Unwanted timeshare.....

TheGMan

Can someone please give me some advice on this please? My partners M&D have a timeshare. They've not used it since 2015 and it's unlikely to be used again by them. They want to get rid of it as it costs about £2000 a year. Anyway, my partner saw a firm advertising that they were experts in Timeshare Relinquishment (Carl James Associates LTD) and contacted them. She asked me to read it; I'm more skeptical than her, they want payment £3000 + VAT on or before: 14 days after the signature of the agreement (so really, payment up front before the relinquishment of timeshare) Alarm bells rang so I googled and saw the Daily Mirror ad from earlier this year which alarmed me. They have a 5 star rating on Google reviews though but can't find anything on Trustpilot.

Has anyone had any dealings with them? Are they legit?  If not, what can be done about their timeshare? They no longer want the timeshare. I understand it was their choice but I don't get the bit about it being inherited when the time comes. How can you pass something down to someone who was just a child at the time and wouldn't have had ANY say what-so-ever in the purchase of the timeshare? In fact, they probably wouldn't have understood it as they were just a child at the time their M&D signed up?

Any help very much appreciated. Cheers

missile

You cannot be forced to accept an inheritance.
If I were you I would not sign with anyone who wants paid up front.
Where is the timeshare. Have you contacted them. You may find they have an owners forum, where you can get advice specific to your property and hopefully find someone interested in buying it.

TELLIT01

DO NOT PAY UPFRONT FEES.  Sorry for shouting.   Nobody can be forced to accept an inheritance but, until the timeshare situation is resolved following the death of the owner, the executor will not be able to finalise the estate.

Probably the largest forum for timeshare owners is TUG.NET.  It's USA focussed but certainly used to have a large number of owner in the UK and Europe - I was a member until we got out of timeshare ownership some years ago.  In our case we managed to buy our way out of the system by paying the equivalent of 4 years maintenance fees.  Not everybody has that amount of spare cash floating about!

jonesMUFCforever

I totally agree - don't pay a penny upfront. It will be like putting the money in the bin. They will do nothing or ultimately tell you that there is nothing they can do.
Who ultimately owes the timeshare? - try to deal with them about getting rid of the timeshare.

TheGMan

Thanks for the good advice guys, I've told the wife that they need to contact the timeshare people and explain their situation. Not sure exactly who it is - I'll ask the wife and report back here. I think it might be Starwood Vacation Ownership (which I believe is now called Vistana Signature Experiences) I know we've stayed at the Sheraton in Orlando a few times.

Grogan72

Does anyone have any experience with TUG.NET? Are they helpful if you want to stop paying annual fees? We have always paid on time, but for various reasons need to stop the timeshare altogether.  We would be grateful for any advice. Thanks.

jonesMUFCforever

Grogan72 said:

Does anyone have any experience with TUG.NET? Are they helpful if you want to stop paying annual fees? We have always paid on time, but for various reasons need to stop the timeshare altogether.  We would be grateful for any advice. Thanks.

Plenty of advice available on Google.

TELLIT01

Grogan72 said:

Does anyone have any experience with TUG.NET? Are they helpful if you want to stop paying annual fees? We have always paid on time, but for various reasons need to stop the timeshare altogether.  We would be grateful for any advice. Thanks.

TUG.net is, or at least used to be, a forum for timeshare owners.  Although predominantly USA based they had many members who live in the UK and Europe.  They will be able to offer advice and suggestions based on their own experience, but they can't be any direct help in getting payments stopped. 

Every timeshare company is different in the way they treat people who want to terminate their contract.  Where is the timeshare and which company?  Have you contacted the company with a view to relinquishing ownership and if so what has their response been?

Grogan72

Both timeshares are in the US, one in Florida other in Hilton Head. The Florida one have said it is ours and we are to get rid of it, nothing they can do.  The Hilton Head one required a letter why we want to relinquish it which we sent them. Their reply was that there was nothing they could do.  We were told on purchase that as we lived in the UK just stop paying and they would not bother as they had enough to deal with in the States. We have always paid on time every year and think none payment is definitely not the way to go and would like to terminate things correctly. A reliable UK company would be brilliant to handle thing, but where are they?

Archergirl

Are they up to date with the fees? Sometimes you can sell them on Ebay for £1 the buyer pays for the paperwork to be done.
People still want timeshare in the USA if they can get them cheap. We were lucky we owned with Westgate and they bought it back for the equivalent of one years maintenance.

TELLIT01

Some timeshare companies used to have the right to veto sales if they think the purchaser is unsuitable for any reason.  Years ago attempts were made to set up companies purely to purchase unwanted timeshares for minimal amounts and then close the company down.  That resulted in reduced income for the t/s companies and they weren't happy :-)