Please Help! DH agreed to listen to a timeshare spiel.

[2MuchOhana]

DH agreed to listen to a timeshare spiel for the Hilton before consulting with me. Since we are married I would be required to go. There is no way I am going to agree to buying one from them nor would I have ever agreed to do it.

We have already been billed the $110.39 for the hotel stay. He agreed to listen to it verbally over the phone without all the facts being disclosed. Get this they called him at work and all the letter was sent to him there. According to the letter he received it is non transferable or refundable. I would be required to go to it. Additional fees may apply. It must be booked within 45 days or in addition to the paid in full hotel fee they would charge another $50. If you cancel 14 days or sooner they will charge another $120.

My question is are we automatically out that money? Is there anyway to dispute it since I clearly did not give my consent and would be required to go? or do we have to sit through the two hour spiel with our 3 year old in tow in order to not be out the money?

Is there anyway out without losing money? If not what would you do? Would you go? Or would you cut your loses now?

Thanks for your help!

Jodi

 

[mudnuri]

Geez Jodi I'm not sure!

Is there any "fine print"??? Of course- your DH could always say "my wife is unable to attend"...then he'd be out of going???

Brandy

 

[hydster]

Can you call your credit card company and deny that you gave them permission to charge your card and your husband was "duped" into it?? It might be worth a shot. Good luck and I hope you get it worked out soon! I HATE those things!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

When you say "you've been billed"- what exactly have they done? Did they send a letter with a bill or did he put it on a credit card? Has he signed anything? If not, all they really have is an oral agreement and I think it would be really hard to enforce.

If it is on a Credit Card, I would call them to see if they will assist in getting the charge removed.

Otherwise, I sometimes hear of state laws that always give buyers a certain time period to rescind an agreement in regards to timeshares. You might want to check with your state Attorny General's office to see if any of that applies.

 

[2MuchOhana]

Hi Brandy,

DH just got the letter with the details in writing yesterday. All the lovely fine print is on the back. It clearly states that if married both people must attend. I never agreed to it; and would think they would need the consent of both people. But than again maybe not.

I think we will either have to go or lose the money. I just wondered if anyone out here on the board has had any experience with this type of thing. Any advise would be very greatly appreciated!

If we do go I hope they appreciate an unhappy 3 year old and not getting a sale! I don't care how much they pressure I won't sign a thing or buy a timeshare.

I ordered the DVC video. Maybe we will check into when we are there in about three weeks.

Jodi

 

[2MuchOhana]

He agreed to it verbally over the phone at his work place and hasn't signed anything. They charged in full for the hotel stayto his corporate American Express card (which he provided them) He used that card in case this was not a legimate offer and could easily dispute the charges. So it is at this time only a verbal agreement.

The charges hit his account immediately. He received the letter at his work place just yesterday and there was no receipt for the charges made against his cc.

We were considering disputing the charges to his cc; but wasn't sure what if any ramifications this would cause. It is the only thing on the card; so, I have not yet paid the bill.

I really appreciate everyone's help. I hate to lose the money; and wondered if we had a legimate right to try to dispute the charges to the cc without an adverse effect to us.

Jodi

 

[DawnCt1]

My DH HATES time share presentations and solicitations but some of them are really worth attending. We had planned our trip with airfare to the Big Island for last summer. I had two rooms booked at a military rate for $150 plus tax. I got a call from Hilton Vacation Club offerring us $135 per night, tax included and 100 Hilton Dollars. I had to pay for the 5 nights up front over the phone by credit card and canceled one of the other rooms. Because DH is in the Army Reserves, I had them make the amount refundable on the condition of a call up. They did. I also had them "unhook" me from the obligation of attending the timeshare. They did! I don't know why but they did. We loved the Hilton Waikaloa Village. We knew we would, we stayed there before. We had no problem collected the $100 and the military rate room and the Hilton Vacation Club room were near enough to each other. Totally painless and an unbelievable value.
Then we get to Maui. We had booked the Marriott Ka'anapali Ocean Club Resort. We had a 1 bedroom time share unit that I managed secure through a lot of effort about 9 months before the vacation. Lo and behold, on check in they offerred me one free night if we would attend the presentation. That was a no brainer. We attended. Stayed the required hour and saved $380! I would NEVER buy a timeshare but the promotions are often too good to pass up. Go, have a good time and don't buy anything. No matter what you like or see, you can always buy it later, despite what they tell you and you can almost always do much, much better on the secondary market. I don't buy timeshares BTW.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

well I've always found American Express to be very helpful in disputing charges. I think it would be worth a call. You don't have to lie -- just have your husband tell them that he didn't understand that he was committing to a non-refundable reservation, that it was never explained that his wife had to attend also -- and that you feel their practices are quite unfair, and you don't think it is a valid charge.

I wouldn't be surprised at all that American Express denies their charge and given that they don't have a signature, there wouldn't be much Hilton could do to dispute your claim.

but wasn't sure what if any ramifications this would cause.

there are no ramifications. American Express will freeze the charge while they investigate and you don't have to pay the bill until they make a decision. You will generally receive a letter from them in 2 to 3 weeks after your dispute, and then you have a full billing period from there to pay.

