It seemed like a good idea at the time. The timeshare sales agent was very persuasive and it all sounded good to you. But then, after you had signed the sheaf of legal papers to make the timeshare your own, the doubts began to cloud your mind. Deceptions and lies were discovered. Inequalities seen. Perhaps hardships were experienced. Whatever the reason, you desperately want – no, need – to be rid of your timeshare contract.

You are not alone in your quest. Many people are experiencing the feeling of being trapped into a timeshare under circumstances that they cannot control. Following is a listing of some of the thousands of stories that we at the Aaronson Law Firm have heard over the past few years. The stories below depict actual notes from prospective clients who were experiencing their own timeshare nightmare. Do you see yourself among them?

• “Their maintenance fees doubled after the company was acquired by another resort. We can’t sell it because they fail in their fiduciary duty to “owners” by reducing the value of the membership with ever escalating maintenance fees and poor maintenance of their properties. If we don’t pay the fees we’ll be turned over to a collection agency and our credit will suffer. You quickly find that there is no value in the timeshare properties. They simply bilk their members for the ever increasing fees. I NEED OUT!!!”

• “When we purchased our timeshare the sales rep told us we would be able to have him rent out our timeshare for us and we could make money off of it. Our plan was to use that money as extra income as well as help to pay off the timeshare. I have been trying to contact the sales rep for over a month and have been unable to. The only reason we decided to pay was we had the option to make some money off of it by renting it. After looking online I’m not even sure if that is allowed for them to rent it out for us. The mortgage and maintenance fees are a strain on our budget.”

• “We purchase our unit in 1998 and have since completely paid it off. We are in our 70s and have no extra income to pay such an huge Maintenance Fee. We have contacted the company about what options are available to us about getting out of this contract. We recently received a Notice of Intent to Record a Claim of Lien and Proceed with Foreclosure Letter. We can’t use this timeshare and we just aren’t as healthy as we once were.”

• “I have had a timeshare for several years. Two years ago I was told by a timeshare sales rep that if I would upgrade to Gold status my maintenance fees would be frozen and would never go up. Needless to say, another Lie. I am 70 years old and on a fixed income. I also financed the last points I purchased. Going where you want to go is almost impossible. I found out a few years ago that there were no units available at one of their timeshares. Looking on the internet I found that there was plenty of availability if you wanted to rent one directly from the resort. I would like out of my contract as well as the loan.”

• “I was definitely tricked into the timeshare. I told them I had lost my job and they said it wouldn’t matter. I realize that I have lost about $10000 on this deal but I do not want to continue to go in the hole. I am paying $177 a month @%20 interest plus $60 a month maintenance fees. Have never used a single point. Just keep paying. Can’t get the payoff on the high interest loan because they have put bad marks on my credit… Please help.”

• “We attempted to use our points once, had to cancel and lost those points so never used anything. We want to know if it is possible to get out from under this, and if so what it would cost? We faced the typical high pressure sales pitch and they made it sound like we were making an investment that we could re-sell in the future. Now we realize that after $4,000 it is still worthless. We want out of the payments and monthly fees without it crushing our credit and being faced with collections and such.”

• “We have a timeshare and were flat out lied to when we signed up. We were told that we could sell our timeshare back or our children could, for 20% of the purchase price, etc. I just sat through an hour long “owners workshop” where we were then put into a high pressured sales pitch to move our current membership over to a “trust”. He told me that the timeshare developer does NOT have to buy back our timeshare and that basically our terms can change at any time. He told us that our maintenance fees WILL rise 5-7% per year compounded unless we buy into this “trust” and spend more money. We were told that our kids WILL be responsible for paying the timeshare if something happens to us and if they are unable, they will have a foreclosure on their record. I am beyond upset. I was flat out lied to. I need help getting out of this.”

