Rescinding contract - need help - urgent [2011]

hi,

Firstly, I would like to thank the site for the information I learned about TS. I should have read this forum earlier before buying a TS.

i just bought a TS from Westgate Smokey Mountain Resort last June 16 while vacationing. Fall prey to their sales pitch. I still have 5 days left to rescind.

I have some questions though, hope someone could help me asap.

1. Does the 10 days rescind period include weekends?
2. I'm from Canada, would sending it via FedEx, UPS, or DHL certified mail acceptable? since our Canada Post Office Certified mail service is still on strike (can't use this option for now).
3. Should the letter be notarized?
4. Could someone help me get a copy of the rescind letter.

I am getting a lot of stress lately thinking about this and your urgent response is highly appreciated.

thanks,

Mark

1. Does the 10 days rescind period include weekends? Yes

2. I'm from Canada, would sending it via FedEx, UPS, or DHL certified mail acceptable? since our Canada Post Office Certified mail service is still on strike (can't use this option for now).
Follow the instructions EXACTLY - do not use a different service than what is specified. If postal service is specified, be sure to send with some type of return receipt.

3. Should the letter be notarized? If the instructions say to notarize, otherwise, no.


4. Could someone help me get a copy of the rescind letter. I will see if I can find one here. And I will post back.


Do not wait to rescind. Do it now that you are looking into it. There is NEVER a reason to pay retail for a timeshare that you can get for free. And from what I have read, Westgate is particularly difficult to deal with.

Off to find a sample rescission letter for you.

elaine

This is a sample. It is from the sticky on the Starwood forum by DeniseM:

Gentlemen:

Regarding contract "123" for purchase of a timeshare at "ABC" resort. We are exercising our legal right to cancel this contract. We expect a full refund of our deposit of "$123." Do not make any additional charges to my credit card. Please contact me ASAP at (your phone number.)

Sincerely,

John Husband
Jane Wife

This rescission letter should be sent EXACTLY by the means set forth in your contract. I rescinded a Starwood contract several years ago (saving me about $80K - I love TUG) and sent my rescission letter via telegraph. It is extremely difficult to find a telegraph service but it was worth the $80 it cost me to save $80K.

Good luck! And come back to visit. Almost all of us love our timeshares and use them to get wonderful vacations.

elaine

I hope you have that much time to rescind, but most are 5-7 days. Are you sure the contract says 10 days? You need to make sure Westgate signs for the rescission letter at the time of receipt, and you need a copy of it. That's the MOST important thing to have in your possession.

Good luck to you in rescinding. Westgate is FREE on eBay, and they are the same as what you bought.

You are wise to search and find us. Good luck to you.

..."Please contact me ASAP at (your phone number)."

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Uhhh, No. You do not need or want them to call you.

Two issues with asking them to do anything other than cancel+refund:
1. They may claim that it added a condition of your rescission which made it invalid.
B. They will see it as an invite to try to change your mind and talk you to death.

"This rescission letter should be sent EXACTLY by the means set forth in your contract."

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Exactamundo!
Do NOT use telegraph, FedX, UPS, ESP, or any other method of delivery unless expressly authorized in the contract. Certified mail may also present an issue. Sometimes, office staff is not authorized to sign for that. If your service has "delivery confirmation," that does not require a signature, that should be sufficient.

When I receive certified mail, I won't accept it, unless I know its good news (like a check or deed).

off-topic:

I always accept certified mail. In Texas, and I think in most states, the sender is only required to prove that they sent you something, not that you received it. So, if you refuse certified mail, you are in the worst position: they have proof that they have sent it, but you do not know what was sent.

At the same time, I agree that a proof of receipt is what you need, not necessarily certified mail.

elaine

Thank you all for your response.

