted to do was to get Dad’s account current and to continue his legacy of being a good Wyndham customer. Ms. Duncanson appeared to be a sympathetic ear and seemed concur with our dilemma. That conversation ended with her promise to investigate and an agreement to contact us within the next 30 days. The next time (and last time) she tried to contact me was on the previously mentioned date of February 17, 2012. Her message stated that she “wanted to discuss our complaint” nothing else, aside from her phone number 800.446.1466 x16505. As I stated, I’ve endeavored more than 30 times to return her call and only get her voice mail that states, “I will return your call on the next 72 hours.”
We are disputing all charges incurred on or after October 27, 2011 and feel that Wyndham needs to explain both the actions and the complete lack of faith of their two sales(owner service reps) in Tennessee and their collection department, as well as the inaction of Ms. Duncanson and her failure to have the business etiquette to at least return her phone calls. Nothing we requested was done by Mr. Lucas and Simmons at Smoky Mountain Resort. After 6-1/2 hours our defenses were totally exhausted, we were signed up for a contract that we didn’t want, need nor could afford and now no one will talk to us about it. To add further insult to injury, our unwanted contract is tied in with my father’s contracts. We are being hounded by Wyndham Collections trying to get us to pay the very back payments we endeavored, in good faith, to pay at Smoky Mountain Resort. As a result we are not allowed to book a time slot, even though the bogus contract foisted upon us, is financially current.
Surely a company of Wyndham’s stature will not advocate the deceitful and harmful tactics of their sales force, in addition to allowing their Owner Services Dept. to totally ignore customers who have legitimate issues with what had been thrust upon them.

David B. Reeder

Last August, due to Hurricane Irene we had to evacuate our timeshare in Newport on our first day. While a hurricane is an act of God and certainly not Wyndham's responsibility (we had no problem with the evacuation, made sense) it was what happened afer the hurricane was over that was the problem -- and which I am still dealing. Two days after Hurricane Irene, I called our resort because we saw on the news that Rhode Island was barely touched by the storm and basically lost power and some trees, but the storm had pretty much moved away and not toward that state. So, we figured two days had passed, we'd see what was happening. I got the front desk and they said they do have power but that the fire system was down so they didn't know when people could be let back in. I had groceries, clothes etc. that had to be retrieved, so we set an apt. for me to make the 2 hour drive back to Newport and retrieve our belongings. Well, when we get up there we see the stores, restaurants, hotels and even the other Wyndham resorts are all open and functioning.

Long story short -- I talked with more than 12 representatives and have written letters as to how with the nearly $2, 000 we pay in Wyndham's skyrocketing maintenance fees our resort does not have an up-to-date efficient fire system. AND, since that was THE ONLY reason given as to why we couldn't get back into our resort -- how was Wyndham going to compensate us -- since this was their problem and not the Hurricane's?

They didn't offer to put us up at a hotel, or at another Wyndham resort. Their response was that we could "buy another RCI week for $279" -- yes, you read this correctly. Their "compensation" to us being put out our entire timeshare week due to maintenance issues was to "offer" us to buy another week.

Reading about all the free tickets and dinners that Wyndham seems to have on hand for people that will sit through a sales pitch, I found it fascinating that they couldn't even scrounge up a dinner for someone who has owned with them for more than 15 years.

Bottom line -- if you don't own -- DON'T BUY WITH WYNDHAM. Once you buy, customer service and satisfaction is non-existent and they keep raising maintenance rates for NOTHING!

I purchased a vacation package almost a year ago for 199.00. It was supposed to include 4 days/3 nights at a wyndham hotel. I found out in November I had breast cancer. I had surgery and just finished chemo and I received a call from them wanting to setup at time to book my vacation. At the time they knew I had 3 children and the reason I bought the package was so we could all go to San Antonio. Now they say I have to up grade to two rooms because all their rooms only allow 4 people. Some I ask how much is it to upgrade. I really don't want to have to stay in a separate room from my husband. She is very ugly tells me she can't tell me how much more it will be until I book, so I say go ahead and book it and let me know. She then starts going through this spiel about how much money do we make. I tell her I didn't buy a trip to a timeshare sales promo. She says yes I did and then we discover since I have cancer and had to quit my job we no longer qualify and no I don't get my money back. I feel this is wrong on so many levels but I am not sure what I can do about it. We could really use that $199.00 with so many doctor bills.

