Time Share Holiday Units

Discussion in 'Holidays & Traditions' started by Kate Ellery, Mar 27, 2021.

  1. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    Has anyone had any experiences with either being involved in or know of others who have been trapped in a time share contract .

    I’m sure lots of members know of the state of Queensland , which is always high on the to do list for any visitors to Australia .
    It has theme parks / water parks / 24 hour a day party venues . High rise buildings ......you name it it has it in parts of Queensland .

    For about 10 years we ventured up to that part of Queensland, however we always stayed in much quieter / low pace area close to the New South Wales border in fact right on-the border.
    If you wished to join the party scene it’s a mater of just jumping on a bus or light rail to get to the hustle and bustle party scenes/ high rise / tourist attractions / theme parks 30 km away
    Surfers paradise
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfers_Paradise,_Queensland

    The area is subtropical meaning it has very mild spring like weather during winter averaging mid to high 20’s
    days ,where South Aust average winter day time temps are about 9- 13 c .

    I saying this each year we went to Qld for a month we’d get hassled by people trying to sell us time share property’s offering us all sorts of bonus local trips for just attending a 2 hour “ brain washing” ( my words )
    session .
    We did this once just to get the no obligation “ free river cruise” that was worth over $100 each .
    What a heavy / pressure session, to get you to pay x amount to sign up and be obligated to keep paying hefty
    fees for maintaining “ your unit “ for 99 years and for that ......you get the privilege of using for one week a year .
    Our session involved paying $38.000 upfront ..then around the $2.000 a year “ to keep it maintained

    The reason I’ve mentioned this yesterday on a current affair ,it had a lady who had divorced her husband
    Many years ago .. ( unit was purchased by the ex after they divorced) So I believe ....

    However he died so they started sending her a bill for his units upkeep
    of almost $10.000 she wasn’t ever aware the unit / time share existed prior to getting the bills

    There has been countless story’s coming out of the woodwork since on what a stressful thing it was to be involved in time share
     
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    Last edited: Mar 27, 2021
  2. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Seems like all that lady would need to do is send them a copy of her divorce papers, clearly dated before the timeshare purchase, and tell them where to stuff their "upkeep." :D

    I have a friend who "owns" a timeshare but I really don't know anything about it. For years they took vacations to the timeshare but they had to work around the schedule so it seemed like a hassle to me.
     
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  3. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    I think with the current affairs tv program getting involved in this story it may result in some action
    I’ll see if I can track the story down ......Think the poor woman was dying of cancer

    @Beth Gallagher

    This is a different story to one I mentioned ******** but in Coolangatta Qld


    https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-...act-ends/d1541b03-d202-4289-9ae0-0144573719b0

    I know and have been I that building several times due to local friends of ours having a TS unit they use there .
    It’s only a Km from where we normally stay ( we rent a unit for a month through a real estate )
    It costs us about $1.800 depending on the unit we rent
     
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    Last edited: Mar 27, 2021
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  4. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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  5. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Time Shares seem to be a nightmare. With all of the consumer protection laws in place (at least here in the states), I don't know how there can be such a thing as a contract that says "We charge what we want" and is non-cancellable, much less the Mafia-like collection tactics.
     
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  6. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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  7. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    Apart from one sales talk we had I know nothing about this subject ....so I’m sure someone out there has a good news story about TS ..I’ve only seen negative reports , so if you have good news stories please share.
    In the last few weeks negative stories have been popping up fairly often , either on current affair or in news stories

    @John Brunner Im truely interested
    Thanks :)
     
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  8. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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  9. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    My apologies for that @Beth Gallagher I must have mis heard that bit
     
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  10. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    No problem, Kate. I think we all agree that his ex-wife should not be responsible for anything to do with that timeshare. She probably should have made sure that her name was removed from that contract at the time of the divorce.
     
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  11. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    Yep it’s a bit like selling a shared home after a separation/ divorce and still being responsible for its upkeep and debts
    Appears that all the T ‘s weren’t crossed and the I’s not dotted in that divorce ......it’s come back to haunt her
     
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  12. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    We had an issue with the lawyers who did our land transfer when we bought this block of land in 2004 .

    I have a super easy name to spell .....my name is Kay but the lawyer never did get my name correct ( she kept adding a E ) and just ended up saying to me just cross the

    E off your name on the transfer papers .:eek::mad:.....I said WHAT aren’t these legal papers ? ?
     
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  13. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I must have worded my response funny, but I do that sometimes.

    I have no good stories to share. Every single story I have ever heard seems to be a nightmare for the poor slob who bought one of these things. That's what I did a poor job of saying: Everyone universally gets screwed by these things, not just people like this woman (whose story is obviously a horrid one.) I don't understand how these things are allowed to exist in the consumer world, because the terms are so unconscionable, and under our laws a business is rightly held to a higher standard than consumers because the business has expertise in the field.

    Over here there are companies dedicated to helping people get out from under these things. You hear their commercials every so often. I have no idea what they do or how much they charge.
     
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  14. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    I like them ......to nothing short of scammers ..they don’t tell you the full story when you sign up
    thank goodness we never fell for their sales talk

    Did you notice the lady who will be about 150 by the time her contract runs out was paying $8 thousand ++ a year
    for the privilege of having (ONE) one WEEK HOLIDAY a year :eek: Darn expensive holiday ...

    and charged $40+ thousand for a renovation ......well we visited our friends who live near us .........in South Australia .

    They have time share at that same building called the beach house , after the Reno was completed , we visited our friends there , my hubby used extra towels to stuff in the windows to try to stop the howling wind/ rain so our friends could sleep without it sounding like a haunted house .

    It has old fashioned steel wind out windows ( floor to ceiling ) and the old rubber seals haven’t been replaced in years


    @John Brunner
    I usually only play games but I’ve got a broken ankle and can’t do allot of standing so I’m exploring the forum more while I’m not able to get out I the garden or do much else that requires standing / walking
    I’ve been a member since 2014 but mainly play games
     
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  15. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I'm sorry to hear about your injury. I've been in the game forum off & on. The notifications of updates to Watched Threads seems to be sporadic, so I forget to go back and "Make a Word" after someone else has responded. I think I've set foot in 3 of the word games then forgotten about them.

    Regarding time shares: a friend died a few years ago and his son was visiting from out of state when he was ill.
    His son told me that his father had signed up for multiple time shares. It seems that when he & his wife traveled and they liked a place, they'd buy a time share there thinking they would be back and the time share was somehow bargain accommodations. Or maybe some people buy them thinking they would like to take more vacations, and having the time share might commitment encourage them to get out of town more often.

    I forget how much money my friend was being bled of every year. The amount was staggering. His son asked me to not say anything; otherwise, I would have told my friend I'd help him unplug from those.
     
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