New Owners

kevind522 wrote:

I just bought 2 days ago would you be willing to let me know some more info privately I am worried maybe we mad a bad decision

Even if this is not the scammiest, sleaziest timeshare ever, except for maybe Wastegate, rescind immediately. Follow the process to the T, and document it.

If this is something you really want, later on you can buy it for pennies on the dollar from someone has has been previously scammed, and is anxious to unload.

We were not allowed to book our owners week this year..... until the assessment was paid and the yearly maintenance fee was paid. So beware that unless you pay up you can't use your timeshare :( Not happy!

I don't agree with much of the way most timeshares are run, but I do agree with that.

If you feel fees are improper, fight them. If you want to use your timeshare, pay them. But, don't confuse the two.

After 30 years, there is very little about how most timeshares are operated that I agree with, but there are some that I do.

We still own two timeshares that we don't use and can't get rid of, but not paying the maintenance fees would just make the situation worse, so I do whatever I need to do to minimize our annual loss on them.

I am responding to your message about the person who worked at Stormy Point/Summerwinds Resort. I AM contacting the Attorney General's office about my issues with the timeshare. I was lied to several times and highly pressured when purchasing. I have not been able to stay there one time since purchasing. Nor have I found any resorts at the $399 price they gave me. There is always one excuse or another for why they can't fulfill their promises. I am tired of it and want out, but don't have the huge fees to pay Resort Release companies to get me out legally. Please send me in the right direction or to the right person to get something done along with the Attorney General. Thank you

Here's what I can tell you about locating that "right person".

It was three or four years ago, and I met him at what was then The Payne Stewart Golf Club. I like to talk to people, find out stuff about them, and find commonalities. A lot of timeshare types golf there, and it is owned by the company that developed the Grandvista Resort, which they sold to David Seigel's Wastegate money-pit.

The first time I met him he said he and his wife had just moved to Branson from Kauai. They had been sales people at the Point at Poipu, a resort I am familiar with and had stayed at. He said his wife got transferred to Branson with DRI. He was not working.

The next time I saw him, he had started working, selling at Stormy Point Village.

The next time I saw him, he was jacked sideways, saying he was now the top sales person, a guy in his 50s showing those kids how it's done.

The next time I saw him, and asked how it's going, he had quit. He said as part of their sale, they promised that they would get buyers out of their exiting timeshares/maintenance fees. He said one day he asked a co-worker how they were able to make one phone call and find a buyer for all those existing weeks when no one else could, when no one can get rid of their timeshares.

His buddy just laughed at him . . . because it was a lie. Everyone he had sold to was still stuck with their old timeshares, too.

He said he went to his manager, a lady I believe, and said, "Keep that $70,000 you owe me. I'm done lying."

I reviewed all of the couple of hundred BBB complaints at that time, and it confirmed what he said, and I don't see that anything has changed.

He is the one who told me that if any one lawyered up, they would let them out of their contracts, but they were still coming out ahead even doing that. That was lawyering up about the initial sales, not about failure to do what they said later on.

I reported all that to the AG, probably Chris Koster at the time, but, of course, it was just hearsay from me, so . . .

There, see if you can find him.

As for the MO AG, Josh Hawley was a joke, just a full-of-himself, power-hungry kid, climbing the ladder until the Peter Principle sets in. Does the MO AG even do anything for the consumer right now? The last one who did was Jay Nixon, but even he did not get rid of all the sleaze in Branson.

I am now the (not so proud) owner of a 2 bedroom at stormy point. I have never been to a meeting and think time shares are the biggest scams in the world. Why do I own one you ask? Well I have relatives in their 80's that were cheated out of thousands and I let them deed it to me so they could be free from the headache. I will now attempt to deed it to anyone willing to take it. My biggest fear is that it becomes a very large albatross before I can dump it.

You would think an Association would want to be involved in, or provide assistance to owners who are done with their timeshares, to keep weeks from becoming unproductive, and to try to assure that weeks go to owners who are not going to just ignore maintenance fees.

But, sadly, some (most) Associations believe all they can do is litigation, credit reports, and liens.

That just leads to more unproductive weeks, until there are not enough productive ones left.

I got scammed to I was wondering if anything was done I could not find the petition ?

