Westgate Resorts uses high-pressure schemes to convince prospective purchasers into buying its vacation timeshare program, according to legal news.
A recent class action lawsuit alleges that Westgate fails to adequately disclose material and legally required information to prospective buyers and also doesn’t provide adequate access to their timeshares.
In addition, the timeshare owners claim Westgate fails to adequately train and supervise its sales agents, does not provide them with disclosures to give to prospective customers and encourages them to lie to customers with high-pressure sales pitches.
Westgate also allegedly relies on its closing agents to provide written disclosures and provides them with a closing portfolio that contains a “secret pocket” where the closing officers can conceal legally required disclosures about the customer’s rights, including their right to rescind the purchase.
The plaintiffs contend that Westgate does not disclose to their customers that their timeshare interest will be subject to a “floating use” plan and does not disclose to customers the terms of the “floating use” plan. The “floating use” plan fails to provide purchasers reasonable access to their timeshares, the customers say.
“As a result of the common scheme, Westgate owners are left paying thousands of dollars in purchase price, upgrade costs, and annual maintenance fees, all on timeshare units they are frequently unable to use as advertised, and rarely, if ever, are able to use as reasonably expected,” the Westgate class action lawsuit goes on to state.
The plaintiffs say Westgate’s aggressive business model relies on the premise of selling shares in property units, not on customers using the weeks they have purchased in those units. They claim Westgate has a strong incentive to sell as many ownership shares as possible in a piece of property.
Westgate can further increase its profits, the timeshare owners claim, by limiting the owners’ use of the units so they can be rented out by the defendant for additional profit or used by the defendant as sample units to sell timeshare properties to new buyers.
“Defendants uniformly fail to adequately disclose material facts to buyers and, as a result, fail to deliver what buyers reasonably expect, all in violation of Missouri, Florida, Nevada, and Tennessee common law and statutory law,” claim the plaintiffs.
The timeshare owners also say the timeshare industry’s record profits are driven by sales of ownership shares, not its customers’ use and enjoyment of the properties. The Westgate class action states that a timeshare business makes money every time someone makes a down payment or a monthly payment on a timeshare, including paying steep annual “maintenance fees.”
“Selling units to new customers and selling nicer units to existing customers is the lifeblood of the timeshare industry,” the timeshare owners say.
According to the plaintiffs, Westgate sales agents pressure purchasers to sign a series of complex and misleading documents without giving the purchasers the opportunity to read (or in some cases see) the documents they are signing.
The Westgate class action claims that only months later, when the new timeshare owners attempt to reserve vacation time in “their” unit, do they learn Westgate sold them something entirely different than what the company told them they purchased.
The plaintiffs maintain Westgate agents approach vacationers on the street, in restaurants and at other public areas. The agents offer them free tickets to local attractions, discounts to timeshare purchases and vouchers for free meals in order to entice them to take a tour of the resorts.
Once the vacationers arrive at the resort, Westgate agents subject them to a high-pressure sales pitch designed to ensure they do not leave without purchasing a timeshare property, the timeshare owners explain.
“Westgate agents attempt to persuade prospective purchasers by telling them that a timeshare is cheaper than paying for future vacations, but that they must act immediately in order to take advantage of supposedly discounted prices,” according to the plaintiffs.
In addition, once they purchase the timeshare, owners face constant pressure from Westgate agents and employees to upgrade to nicer units, the plaintiffs contend. In fact, the timeshare owners say that once they purchase a unit, they are assigned a “concierge” who supposedly assists with booking and other transactions, but in fact is a salesperson who pressures the owners to upgrade their prior purchase.
Westgate fails to tell timeshare owners that they are routinely unable to book units in the resort with as much as 12 months’ notice, the earliest that Westgate allows owners to reserve their use of their timeshare, the plaintiffs say.
The owners claim “they have made repeated attempts to book a stay during their allotted time, only to be told by Westgate officials that there is no availability at the Resort.”
Did you purchase a timeshare with Westgate? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Michael Sokolik of Consumer Law Protection Lawyers.