My wife and I already owned Wyndham floating points and knew they are hard to sell and are much cheaper on the resale market but still were deceived into buying additional points through deceirful sales techniques. They told us about using the Wyndham Rewards credit card to pay maintenance.
We told them that we would take the rewards credit card but did not want more ownership points because we could buy them at a fraction on Wyndham on the resale market, Then they said that we could not get a rewards credit card without buying owenership points.
We are fighting to get the comtract cancel, which we didn't even get a copy of and don't know if we will be successful.
Has anyone else been deceived by Wyhdham in Tennessee or anywhere else because maybe we can get this white collar theivery address by Consumer Protection Agencies or FTC

Wyndham hotels is a complete waste of time. They lie and tell you that your room has a view, yep a view of a wall! And if your on vacation, well don’t expect much.

I was on business and needed a fax and was expecting to receive a few faxes. All I got was two lost business deals. The faxes “never came” and the mail I needed to sign off on was never dropped off by USPS.

On top of all this my boss has a rewards points card for this dump! And when I travel he would like me to use it, but because we have different names, they won’t let me. I even have signed documents with his name and everything from him stating that I should be allowed to use it. They don’t care how many documents I have, its a personal card and can’t be used by another.

I can’t believe Wyndham for this non sense. They have this “wonderful” rewards card that no one can use. There are so many security questions to remember. When your on business, most times someone else booked my travel plans. I don’t have time to be bothered by 5 security questions.

I’m worried I might lose my job over this stupid hotel. I have lost business deals and relationships with those who make my travel plans. It is hard to comprehend that a hotel of this size would be this bad.

I will never stay at another one of these lazy dumps. My boss has agreed that the rewards card is a joke. Wyndham now won’t let him use his points either. I advise the rest of you people not to fall for all these lies they feed you!

I was suckered in to purchasing Wyndham Vacation Plus plan. I was incorrectly told that the average number of points I'd need for a week's vacation was 75, 000. I told them repeatedly that it wasn't for me, but they kept pressuring me until I said "yes." I also told them that I get a week or two off in August. They repeated that for only 75, 000 points I could spend a week away. They showed me photos of resorts in Australia, Orlando, and many other locations around the world, always repeating the lie that an average of 75, 000 points I could take a week's dream trip each year. When I finally got home and looked more carefully at their materials I noticed that there were next to no vacations for 75, 000 points and definitely not in August. This company knows how to sell a good lie!

DON'T LET WYNDHAM RUIN YOUR CREDIT RATING. I bought a "time share" and paid the total price in cash up front. Now, several years later, I am unable to sell the worthless thing. But worse, I called Wyndham to tell them I no longer wanted to participate in their "vacation club" and pay the ever increasing yearly dues and fees but they told me I COULDN'T GET OUT. They said I could simply stop paying the fees but they would turn me over to a COLLECTION AGENCY and this UNPAID DEBT would go on my CREDIT REPORT. What a scam! What a rip-off! This is the first time I've ever heard of a "club" you couldn't get out of! Whatever you do, DON'T BUY A TIME SHARE FROM WYNDHAM because you'll go to your grave owing them money.

Incredibly high priced for getting nothing. No microwave, no fridge. Did not vacuum room. Bathroom smelled of mildew. A shower that didn't work even after reporting it. Trash bags overflowed in lobby and eating area. Coffee pots empty. Same girl was at the reception desk as well as servicing the eating area. 4 chairs to a table that should only sit 2 people. 4 people could never eat at these tiny tables. Receptionist did not even know what county we were in. TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE! We had 2 rooms with 2 people in each room. Don't go there.