Pintmaster

16Jan/06404

Westgate Resorts – Is it a scam?

I recently reported about Silverleaf Resorts and was amazed at the response that I got to it. These guys are definitely scumbags. Googling for them brings up a epinions on the second link. What about Westgate Resorts? They are on the first floor of my building with an office on the second. When I leave work at around 6:30, they are getting started with their day. I can smell the fresh baking cookies as I leave for my car and all the lower middle income people streaming in for some free food, and dreams of sitting by the pool sipping a margarita. Is this a scam? Westgate Resorts is the third largest timeshare company in the U.S. Can a company grow to this size playing it fair. Do they use the same high-pressure sales tactics that timeshares are so well known for. Watch this space as I try and find the answers.

Filed under: Scams Leave a comment
  • Jackson T
    WESTGATE sold my information to companies! I bought a timeshare and thank god I was able to cancel it. Next thing you know I get calls from random companies asking me if I want to SELL or RENT a timeshare that doesn't exist! WESTGATE, you have no right to sell my information since I cancelled.

    BTW as for the lawsuit. There MIGHT be an upcoming one because I got a call from FL and it was some guy asking if any of the Westgate Reps asked me if any of the reps were telling me "untrue" statements. But yeah don't quote me on that.
  • John A Vallance
    I have written a long letter to David A. Seagel outlining the problems I am having with the Sale of the Reserve, which we bought into as a 5 Bed villa. As a consequence of finding a Sale Board up on the Land, we insisted on sorting things out (this was Spring 2010 when it should have opened) We were offered a transfer plus ofcourse EXTRA monies to our original 3 bed villa + 1. Nothing has been finalised and we are still paying the Mortgage even though we were told it would be put on hold till all was settled. We have emailed many times to David Caban (Sales Manager) but he has never replied, so the letter has been sent and a copy has been sent to him for his information. We wait to see if we hear back from anyone. NB: We have been to the Resort 3 times just to sort it out, but we have never managed to nail it. It is a waste of our time! and Holiday!! We love the place but Oh! how I would like to deal with just one person who knows what the score is and can tell us straight! We have since heard the company could be going bust! Spent too much on Vegas. IF WE COULD ONLY ALL GET TOGETHER OVER THIS MAYBE SOMETHING POSITIVE COULD COME FROM IT..............
  • Link1943
    I was one of the dumb people that was suckered into buying a timeshare at Westgate in Branson. We purchased the time share 6 years ago. Everytime we tried to book a reservation, there was always a problem therefore we have not utilized any of the facilities. This year we decided to go to Branson and use the Westgate facility. We were able to utilize our week timeshare and rent another unit so our children and their family could join us. I have a confirmation letter confirming our reservations. Three days before our vacation, Westgate called my home to tell us that our reservation has been changed, we no longer have a 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen, but now we have a hotel room with a coffee pot. OK, what am i to do with 2 year old twin boys in a hotel room for 7 days???? I am furious. I have been on the phone for HOURS, trying to fix this problem. I am reporting them to BBB. What a nightmare company!!!!
  • LJB
    If you purchased your timeshare in Tennessee contact the Tennessee Real Estate Commission. You can find them on Web Search. Read their instructions. Make copies of all documents. Send them in.
  • JL
    Web Search: Type in

    Timeshare Traps and Your Legal Rights

    Go to the bottom of the page. Read the last paragraph. Add your story.
  • Fvfc503846
    So my wife and I were walking downtown Gaitlynburg TN when a lady at a booth asked us if we would like to see a cabin that would take approx 90 mins of our time and we would get $90 plus $20 back that we gave her. We were picked up by a WG bus then driven to WG resort. After the salesperson talked to us and reinterated himself 5 times we finally had enough and told him he oversold and we werent intereseted. He then proceeded to call my wife baby and that he had seen her before when he had not. He was a total jerk and I am so glad we took their money and didn't get suckered in, after reading all these post I do feel sorry for everyone of you and wish you the best.
  • ACG
    After I said no to their sales pitch which lasted over 3 hours I just walked out. My wife planned the trip so I had no clue this would going to be an all out timeshare sales pitch. I thought I was walking in the main center building to get some continental breakfast as I have done in ever hotel or resort before. What a modded face I had. I already own villas elsewhere and have been through this bull many times before so I know what the scam was all about. I was their through MY exchange program. Something these people even when told simple could not understand.

    To make a long story short, when I returned to my villa, the power failed to work for one of my rooms! Lights, ceiling fan, and clock just stopped working. Those stupid childish idiots pulled the fusses because I said no to them. The fools wanted me to make a life decision for something I had not planned for nor had any interest. The disgust of it all. These resort scams actually believe they have the right to take your money and if not you are treating them badly! Its pathetic. They want you the signer to be their advertisement for them. Their whole scheme is for you the owner to advertise rooms for rent to tourist. You only rent out 1 room but get 20 request via your add. You then REFER the other 19 names to the resort. You get money for each name you refer who actually ends up signing a contract with them. Basically, you became an owner of some high priced room but make up the cost by generating referrals. This may be cool for some but I work in the world of reality and respect.

    Catch this, part of the pitch is to hand out fliers.... wait just hold on... hand out fliers in Hospitals! Can you believe the lack of scruples? Scam people inside hospitals, that has to be an all time low.
  • Reganalbertson
  • Hot Stuff
    Wow! I knew this was slippery. Just finished 2 wk training to be a marketing co-ordinator, 2nd in a string of who knows how many ppl till you sign the contract. The model at Planet Hollyweird is nice.