We got 10 days to rescind based on the contract below...This is what the contract says:

"You may cancel a contract to purchase a time-share interval withing(10) days from the date of the contract, where you have made an on-site inspection of the time-share project before signing the contract, and, if you have not made such an inspection, you may do so by hand delivering notice to the seller within the designated period. Or by mailing notice to the seller (or his agent for service of process) by prepaid United States mail postmarked anytime within the designated period. Notices from purchaser to seller shall be sent to Westgate Resorts, LTD., 2801 old winter garden road, ocoee, florida 34761. The rescission rights set forth herein may not be waived by either the purchaser or developer."

that means i have to drive to Buffalo early morning to mail the rescind letter using USPS.

I couldn't seem to understand what the contract's last sentence means.

Thanks.

that means i have to drive to Buffalo early morning to mail the rescind letter using USPS.

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It's a worthwhile, drive, if you have to do it, but do you really have to come back into the U.S. to mail the document? Doesn't Canada have a return receipt service?

The last sentence means that the rules of recission apply to both purchaser and seller- neither can void a part of the rules. So, your decision to drive to Buffalo is the right one. Even if the Canadian postal service was not on strike, you would have to use USPS. Good luck! Glad you found TUG in time. I did not for my first timeshare, but the next several have been afterwards.

I have a brother in Columbia SC, could I send him a scanned signed rescind letter instead and ask him to USPS (with proof of receipt option) on my behalf? It is not the original letter though but the contract says nothing about it to be an original letter.

Thanks.

Do you really want your brother to know that you bought a timeshare from a developer? Do what you must, but I'd drive to Buffalo. Small price to save thou$and$.

Jim Ricks

P.S. After you get hour deposit back, c'mon back and learn how to have those great vacations the Wastegate folks promised you for pennies on the dollar.

1amc00l said:

I have a brother in Columbia SC, could I send him a scanned signed rescind letter instead and ask him to USPS (with proof of receipt option) on my behalf? It is not the original letter though but the contract says nothing about it to be an original letter.

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I would not assume that to be acceptable.
And if your brother has an accident on the way to the post office?

The contract says: "...by prepaid United States mail postmarked anytime within the designated period..." IOW, a Canadian postmark won't cut it, and who knows when it'll be delivered.

I would drive to Buffalo to be sure to get a U.S. postmark on it.

With the amount of money at risk I would not assume that a copy would be accceptable.

You might consider an overnight pacakage of the original letter to your brother to then mail it by certified mail saving the trip to a US Post office Box.

You can only control when it is tended to the post office, delivery and acceptance is out of your control, so the recision contract can only require a mailing standard

YMMV

Did you pay by credit card???

If you did:
call the credit card company on MONDAY AM - tomorrow

Cancel the card itself and ask for issuance of a new one. I don't believe they can just cancel the one charge, but you can ask.

Good Luck.

1amc00l said:

Thank you all for your response.

We got 10 days to rescind based on the contract below...This is what the contract says:

"You may cancel a contract to purchase a time-share interval withing(10) days from the date of the contract, where you have made an on-site inspection of the time-share project before signing the contract, and, if you have not made such an inspection, you may do so by hand delivering notice to the seller within the designated period. Or by mailing notice to the seller (or his agent for service of process) by prepaid United States mail postmarked anytime within the designated period. Notices from purchaser to seller shall be sent to Westgate Resorts, LTD., 2801 old winter garden road, ocoee, florida 34761. The rescission rights set forth herein may not be waived by either the purchaser or developer."

that means i have to drive to Buffalo early morning to mail the rescind letter using USPS.

I couldn't seem to understand what the contract's last sentence means.

Thanks.

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There is nothing here that specifies certified mail and nothing that specifies a certain form or wording to rescind. And even if you mail it in Canada. it will be the USPS that gets it to the US address. so I wouldnt worry about a drive to Buffalo. I would want some proof of delivery however. I dont think an original signature is needed. a fax or email re sent from the us ought to work. Just make sure the contract number, date of sale and location of sale is clearly spelled out...I would include a copy of the contract in the package to be sure they know exactly which contract they are dealing with/

Although the advice here is good advice ie follow the rescission paragraph in your contract exactly. and I guess the drive to Buffalo will be necessary if you are going to do that..... you could save a little gas money and time, Overnight it to me or someone in the US you know and trust and they can mail it from here.

