TAMPA, FLORIDA — Finn Law Group, P.A., a Florida-based law firm, filed 101 separate but consolidated Consumer Complaints and Requests for Investigation to attorneys general in 17 separate states alleging unlawful timeshare sales methods, use of intimidation, and predatory sales tactics by Wyndham Vacation Ownership Resorts.

In a news release issued on April 18, the law firm notes that “The complaints primarily involve the exploitation of prospective purchasers, including dozens of senior citizens, who were induced to purchase nearly worthless resort interests by Wyndham Vacation Ownership Resort division.” The complaints were also filed separately with the Federal Trade Commission. Each complaint includes an accompanying sworn affidavit from timeshare owners who “outline a systematic series of alleged abuses by Wyndham, all noting similar accounts of the sales and closing practices,” the law firm notes.

According to the complaints, the buyers were “lured” to “seminars” with the promise of getting something free in return, such as theme park tickets or a cruise – if they agreed to attend a 90- minute presentation. Those sales presentations, the law firm claims, often lasted twice that long. “During this presentation, a team of commissioned salespersons applies pre-scripted, psychologically-based sales tactics designed to pressure the consumer to purchase or upgrade a timeshare interest, overcoming the consumers’ objections that they did not want and/or could not afford to own the pitched product,” the complaint alleges.

As part of the sales pitch, the law firm notes, timeshares that were priced anywhere from $20,000 to $115,000 were made to sound more attractive with a promise of the resort’s cooperation in renting or buying back the buyer’s unit at a profit should the buyer ever need to sell or defray their maintenance costs through a rental arrangement. However, the buyers later discovered that the units were “difficult if not impossible to rent or resell,” the law firm notes. “As well, the resort refused to buy the unit back, contrary to another ‘typical’ salesperson’s promise. The units, with few exceptions, have become liabilities and not assets, in large part because of their escalating annual maintenance and assessment costs.”

That last part, the law firm claims, was “not a usual topic of the original sales presentation.” Likewise, the promises made verbally during the sales presentation were excluded from the contract language, which limits the enforceable portion of the contract only to the printed contractual terms.

“And, of course, their contracts make no mention of the salesperson’s ‘promises,’ ” the law firm notes.

“Wyndham will tell you they do not condone unscrupulous sales tactics,” noted attorney Michael D. Finn, principal at Finn Law Group. “But these 101 affidavits, filed under oath, tell quite a different story. These are not isolated events, these are regular deceptive business/sales practices not only supported by Wyndham management, but encouraged.” Finn said Wyndham’s stance has always been that their salespeople are not authorized to lie, and that the purchaser has, in writing, agreed to the terms of the lifetime contract.

As a result, the resort is not contractually obligated to assist the owner if they decide they want to sell. “We have undertaken this action so that justice can finally be served for these victims, many of whom are senior citizens,” Finn added. “These victims are banding together to tell their state consumer protection agencies and the Federal Trade Commission that they are consumers who have been exploited and desperately need legal assistance before their life savings and credit are exhausted by resort membership that they neither want nor can effectively utilize.”

By filing the complaints in 17 states, Finn said, “We hope to entice the FTC and the various attorneys general — several of whom that have received substantial political contributions from the timeshare industry which includes immensely wealthy resort chains like Wyndham — to enforce the deceptive sales and trade practices consumer protection laws that each of these states
have on their books in one form or another.”

Finn Law Group has offices in Florida and Michigan, and has a focus on real estate law. To learn more, log on to www.finnlawgroup.com or call 855-FINN LAW (346-6529).