• “While on vacation in Law Vegas, a friend and I purchased a Westgate timeshare on a Thurs evening. A few hours later we looked through the paperwork provided and our contract was not in there. We contacted the timeshare sales agent and she said she would mail it, which we thought was suspicious since we were still in Las Vegas and could have picked it up. That Monday, we contacted our loan officer through the developer and informed them that we no longer wanted the property. She informed us that she would begin the paperwork process. She told us we would receive a second offer and that if we didn’t want it, to not respond to the email, which we did not. A week passed and I heard nothing, but received a call saying my payments could not be processed. I informed then that I had asked to cancel the purchase and they said they had nothing on file. I called the loan officer who said she completed all she needed to and asked if I had mailed forms back included in my contract. I informed her that she was supposed to mail it and she then told me that it was in a hidden compartment in the binder she sent me. When I reviewed the contract, it said I had five days from the signing of the contract to cancel. I have only paid $300 and the remainder of the balance of the deposit was to be made in two bank drafts. I closed my account, so they have received no additional payments. I am wanting to know if I am still able to get out of this as I initiated the process but was not given all needed information to complete it.”

• “I own points through my timeshare resort. I initially bought 2500 points and found out quickly that this wouldn’t allow for much of a vacation, so they talked me into purchasing an additional 2500 points. This still isn’t enough to have a real vacation. The maintenance fees went up after I purchased the second set of points and they continue to increase every year. I owe about 15k on the “mortgage” @ 12% and would like to get out. We haven’t used the timeshare enough or been pleased when we did.”

• “I have a timeshare on which I owe nothing on the contract and I am current on my dues. I want to get out of the contract because I am not able to use my points, everything is always unavailable, yet shows available on the internet if you pay cash. I had originally contacted an attorney and had a retainer contract that I did not sign. I took it to a timeshare exit company and they told me that the attorney would not be able to complete the transaction and I should use their service instead. I now find they are using the exact same attorney and have charged me triple the rate quoted originally. When I called the the exit company on this issue, they immediately offered me a full refund. Now I have wasted 90 days, paid an additional set of maintenance fees, and am without an attorney to finish the process. What are my new options?”

• “My husband and I purchased our timeshare in Branson in 2010 and have regretted it ever since. The timeshare is paid for, but, as you know, the maintenance fees are ridiculous. Every time we go to Branson, we have to call the front desk at all hours of the night because we can’t sleep due to thin walls. We can hear every sound coming from the rooms next to us. This happens every single time. Of course, we were told during our presentation that the rooms were sound proof and well insulated. We want to get rid of it, but don’t know how.”

• “My wife and I are currently trying to get out of a contract and mortgage signed in April 2014 with a timeshare resort in Branson, MO. We have had several personal family issues happen in the past year including an addition to our family. The sale representative, a manager, led us to believe when signing the contract that if any issues occurred in the future that we could easily get out of our contract and payments. This has not been the case after multiple phone calls to the timeshare resort. We are now several months behind in payments and have been receiving letters threatening foreclosure. I have approached the developer with an option of a warranty deed in lieu of foreclosure and they have not responded. What would our next step need to be? We can not afford to keep paying this timeshare and we don’t want to ruin our credit.”

• “You have heard our story many times. We were vacationing in Sedona AZ last Feb., went to a sales presentation and bought points with a timeshare resort. It was (as always) many hours of high pressure sales. Later, we learned that we were told many lies and important information was not given to us. My husband and I are well educated and usually quite wise. We can not believe that we were so trusting and fell for this. We paid $23, 490 for the point sand later almost $2,000 for maintenance fees. This is a nightmare. When we started to gather info on-line, we learned that we truly had made a horrible mistake and that there was no way to undo this. We read on-line that because we are over 75 years old, we may be able to do a “voluntary surrender” to get out of this, but it is painful to think that our ignorance caused such a loss of money. My question for you is: have you even been able to get any of the money back for your clients or do I need to just give up almost $24,000?”

• “We are Canadians with a timeshare in Orlando that we want to get out of. The timeshare was the biggest mistake of our lives and we need to know how to get rid of it. We need to know what the consequences are if we just stop paying for the timeshare and the maintenance fees. We don’t want them to get anymore of our hard earned money. Can you please advise us?”

Do you see yourself in one or more of the scenarios listed above? Do you find yourself in need of competent legal representation to help you cancel your timeshare? For more information about cancelling your timeshare, please read our 5-part blog entry entitled Is It Possible For Me To Cancel My Timeshare Contract?

The attorneys of the Aaronson Law Firm stand ready to help you build a strong case for the cancellation of your timeshare. Let them bring the proper level of legal pressure to bear to bring about the cancellation of your timeshare contract. If necessary, they are able and willing to go to litigation to help secure a positive outcome for your case. Contact them today for your free consultation – it’s not too late!