We went to a timeshare presentation at Stormy Point with no intention of buying. We were charmed by a sales man and loved the property. However, did not see the fitness room, restaurant or marina. The sales person and the senior manager worked as a well oiled team and from a $38,000 price tag came down to $9,900. Cause guess what, someone wanted to trade their two bedroom to a four and that just opened up. A three year maintenance fee of $599 that if you didn't use the property you would receive $499.00 back. Also a $9,000 VIP membership was included at no extra cost that provided unlimited use for just $399.00 a week. If you wanted to go else where you didn't have to call interval but their VIP travel program. It was made to seem we were getting a really good deal. There was a lot of insincere, excessive flattery, fist pumps and high fives. Only to find out that that is what everyone was offered. My husband questioned about any extra assessment fees? Their reply was "all in the maintenance fee." We signed but I asked the sales person about the rescission period and he said 5 days, but "please don't because you will have wasted my time." Hey what about our time we spent 4 hours. We signed but afterwards had a sick feeling. I got on the this site and OMG!!!! Found the BBB gave them a F. We rescinded the next day. I called my American Express and disputed the charge. Went through the procedure sending a certified letter and the promotion binder back. Received a letter from Summer Winds stating that "Please keep in mind that the funds received must go through the escrow process. Your refund will be administered no later than sixty (60) days from the postmarked date of cancellation, as mandated by Missouri State Law." However, since I immediately disputed that credit card charge, the credit card company credited my account 10 days later.

In my 20 years on internet timeshare forums, I have learned that not everyone on them is your friend.

If you have had an increase in unwanted emails, it may be from posting your address here.

I’ll be in touch.

jlb wrote:

In my 20 years on internet timeshare forums, I have learned that not everyone on them is your friend.

Not even your friends.

:-)

I am all for a class action lawsuit. Stormy Point has misrepresented and been dishonest on many issues.

What y'all have going for you is the preponderance of complaints with the BBB, and the pattern of abuse those complaints reveal.

What you have going against you is the power of the scammy, sleazy business leaders in Branson.

Like I have said several times, I was told they settle with those who lawyer up, so if you lawyer up a s a group, you might get a group settlement. Maybe, like, ten years from now, which is how litigation plays out in Branson.

I could say more, because there's more to say, but it probably would not be wise. Not my monkey, not my circus.

https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2018/07/24/better-business-bureau-branson-timeshares-deceiving-consumers/825403002/

Good luck with that, we also were swindled. I even filed a complaint with the Missouri Attorney Generals office. No help at all! It has put a ding in our credit. This is a Total Scam!! Beware!

Good luck with what?

The MOAG has not done anything against Branson scammers since it was Jay Nixon. They are the pillars of the community in Branson, business as usual.

SPV-wise, the good news is that Pat Joyce is gone. I have not heard reports about Capitol one way or the other, but, bare in mind that if you go on a tour, you will be more than 5 miles from where you park the car, so you will have no easy exit.

I am in a situation where I meet SPV owners every now and then, and most seem clueless, as do owners at other resorts. Most timeshare owners I meet in person, and I have met thousands over the years, do not appear to be concerned about anything.

Our complaint is with the "New Owners", Capital Vacations. We were really conned by Capital Vacations! They mad it sound like we HAD to sign up with them in order to continue to be a part of Stormy Point. As a part of the package we bought, our Stormy Point unit was converted to what they call "Alliance Points". Our Stormy Point unit was kind of absorbed by the new Capital Vacations program without our understanding that part. We lost our week when was banked with Stormy Point. We understood that our Capital Vacations maintenance fee would include our Stormy Point maintenance fee. WRONG!! We are still billed by Stormy Point for their maintenance fee AND we also have to pay a huge maintenance fee to Capital Vacations. Now we are trying to get out of the Capital Vacations scam and just go back to enjoying Stormy Point.

wesdindm wrote:

Our complaint is with the "New Owners", Capital Vacations. We were really conned by Capital Vacations! They mad it sound like we HAD to sign up with them in order to continue to be a part of Stormy Point. As a part of the package we bought, our Stormy Point unit was converted to what they call "Alliance Points". Our Stormy Point unit was kind of absorbed by the new Capital Vacations program without our understanding that part. We lost our week when was banked with Stormy Point. We understood that our Capital Vacations maintenance fee would include our Stormy Point maintenance fee. WRONG!! We are still billed by Stormy Point for their maintenance fee AND we also have to pay a huge maintenance fee to Capital Vacations. Now we are trying to get out of the Capital Vacations scam and just go back to enjoying Stormy Point.

Lying to previous owners is common practice.

When Festiva became involved with a previous Escapes resort we own at, they told everyone they had to sign up with Festiva in order to continue using it. That was a total lie, but they kept up the email assault, and, of course, got $$$ from some gullible/trusting people. We had never used Escapes to begin with.

If I recall . . . it's been awhile . . . but if you've been an owner for awhile, there were similar problems when Summerwinds took over SPV from the original developer.

Has anyone initiated a class action lawsuit yet.