I would however track down the folks that work at Westgate Resorts, LTD., 2801 old winter garden road, ocoee, florida 34761. and let them know its coming, and call every few hours to confirm that they received it. I would also ask for the email address and fax number of that office and send a duplicate by email and fax

My advice is of course, rescind, Do it right, but dont worry. My experience was with Wyndham, not Westgate, They had already started working on the rescission on the strength of our email, before they received the certified mail. It is their job to process rescissions, and they do it well. At Wyndham they were a pleasure to deal with (contrary to the sales staff) and we got our money back quickly....Then I bought the same thing for a dollar on ebay

Cancelling a CC is overkill and can adversely affect your credit rating if the effect is to raise your debt-to-credit ratio or lower the average age of your accounts.

You need to deal with your CC account only if they fail to credit your account before your next statement. If its a Canadian credit card, you'd use your rights to dispute a CC charge under Canadian law. Here in the U.S., you must do so in writing within 60 days after it appears on a statement. These rights are typically spelled out in the fine-print on the back-side of the statement.

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Just make sure that your letter includes:
-- Your full names;
-- The date of your visit or contract;
-- The contract identifying number#;
-- A brief description of unit purchased;
-- An unambiguous 'notice' of rescission;
-- A request for refund or credit to the CC used; and
-- Your signature and that of any other named buyer.

If they call, do not answer or just say, "I want out, period."

Until they insert a clause that says, "Use of the phrase, 'I want out,' shall mean 'I want to buy your crappy TS'," you'll be okay.

I'll probably do a lot of what you guys are suggesting. I'll drive down to Buffalo early morning and mail the rescind letter, fax them a copy, and send them an email as well. Wouldn't hurt to try other options.

Has anyone dealt with Westgate regarding rescinding process? What means were done apart from the mailed letter and how fast have they acted on the request.

Any thoughts?

1amc00l said:

I'll probably do a lot of what you guys are suggesting. I'll drive down to Buffalo early morning and mail the rescind letter, fax them a copy, and send them an email as well. Wouldn't hurt to try other options.

Has anyone dealt with Westgate regarding rescinding process? What means were done apart from the mailed letter and how fast have they acted on the request.

Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

Take 2 copies with you and two envelopes. One copy is sent USPS (U.S. Postal Service) Certified Mail with the "Certified Mail and its number written on the left margin side under the signature and under that write "Regular Mail". The Certified Number info will allow you to track its progress. The other copy with the "Certified Mail xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx" id along with in the same spot and "Regular Mail" written under that and checked.

USPS Certified Mail is sent by the sender in two letters with the exact same info. Receivor then can't say that they didn't get it.

It is the date sent THIS WAY which is what the called date of service. Keep the Green Receipt which will be stamped by post office - that is your proof. Keep the cash receipt also - as that will have the certified number on it also.

That is about it. Good luck.

Good point...I totally agree having 2 sets and mailing them both.

I signed the TS contract on June 16, 2011 and based on my contract I have 10 days to rescind (6 days left), If I mail the letter tom (June 20th) hoping it reaches them on time, where will the 10days be based? on their receipt? or as soon as I mailed it with certified mail and proof of receipt?

Thanks.

Date of certified mailing.

But do NOT WAIT even 1 (one) day or delay by one day! Many persons end up owning something because LIFE gets in the way (the unplanned life stuff - car accidents, work, 9/11, strikes, illness, etc).

So go to the states TOMORROW!

The post office will give you a receipt that has a date stamp on it...
That is the postmark date and your proof of mailing within the ten-day period.

USPS also offers a "delivery confirmation" service which is a step below certified.
You can use it for regular mail, as it shows that an envelope was dropped at an
address, but no one is asked to sign for it. The clerk can explain it to you.