 

[Maleficent13]

I am confused. You had to pay someone $110.39 so they could try to sell you something? That just sounds all wrong to me.

 

[diznygirl]

I thought time share presentations specifically say "No Children" - is that mentioned in the fine print of your letter?

I know that is what we have been told in the past....

 

[2MuchOhana]

I don't recall seeing that in the fine print; but will need to look again. I have no idea what they would expect us to do with our 3 year dd. We would have no one to watch her while we were there.

No, nothing in the fine print excluding children from attending.

Jodi

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by Maleficent13
I am confused. You had to pay someone $110.39 so they could try to sell you something? That just sounds all wrong to me.

The $110 is at a significantly reduced rate, just as our Big Island Vacation was at a significantly reduced rate. I charged my package on American Express as well but I knew up front what the terms and conditions were. I had them email me the terms and conditions with the contingencies that I set before I authorized the charge. HVC is a legitimate, competative timeshare company. I don't think that there is anything dishonest. Her husband was probably only the victim of aggressive marketing. If one can stand firm against aggressive marketers they probably shouldn't be attending timeshare presentations.

 

[jel0511]

Disputing the charge is not going to work. Most likely the Timeshare company taped the call, and they can use that as evidence that your DH agreed to the charge (regardless of lack of signature), and you'll be held to it. Saying you didn't want to go won't fly, that's not a valid reason to dispute a charge, since your DH did agree to it. Also, your 3 YO, most timeshare companies when giving their pitch don't ilke children to be present, for the exact reason you've stated, having them get anxious, bored, and the parents being distracted. They usually provide free child care for your child, which they REQUIRE you to use, or you get hit with all the fees, since you can't attend the presentation with a child. Now, Hilton is one of the more reputable Timeshare companies, but you will receive a hard sell.

 

[barbeml]

My DH got the same call and spiel at work. He asked them to send the offer in writing before he would agree to anything. Before they would do that, they wanted to know our annual income. DH told them, but forgot to include my salary and our rental income. I guess that got rid of them because we never got the materials.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by Soltwisch Family
I don't recall seeing that in the fine print; but will need to look again. I have no idea what they would expect us to do with our 3 year dd. We would have no one to watch her while we were there.

No, nothing in the fine print excluding children from attending.

Jodi

You just bring her. The more "annoying" she is the sooner they will invite you to leave and the quicker you can start your vacation.

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by barbeml
My DH got the same call and spiel at work. He asked them to send the offer in writing before he would agree to anything. Before they would do that, they wanted to know our annual income. DH told them, but forgot to include my salary and our rental income. I guess that got rid of them because we never got the materials.

That is probably true. Most of these high-end timeshares, ie Hilton, Sheraton, Marriott, Four Seasons require a person sitting through their presentation to have a minimum required annual income. Usually it's $100,000, sometimes less, sometimes more. If you can't meet the minimum income requirements, you don't qualify for their special offer, since you don't make enough money in their eyes to purchase their timeshare.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Jodi,

That sounds awfully sketchy to me. Did he sign anything? A verbal agreement does not usually hold as much weight as a signed contract. I mean anyone could call someone's number and have someone else pick up the phone and pretend to be them and agree to all kinds of things. Usually, I think these things need to be in writing.

I'd call the credit card company and try to work something out with them , rather than the timeshare place.

I hope it works out for you, but at least it's not a terribly expensive one if you wind up having to go.

 

[2MuchOhana]

DH was called at work and not at home. Since his job is very time demanding it would have been easy for him to be persuading into agreeing. A $110 doesn't sound too bad for three nights stay either; and he thought it was a great way to make use of our APs!

I know we won't be buying a Hilton timeshare no matter how tempting the offer. I don't like being locked into a certain week for vacation time every year. The prices are also not that much cheaper than DVC.

My biggest concern is that DD will have to attend with us; as we would have no one to watch her. It wouldn't be fair to anyone else attending if she she was unhappy! Being three I doubt she will want to lsit there and listen for 2 hours!

Jodi

 

[Jeafl]

We did a timeshare presentation for the Hilton Grand vacations in Las Vegas and it wasn't too bad. We listened to them for 90 minutes and then said "We aren't interested in buying, so we won't waste any more of your time". Of course, they salesman wanted to bring in his manager and we just said, "There is nothing you or anyone else can say that will change our minds.". At that point, they just thanked us for our time, gave us our free show tickets and we left. It was not a big deal. If you are getting a great deal on a hotel room it may not be too bad. If they know you are serious about not buying, they don't want to waste their time with you either. They want to move on to the next pigeon.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by EsmeraldaX
Jodi,

That sounds awfully sketchy to me. Did he sign anything? A verbal agreement does not usually hold as much weight as a signed contract.

Don't forget, you can and often do buy airline tickets, and other goods and services over the phone, and almost always without a signature.