Vidanta offers exit strategy from timeshare treadmill?

[r_metta]

I wouldn’t pay them upfront to do anything. That’s a major hallmark of a fraud. If he can sell it for that much, he can take his fee out of the proceeds. Wouldn’t hold my breath, though.

I’ve posted a few times about the trade in agreements for timeshares there. IIRC, these guys have an upcharge for a Mexican RTU one, too. You’re probably better off just giving it away or stopping paying.

To stop paying would be pretty negative on my credit. There has to be a better alternative.

 

[r_metta]

Wow, this is all sobering and disturbing advice, folks.
Considering we bought the bulk of our Worldmark shares only two years ago and still owe $38,000 on the note, is there really no way to exit from this commitment and the associated MFs? It’s not like we’ve already received, used, and benefited from what we bought. Worldmark already got our downpayment and MFs to date, and we are in good standing. Shouldn’t there be an exit clause for these TMs? Has this whole phenomenon never been tested in a class action lawsuit?

Alternative 1: The consensus seems to be that our WM shares are worthless, and that our only real exit is to cut our losses by selling on eBay for $1 and hope someone takes over the payments. We lose all money paid thus far, having gotten in return only the few weeks of vacation we’ve already taken.
Alternative 2: Learn to use our WM credits better, i.e., vacationing with WM when we can, re-selling the desirable reservations we manage to make but don’t have time to use ourselves, and straight up selling excess credits we have accumulated.
Alternative 3: Risk the Vidanta option. Honestly, what Vida proposed sounds to us preferable to owning WM (because our loan amount remains almost the same, we stay at 5-star Vidanta every couple of years, we re-sell some Vidanta peak weeks on-line, and/or trade into Registry Collection or SFX.) HOWEVER, some of you seem quite confident that Vidanta is essentially lying to us and that the reseller TRM (Timeshare Resale Market, formerly Equity Acquisitions) will not be able to sell our WM, will come back asking for lots more money, or leave us still owing for both the loan payments and the MFs.

T-Dot wrote: "Vida /Grupo Vidanta/ Mayan has a long history of doing "trade ins" and there is a (long) fall 2015 Tug thread that includes some info of positive outcomes --see<.Dr Guy a Grand Luxxe owner says his did -Nov 11 2015- post 22 Thread Purchased Grand Luxxe - started by Seema who also purchase GL with a trade in >" ​

Notwithstanding the horror stories from year’s past, I can’t help wondering if in recent years Vida and TRM business practices have improved and there is a positive outcome for more people? The way Vida explained to us, their recent partnership with Cirque du Soleil (one of the most recognized and well-regarded brands out there) forced Vida to resolve many former issues and avoid them in the future.

I have a call directly with TRM and they seem to think we are in contract (evidently they never received notice that I had rescinded?), so I’ll be interested to hear their pitch and explanation of what’s ahead.

I'm also curious what it is that makes you say, Bizaro, that we won't be happy anyway... :

Go2Guy - what did you end up doing?? Were you able to get out of our Windham or just kept it and paid the loan? Did you renegotiate your contract with Vidanta?

 

[rpennisi]

r_metta,
Go2Guy hasn't written on this thread since August, 2017. You might be better off trying a PM to find out what he did.

 

[Moxie847]

I am new to this website and having trouble finding information. I am a Grand Mayan owner and recently attended a presentation where I agreed to upgrade to a one bedroom and part of the payment was trading in my timeshare with Sheraton Bouganvilias. I was told there would be a transfer fee of about $1800. I was prepared to pay the fee to get rid of the Sheraton timeshare as the maintenance fee must be paid regardless of whether I use the week or not.

I was contacted by Janice at Timeshare Resale Marketing and she is offering me a second option which seems fishy making me question the whole deal now. She says if I pay about $4,800 up front, I get to keep my Sheraton unit and will have assistance in selling it, so I keep the equity.

Vedanta gave me credit in the amount of $14,900 for me to use Sheraton as a trade in (like trading in an old car for buying a new one). So then how can I now sell the unit and keep the difference between what the Sheraton sells for and the $4800 fee???

If I pay the $1800, will I really end my liability and ownership of the Sheraton unit?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[LannyPC]

Don't fall for either of these ploys. We hear of these scams or bad deals all the time. With the trade-in one, what they usually get you to do is buy an overpriced one and then they tell you that they don't want your current one so you end up owning two.

As for Timeshare Resale Marketing, that would be a scam because they are asking for $4800 upfront.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

I am new to this website and having trouble finding information. I am a Grand Mayan owner and recently attended a presentation where I agreed to upgrade to a one bedroom and part of the payment was trading in my timeshare with Sheraton Bouganvilias. I was told there would be a transfer fee of about $1800. I was prepared to pay the fee to get rid of the Sheraton timeshare as .....

If I pay the $1800, will I really end my liability and ownership of the Sheraton unit?

Thanks for any advice.

Probably -
basically you are paying $ 1800 so that Timeshare Resale Marketing can put it on ebay and sell it
for $1 or so .It will likely sell - since Sheraton Buganvilas PV is a decent / good location TS in PV .

HOWEVER .
1) Vidanta would give you the same price for your upgrade without the trade in . The trade in was simply a way to convince you to buy . More than one TUG post confirms this .