I am making progress....I have completed making my rescind letter. I am attaching a copy of the contract as well.

Is there anything else I need to include in the mail?

I know I need to return the package they gave me as well or they'll charge me for it...should I then send it to them together with the letter?

Also, from how I understand, the contract in my earlier post does not say any refund? Would that mean I'm not getting anything back?

Thanks.

1amc00l said:

Also, from how I understand, the contract in my earlier post does not say any refund? Would that mean I'm not getting anything back?

Thanks.

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Cancelling the contract within the rescind period returns both parties to the same condition as if the was NO CONTRACT ever written. Demand ALL monies to be returned to you (via credit card was the original deposit made?).

Send their material back via any cheap method that you can track to assure and prove its delivery. Your actual rescind letter needs to be as simple and clear as possible. Period.

1amc00l said:

I am making progress....I have completed making my rescind letter. I am attaching a copy of the contract as well.

Is there anything else I need to include in the mail?

I know I need to return the package they gave me as well or they'll charge me for it...should I then send it to them together with the letter?

Also, from how I understand, the contract in my earlier post does not say any refund? Would that mean I'm not getting anything back?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Don't mess with or worry about the big box of docs - they will not charge you and most likely never ask for the return. If they do then as suggested use the cheapest way possible.

Just be SURE to rescind tomorrow. Wastegate is the worst group in timeshare to deal with in sales and management. Other than that - they're fine . When you are ready to get a resale you may want to reconsider if Wastegate is even the right place to own at all.

Glad you saw the light in time. Good luck.

I just mailed 3 letters (certified mail with delivery confirmation) to the address mentioned in the cancellation clause.

1st letter - express (next day) mailed to the attention of their sales office in Florida. Reason being, that i may call them tom to verify if they got and accept my rescind letter and if there are concerns.

2nd letter - certified mail with delivery confirmation to their Westgate office in Florida.

3rd letter - to the lawyer who I dealt with during my closing at Westgate Tennessee.

Here is what I wrote in the envelope. I used the address mentioned in the clause and added my contract no.

WESTGATE RESORTS, LTD.
2801 OLD WINTER GARDEN ROAD
OCOEE, FLORIDA 34761
Contract No. #########

Has anyone dealt with Westgate? Do they give you a hard time in not accepting your cancellation letter due to technicalities (or simple mistakes).

Having done all the mailing, I hope they don't come back and say I did not do it correctly. I still got 4 days left and so if I did not do it right, please correct me and I'll drive back to Buffalo to mail it again:

Here is the content of my letter:


June 20, 2011

Westgate Resorts, LTD.
2801 Old Winter Garden Rd.
Ocoee, FL 34761

RE: CANCELLATION OF CONTRACT ####################
To Whom It May Concern:

We ___________ and _____________ are exercising our legal right to rescind or cancel our contract signed on June 16, 2011 to purchase the Time Share accommodations known as WESTGATE SMOKY MOUNTAIN RESORT at 915 Westgate Resorts Road at Gatlinburg Tennessee.

Contract ###############
Bldg/Unit; ###############
All Season – ################
Week: #, #
Address of Time Share Plan: 915 Westgate Resorts Road, Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738

We expect a full refund of our deposit of "USD $#####" in the credit card sale of down payment. Do not make any charges to my credit card.

CC of letter will be sent certified mail to the following:

Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort - Financial Services
915 Westgate Resorts Road, Gatlinburg,
Tennessee 37738

Kathryn R. Baggett
915 Westgate Resorts Road, Gatlinburg,
Tennessee 37738

We ARE in compliance with the 10-day grace period, and having sent this via certified mail, we are no longer owners of this property and the deed/contract is officially null and void.

Please note we maintain our rights under Tennessee Code Annotated 52-13-312, that we may file a complaint with the Tennessee Real Estate Commission located at 500 James Robertson Pkwy, Nashville, TN 37243-1151 if our specific instructions above are not completed in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Thanks once again.