The Westgate Timeshare Class Action Lawsuit is John Hambacker, et al. v. Westgate Resorts Ltd, et al., Case No. 4:20-cv-00833 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
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1,491 thoughts onWestgate Resorts Class Action Alleges High-Pressure Sales Tactics
I got pressured and scammed into purchasing a unit which they repeatedly promised to be a great investment. How can I get out of this mess! The high maintenance fees don’t stop increasing. I don’t use the unit and don’t want it. Fees, fees, fees and more fees!
There sold are Westgate to Elena but when 1st purchased told us we have a room deeded at planet Hollywood in Vegas
My wife and I purchase a timeshare and was sold an entirely diffrent room which was supposed to be a cabin. We has ask during our tour what the buildings were for that looked like a hotel. Paul the sales person told us not to worry about those because we are looking at the cabins and those were for non owners. To our surprise when we arrived for our first use of the property we were sent to the vary buildings we had needed to not worry about. To put icing on the cake they charged us nearly $750 for the stay saying we did not own the dates of our stay. While at the property our classic 65 impala was damaged by a hit and run driver. Being an owner we called security to have the video checked to see who hit the car. We were informed the videos could not be viewed by us or anyone without court order. Putting all the lies and misrepresentation behind us we tried to enjoy what was left of our vacation. We grilled out and was enjoying the firepit when I look over and notice 4 young people passing a meth pipe 15ft from my 12 yr old kid. I immediately left the property and we have not and will not return. It is illegal in 50 states to maintain a common public nuisance and this place is. They pull people in with no background check from the strip in Gatlinburg and give them a cabin I paid for while we are stuck in a dirty shoebox hotel room. Never the less I pay a monthly payment for property I can’t and will not use. Paul I hope you rot in hell for taking advantage of unsuspecting people. Maintenance costs will not ever be paid because as I said it is illegal to maintain a common public nuisance…. Westgate you are a common public nuisance!!!!
My wife and I purchase a timeshare and was sold an entirely diffrent room which was supposed to be a cabin. We has ask during our tour what the buildings were for that looked like a hotel. Paul the sales person told us not to worry about those because we are looking at the cabins and those were for non owners. To our surprise when we arrived for our first use of the property we were sent to the vary buildings we had needed to not worry about. To put icing on the cake they charged us nearly $750 for the stay saying we did not own the dates of our stay. While at the property our classic 65 impala was damaged by a hit and run driver. Being an owner we called security to have the video checked to see who hit the car. We were informed the videos could not be viewed by us or anyone without court order. Putting all the lies and misrepresentation behind us we tried to enjoy what was left of our vacation. We grilled out and was enjoying the firepit when I look over and notice 4 young people passing a meth pipe 15ft from my 12 yr old kid. I immediately left the property and we have not and will not return. It is illegal in 50 states to maintain a common public nuisance and this place is. They pull people in with no background check from the strip in Gatlinburg and give them a cabin I paid for while we are stuck in a dirty shoebox hotel room. Never the less I pay a monthly payment for property I can’t and will not use. Paul I hope you rot in hell for taking advantage of unsuspecting people. Maintenance costs will not ever be paid because as I said it is illegal to maintain a common public nuisance….
I took a Westgate tour that was supposed to last one and a half hours, but lasted more like eight let them constantly make an offers to sell me a timeshare. It became so grueling with them constantly making price adjustments and negotiations that me and my wife finally broke down and bought a timeshare only to find out that we have to pay that yearly maintenance fee, which basically is the cost to rent this space for the same amount of time that we have vacation for and then to find out that we have every other year to use a timeshareand not every year
I also was scammed by westgate in Vegas promised I could book at any of there resorts with my time share couldn’t book anywhere all said they don’t have that option decided to stop paying now in a fight to get it off my credit score
I used a company in Memphis called GoTimeshareFree. It wasn’t cheap but I saved more money than we would have paid if I had stayed in the contract. I wasn’t able to go there enough and I was just wasting money at that point. All timeshare exit companies do is basically the legwork for you. You can do it yourself or hire someone. So if it makes sense for you to outsource that work, then hire a company. Gotimesharefree don’t charge money upfront, you pay after exit. The downside is you’re going to basically do all the work. They’ll give you legal support at its finest tho. Good luck
Yes scammed and my deed got sold without us aware