2) You could probable get rid of it for less than $1800 using TUG bargain sub forum or TUG Marketplace

3) If you decide to dispose of the Sheraton B. yourself - contact Vidanta Member Service and they will
confirm cancellation of the agreement with TRM . They can also confirm by email the net price for the upgrade remains what you paid . Assuming you are past day 5 , the purchase contract upgrade to a one bedroom is legally valid . The general detail of this are also confirmed in more than one prior TUG post .

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Vedanta gave me credit in the amount of $14,900 for me to use Sheraton as a trade in (like trading in an old car for buying a new one). So then how can I now sell the unit and keep the difference between what the Sheraton sells for and the $4800 fee???

Those are just numbers on a piece of paper. Follow the money. When deals have moving pieces and start to get confusing, the only way to really understand what's going on is to follow the money. Always follow the path of the money, not the path of the words.

Let's say Vidanta wrote this up with a selling price of $54,900 with $14,900 "trade-in" for your Bouganvillas, for a "net sales price" of $40,000. They then passed you off to Timeshare Resale Marketing for supposed disposal of the Bouganvillas ownership.

Now follow the money.

• Vidanta:

When Vidanta passed you off to Timeshare Resale Marketing they dropped out of the picture. Vidanta gets the $40,000 from you, and that is their end of the transaction. What happens between you and Timeshare Resale Marketing does not affect them in the least. So they have no concern as to whether you keep any of the "equity" from your sale.

Vidanta: +$40,000
You: -$40,000​

• Timeshare Resale Marketing

TRM is a bit trickier because we don't know if that $1800 initial price was actually a legitimate transfer of ownership or just an agreement to sell the timeshare for you. Meaning that if they can't sell it, you would still own it.

Let's look at their two options. I'm also going to assume that you are current on your maintenance fees; otherwise you may have to pay those before you can transfer to TRM. And if TRM is willing to "take ownership" with fees not current, it's almost certain they aren't really taking ownership.

TRM Option 1: Let's be generous and assume it's a legitimate transfer of ownership, and they are willing to take on ownership because they know they can sell it for some nominal sum - say $200 after expenses (and that's probably close to what it will sell for - maybe less than that).

TRM: +$2,000
You: -$1800
​

TRM Option 2: Now they are offering to not take over ownership, do marketing perhaps, and collect $4800 for the privilege of letting you keep a timeshare that is worth about $200. Let's be generous and assume they spend $100 marketing the timeshare, probably at a price that isn't going to attract any offers.

TRM: +$4,700
You: -$4600 (assuming you get the $200 from selling the Bouganvillas)
​

Does this help sort things out? Vidanta doesn't care one whit what happens with your Bouganvillas. Doesn't affect them at all. Vidanta's sales price, in my example was $40,000. They marked it up to $54,900 so they could give you a "trade-in value" that made you feel like you were getting some value out of your existing ownership.

TRM is making you that second offer, expecting you to think the Bouganvillas will sell for something near Vidanta's purported trade-in value, so you'll come out money ahead. As you can see, that second offer is much more lucrative for them.

​

 

[taffy19]

I am new to this website and having trouble finding information. I am a Grand Mayan owner and recently attended a presentation where I agreed to upgrade to a one bedroom and part of the payment was trading in my timeshare with Sheraton Bouganvilias. I was told there would be a transfer fee of about $1800. I was prepared to pay the fee to get rid of the Sheraton timeshare as the maintenance fee must be paid regardless of whether I use the week or not.

I was contacted by Janice at Timeshare Resale Marketing and she is offering me a second option which seems fishy making me question the whole deal now. She says if I pay about $4,800 up front, I get to keep my Sheraton unit and will have assistance in selling it, so I keep the equity.

Vedanta gave me credit in the amount of $14,900 for me to use Sheraton as a trade in (like trading in an old car for buying a new one). So then how can I now sell the unit and keep the difference between what the Sheraton sells for and the $4800 fee???

If I pay the $1800, will I really end my liability and ownership of the Sheraton unit?

Thanks for any advice.

Moxie847, please listen to the advice you received from LannyPC, T-Dot-Traveller and T_R_Oglodyte. Try to sell your Buganvilias yourself here on TUG or on eBay. Your transfer fees will be a lot less and can be done by contacting member services at the resort once you have found a buyer. The staff is very helpful there.

We were staying at the Buganvilias Club last week and owners still sell their contracts to other owners or guests right around the pool area because people sit and often talk to each other. Many come year after year so get to know each other. The contracts do not sell for much but you don't have to spend an outrageous amount for the transfer fee or the upfront fee of $4,800 and keep your equity because there is no equity. Sad but true.

Do you still have time to rescind your upgrade at the Grand Mayan or negotiate for a better deal like T-Dot-Traveller recommended?

What exactly do you own at the Sheraton Buganvilias? In what tower are you? How many years are left on your contract and is it a floating or fixed week/unit? All this information has to be mentioned in your ad when you post it here on Tug or on eBay too.

 

[Eric B]

Think back to the confirmation phone call you had with the corporate sales folks from member services when you bought with Vidanta. They didn’t ask you about trading in a TS. The actual contract you have doesn’t mention it either. And no one from TRM signed the agreement, did they? You have no obligation to pay TRM anything and Vidanta will be happy to cancel that “agreement” if you contact member services. Been there, done that. You can give away the Buganvilias contract on TUG if you no longer want it; there is just a $250 transfer fee with Buganvilias to do so.

 

[Moxie847]

Thank you all very much! I love this website. Just joined yesterday and I feel like I am now in the driver’s seat of this situation. Appreciate the information and advice. I will now stop the bleeding and start being a smart timeshare user!