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UPDATE:
- This case was dismissed July 26, 2021.
Wyndham timeshare owners have filed a class action lawsuit against the company, accusing it of lying to customers about benefits and subjecting them to aggressive marketing tactics to get them to purchase useless points.
In the most recent Wyndham Vacation Resorts class action lawsuit, timeshare owners David and Thea DuBose say the company defrauds customers both before they sign on to a timeshare and after they have already purchased one.
They claim the company touts that the timeshares are offered at attractively low prices and destinations around the world will be available to timeshare owners. However, the customers say that in reality, it is almost impossible to book a stay at one of Wyndham’s destinations, and it would be cheaper to pay cash for a vacation.
The DuBoses are Georgia residents who say they made their purchase of a Wyndham timeshare on June 23, 2016, in Florida.
They say that while they were on vacation in Panama City, Florida, a Wyndham representative offered them a gift card and encouraged them to attend a timeshare sales presentation.
They explain that they were told the meeting would last only 90 minutes, but instead, the meeting lasted almost all day.
Additionally, a Wyndham sales representative was supposedly assigned to sit with them “on a one-on-one basis” throughout their time at the resort.
Allegedly, the company made a range of fraudulent sales pitches, telling the couple they would “never have to pay for another vacation for the rest fo their lives,” and would save tens of thousands of dollars.
They say the representatives told them they would have access to resorts around the world, particularly at the new Rio Mar, Puerto Rico, resort.
The couple goes on to say they were told they would be able to leave their timeshare to their children.
They were also supposedly told they could resell their points or could make money from the points by renting them.
Allegedly, after being made these offers, they were informed that the offers were being made for one day only.
However, the DuBoses say the offers were misleading for a range of reasons.
They state that points expire annually if they go unused, and timeshare owners are charged maintenance fees that increase regularly. Also, significantly, using their Wyndham points is more expensive than booking a vacation through another, non-Wyndham company.
They also state that frequently, many destinations are not available to timeshare owners because most of the resort space is not given to timeshare owners to use.
The Wyndham timeshare false advertising class action lawsuit says these misrepresentations are the same ones fed to many other customers during the timeshare purchasing processes, even after they purchase.
The DuBoses cite complaints made by other customers, including customers who say they were subjected to extensive pushy sales tactics after they purchased their timeshares.
Allegedly, when they visited resort locations, the customers were required to attend “Owner Update” meeting to access certain amenities. They were allegedly told these meetings would last only 90 minutes, when they really lasted all day.
The Wyndham timeshare owners say that instead of mere updates, these meetings were an effort to get timeshare owners to shell out more money for more points or to access various amenities.
Customers say they felt cornered into buying more points and spending more money because the company made concerted efforts to prevent them from leaving the meetings, and made sure the customers had spent a certain amount of time at the meetings to receive benefits.
Previously, the DuBoses filed a class action lawsuit against Wyndham over these claims in Illinois, but it was dismissed because the court determined that the couple lacked jurisdiction in Illinois.
Now, the couple has filed in Delaware and assert that their claims are timely, per the terms of their contract with the company.
This is not the first time Wyndham has faced claims that the company misleads and takes advantage of customers.
In February, customers filed another Wyndham class action lawsuit similar to the DuBoses’.
Have you ever had a timeshare? Did you have a good experience? Tell us in the comments below.
David and Thea DuBose are represented by Herbert Mondros of Margoolis Edelstein; Howard B. Brossnitz of the Law Offices of Howard B. Prossnitz; and Adam Szulczewski.
