hi there, i need help, please !

I have owned a week at Westgate Vacation Villas for quite a number of years that was purchased on the secondary market. I have never actually stayed at the unit. The first few years I would deposit with Interval but then we just started doing an internal exchange for other Westgate Resorts.

In general I have been pleased with the process but Westgate has now changed their policy with regard to exchanges. They now charge $450 for an exchange for owners who purchased their unit on the secondary market versus $150 for those who purchased directly.

This leads to two questions:

1) I recognize that it is a developer exchange so while I think it is morally wrong to in effect decrease the value of a unit as the exchange was part of the bargain the original owner had (that I purchased) it is not covered by the written contract. Still, it was part of the bargain and it seems like the equivalent of violating the agreement. Does anyone have any suggestions on potential legal claims?

2) In looking at the Westgate Owners Agreement, I see that the right of first refusal was not in the initial agreement and was added later. I know this change was made a number of years ago but did owners sue over this change which had the practical effect of hurting timeshare resales?

If some people sued over this change and lost I would think my odds of finding a basis for a claim on the exchange fee change would decline.

Anyway, this is somewhat rambling and I hope it makes sense. I am kind of in the mood for a fight over this even if my odds of actually prevailing in court are small.

advanc wrote:

I have owned a week at Westgate Vacation Villas for quite a number of years that was purchased on the secondary market. I have never actually stayed at the unit. The first few years I would deposit with Interval but then we just started doing an internal exchange for other Westgate Resorts.

In general I have been pleased with the process but Westgate has now changed their policy with regard to exchanges. They now charge $450 for an exchange for owners who purchased their unit on the secondary market versus $150 for those who purchased directly.

This leads to two questions:

1) I recognize that it is a developer exchange so while I think it is morally wrong to in effect decrease the value of a unit as the exchange was part of the bargain the original owner had (that I purchased) it is not covered by the written contract. Still, it was part of the bargain and it seems like the equivalent of violating the agreement. Does anyone have any suggestions on potential legal claims?

2) In looking at the Westgate Owners Agreement, I see that the right of first refusal was not in the initial agreement and was added later. I know this change was made a number of years ago but did owners sue over this change which had the practical effect of hurting timeshare resales?

If some people sued over this change and lost I would think my odds of finding a basis for a claim on the exchange fee change would decline.

Anyway, this is somewhat rambling and I hope it makes sense. I am kind of in the mood for a fight over this even if my odds of actually prevailing in court are small.

If you are not already aware, Westgate is no stranger to litigation. On the contrary, Westgate seems to consistently demonstrate a healthy appetite for litigation and they apparently have a cadre of capable and well paid attorneys to defend their practices and / or pursue their corporate objectives. Not long ago, Westgate actually took a case all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court (where they ultimately lost, on an issue whose details I have since forgotten).

You are of course free to pursue whatever course of action you personally deem appropriate, but first consider how much money you are prepared to spend out of pocket to do battle with such a slimy corporate entity in a quest to "right" a perceived "wrong". Exchange companies like RCI and II change their fees regularly (although, unlike Westgate's targeted and discriminatory policy, those increases apply to everyone equally, right across the board).

By the way, I think the Westgate reservation practice for secondary market owners is actually worse than you have described. In addition to the exchange fee disparity you have cited, I believe that there are also severely restrictive advance time constraints imposed upon resale Westgate buyers making reservations. It is, in fact, this latter restriction that has effectively made Westgate ownerships virtually worthless in today's resale market.

If I was a Westgate owner (something which I would personally never even consider), I would pay Westgate their current $950 "deedback / extortion" fee under their so-called "Legacy" program to just get OUT --- lawfully, promptly and permanentIy. Your personal viewpoint and mileage may vary.