The Wyndham Timeshare Marketing Tactics Class Action Lawsuit is David DuBose, et al. v. Wyndham Vacation Resorts Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-01118-UNA, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
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404 thoughts onWyndham Timeshare Class Action Lawsuit Alleges High-Pressure Sales Tactics
100% perfect description of our experience. It all started with our 90 min presentation that really took 9 hours. “A mouse, a duck and a dog” is how it started. I havent been able to use my points in years. Either no availability when I can travel, or not enough points to cover even a week. Then I have to borrow from next yr, buy more points or book on my own. Its all lies and they are really good at it.
we would also like to be added to the lawsuit. Me and my husband and children went to Vegas and were swarmed by trolls giving away free casino vouchers, park passes and free hotel stays. The hotel stay was in drug infested area where people were shooting up on the sidewalks and the casino vouchers you had to spend everything on “special machines” just for those vouchers… SKAM! We let the sales people know we were on limited time we only had one free day in our time in Vegas and we wanted to take the kids to the park they said it was a short tour and meet and greet and we would well be on our way before afternoon. ALL DAY I kept saying no thank you anyway we are not interested they kept trying to speak to me and my husband separate. Every-time i insisted we were going to leave they sent a new person to our table. you were hard sales pressed lied to or gray area for interpretation, I dont even know how it happened but here we are with a garbage timeshare that doesn’t benefit us any.I have tried to find places 5 months plus in advance no vacancy. They are not newly renovated as they state, the maintenance fees keep climbing. I want out I tried to back out but only had three days and it was not enough time to get anyone to assist me with that information . The irony is since we purchased this i get two to three calls a week from other companies trying to get me to hire them to sell my worldmark timeshare, or attorney adds on how to get rid of it.
I bought into Wyndham also. I am hearing lies about what I was promised. I want out.
we also were taken by the Wyndham Resorts high pressure sales and false information about the timeshare. I would be interested in joining the class action law suit, if possible.
Please have another suit against Wyndham vacation resort. They scammed me and now they sent me paper. And they want a whole lot of money we didn’t even use it once. Didn’t tell us about all the fees,!
we also feel disappointed paying for products not delivered or living up to expectations. It is cheaper to have a vacation with other providers and you get what they offer. If this was a product you would be able to return – I regret paying every month for Wyndham products NOT able to book the site is the worst in this space – no phone backs on holidays points lost ! they could not provide the products for our dates – we are now going O/S with other providers it included airfares and the resort is the best How can this be resolved to unhappy members to cancel subscriptions ???
We have owned at Wyndham since 1997 and absolutely love it! We have learned to always say NO to invites to the ‘update’ meetings upon check-in and to unplug the phones in our units. It wasn’t always easy to just say no to their insistent staff but the more we did the easier it got to flat out refuse to discuss it – just give me my parking pass and let me be! The maintenance fees over almost 30 years have only increased minimally each year as I would have expected. We are retired and never intend to buy more points at this stage in our life. But with Wyndham we have had great vacations from our home state of NC to Canada, to California, to Florida and up and down the Atlantic coast that we never could have afforded otherwise.
I tell everyone this is a scam pure and simple. You shell out tens of thousands of dollars to purchase points. Then you get maintenance fees that skyrocket over the years to the point that you are paying more for the maintenance fees each year for a non-ocean view location they give “owners” in a resort than the guy off the street pays for their ocean view week as a renter. You must book far in advance since a lot of the resorts keep more rooms for renters than owners available. THEN and I think this is the absolute worst part…every single time you go on vacation (Every Single Resort) before you can go to your room, they high pressure you to attend another sales presentation that they market as owner update. In 20 years that we have owned, it has NEVER EVER been anything other than a super high pressure sales presentation that they drag out for as long as they can. We have even been forced to take the room phone off the hook because if you don’t schedule an “owner update”, they will call and wake you up everyday!!!! We have been screamed at for attending when we said we had no interest in purchasing more points. The representative actually screamed “then why did you come to the presentation?!!!!” No matter what they offer, these “owner updates” are not worth your time! The resorts are usually packed and although extremely nice places, just rent!
This is so true. My mother and father are VICTIMS of this scam. They were there for 10 hours and finally relented and only got half of the information needed to make an educated decision. Needless to say their children are not happy at all. We as informed consumers want and expect the truth. The truth is not in Wyndham’s vocabulary.
I was also lied to on my original contract in November 2019. I was told points never expire, you have access a to places all over the world, your children can inherit this contract, etc. Only after the contract was signed, did they mention maintenance fees that have continued to climb. Covid hit shortly after I purchased this contract. I was contacted by phone and told they were going to start charging $100/night for housekeeping fees but if I took advantage of this special offer, these fees would be waived for life. Our first time using our account was in 2023 for a trip to St. Thomas Margaritaville. It was a lovely trip, but they charged for almost everything, parking, food, tourist tax, no hot tub, had been advertised but told us it was no longer existed, and meetings were mandatory, etc. Our next trips were to competitions in National Harbor and one at the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. The hotel at National Harbor was a major disappointment, indoor pool broken, beds that were hard as rocks, dirty carpets, etc. We were told our competitors could not use the hot tubs because Maryland had a law that no one under 18 was allowed in them. This was an annual Martial Arts competition, we were sitting outside with them, and they were all 15 or older. Still refused to let them use them. Smokey Mountains was gorgeous, but I had just had eye surgery, had a sinus infection and was sick from altitude sickness. I really didn’t want to go but needed to pick up a new book and learn about the new programs. I told them my daughter was there to take notes because I still couldn’t see properly and I was feeling horrible. I was NOT there to buy anything but did want to know how to use points to pay maintenance fees. He asked if I had a Rewards Card and I told him yes, he said I needed a new one even though that one didn’t expire until 2027. He went into the back room, brought out a piece of paper for me to sign (no contract numbers on it) so I signed it and then asked for a check to cover the cost of the card. I told them I hadn’t paid for one before but was told due to Covid that Wyndham had changed their policy. Then he brings out a worksheet on Atlanta and tries to push it on me and I told him NO. I very. very, emphatic about it. He told me to call when the new card came in and he would tell me how to use it. Arrived April 3, I tried for 3 weeks every day and he avoided all calls. I had to reschedule a trip that I had planned to Ft. Myers due to the hurricane that hit and my friend and I decided to meet at Ocean Walk in Daytona. That’s when I found out that he had used my card, put a downpayment over $3,000 on it and used the check I had written out to sign me up for an Atlanta Contract. I was furious. I’m still fighting this injustice. In hindsight, I should have had him arrested but I thought Wyndham would live up to what they preach. What a joke. They have now blocked my points due to nonpayment on the Atlantic account that I never willing signed up for. I’ve contacted numerous people and agencies, and no one is willing to get this straightened out. I’m 75 years old and a retired teacher’s aide. I don’t have money to waste on Wyndham. I told them I would keep my first two mistakes but wanted nothing to do with Atlanta. This was out and out fraud and should be illegal.
We were scammed into this toxic contract as well during our vacation trip at FL in late 2022. We could not use their vacation product at all. The agents lie thru their teeth, very dishonest, misrepresent their features to sell. There were exchange fees and so on at the time of booking. Sales agents promised an expedia like experience with their Travel up site and its wasn’t made available for booking either till date. We got much better deals and using Wyndham one actually loses more money. They couldn’t make a vacation planning more stressful than what they did and i had to just not use them in spite of monthly payments for difficult to use product.
Totally not trustworthy and nobody should walk into these. We made a HUGE mistake signing up and we discovered the horror just few months after we signed the contracts. We cannot get them to cancel yet. Their finance department will harass everyday calling to pay but their certified wyndham exit program has people just saying I cannot exit! Seriously? They pay people to say this. There is a termination clause in the owner’s contract agreement but they refuse to admit and say they cannot apply and am not eligible to terminate or exit. Agents from their recommended and certified 3rd party resellers say its penny a dollar worth, may take a year to sell if at all and till then i have to pay commissions every month to wulyndham! And wyndham will not take back either! So, essentially they will want you to pay off the loan and resell for a huge loss yourself. Now they are threatening foreclosure. So here am who never used a product but forced to pay commissions and keep the contract even if i dont use the product ? This is the most fraudulent product in USA and am amazed they are not sued for chrony and misleading sale pitches duping customers.