    VERY vague, no questions answered honestly. Oh, your credit card gets charged for the stay? That's how they make money! I lose my commission if you don't finish the tour AND pay for your tour!!!!!!!! 3-7 hours for a 90 min tour?????????

    I'm horrified and hope you all win your class action suit & get out of these. This job is a revolving door. Thank you honest ppl!!!!!!!!
  • Gman
    How can we file a lawsuit against Westgate Resorts /CFI Orlando LLc? Can we still recover that money that we pay for this worthless Westgate Resorts Scam? Please email gman@gmail.com
  • BJ & Bob Beaubien
    My story id worst than all I have read so far. We bought our timeshare from Sunterra and it was sold to Westgate and we were never notified. We used it to go to Hawaii the first year we bought and never used again for eight yrs. When we tried to use it after paying Maintenance fees for all those years we were told that they did not have the point system we bought under and our floating week was now only for either a Friday & Sat or Monday thru Thrus. We live in Arizona and the unit we bought is in South Beach Flordia. We asked if we could exchange it for one of there units in Sodona so we could use it and were told NO. You can not deposit it, exchange it you must use it in South Beach. Well we told them that we were not paying for something we could not use and have not paid the maintence fees for two years.We offered to give it back for nothing except a letter saying we no longer owned it and they Said NO again. We asked if we could pay more maintence to get a full week and again they said NO. They have called us several times over the last two years with the same additude and we are now being called by a collection agency saying we have a MORAL obligation to paid this bill. What a joke ! I think WESTGATE needs to get some MORALS not US. I told the collection agency that we were not paying and they just keep calling. I'm 61 yrs old and I don't care if they report it against my credit. Big deal I can dispute and anyone checking my credit see it and when I tell them the story they will just laugh and I'm sure they won't hold it against me. If they do a small ding against a credit score of over 800 won't matter. We are now in the process of joining a class action lawsuit and I encorage everyone to join in and maybe we can stop these immoral idiots. We would advise anyone thinking about buying from Westgate to run as fast the other way as possible.
  • Bill Jezak
    I am in the exact same situation with the ownership change from SunTerra to Westgate . Every time I called Westgate for a reservation, I was told I did not have enough points. Their reservations people could not explain why I was required to pay a yearly fee and why I could not use any facility. Last December after trying to clarify my ownership rights I finely received written notification that I only have a 3 day mid-week or one weekend day which is restricted to only South Beach. Because I have not paid my 2010 maintenance fee, I am now getting calls from Westgate. When I explain the current use limitations and how I have not been able to get a reservation, they tell me I am wrong, and the Westgate does not have a point system. These people are totally clueless!!
  • Gil Gonzales
    Where can I sign up for the class action lawsuit against Mr. David Siegel, Founder of Westgate and Westgate Resorts/CFI Company. Please email pn1gonzales@yahoo.com
  • edwinmeyermeyer
    I worked for Westgate in Kissimmee Fl.....They laid off their ENTIRE maintenance/Engineering staff in 2008 Oct, keeping only the pool tech on staff. My Supervisor, who had been with the resort for over 17 years was one of the ones laid off... no severence pay....didnt even pay people the Vacation pay that they had accrued.
    Which means that to this date owners have been paying exorbitant maintenance fees
    for a non existant maintenance crew.... The microwave units in most of the units have holes rusted through the interior walls, which we were instructed to paint over....I have some stories LOL, Anyone interested in more info can contact me at edwinmeyer-at-hotmail.com
  • DD
    My husband and I bought a Westgate timeshare at the newly renovated Palace about 3 years ago. After what should have been a 90 minute presentation turned into 5 hours, we were "suckered" into buying one after very, very high pressured sales. The only reason we bought is because both the manager and salesperson told my husband and I both that Westgate would buy the timeshare back from us at "fair market value". Needless to say, we didn't think to get that in writing and none of our documents show this. When I tried to email our salesperson about it, she became very hostile with me. We have tried everything we can to get rid of it and sell it to no avail. We're thinking of just stopping payments on it and see what happens. We know it will ruin our credit, but I'm currently unemployed and that's going to happen anyways. I hate Westgate and would never recommend them to anyone.
  • Kokowawa
    Nobody is sucked into buying ..you guys are dumb ..thats about it
  • rip-off by westgate
    I have recently filled a complaint about Westgate to the BBB for false advertisement and not discussing or enclosing additional fees in there contract. I'm fed up with them. I just stop paying and told westgate that I have reported them the BBB. I'm just fed up with the lies and everything else they state, I'm still waiting on a response with the BBB
  • Rip- Offs
    I recently filed a complaint also with BBB in Las Vegas and received a response, they are still investigating my complaint. I just stop paying them, after they wanted me to pay rental fees when I tried to book my reservations on my season. I told them they can go to hell! I also joined the others who are filling a class action lawsuit against them
  • Betty Smith
    How do we join you in your lawsuit?
  • Biker1handyman
    I would like any info you could offer us about west gate law suit i just want to be done with thoes lying bastards
  • Fvfc503846
    I hope you sue the shit out of westgate. Dirty bastards ripping people off!
  • Kevin Nunn
    If you are filing a class action lawsuit I would be very interested in joining that fight! I too was scammed and want justice. PLEASE contact me with any info you have!

    Kevin Nunn
  • share
    Please contact me if you hear of any lawsuits. I would love to join in!!
  • Amanda
    We got ripped too. We were led to believe we bought a deluxe room but we signed for a standard room. Bait and switch IMO. We were even given the deluxe floorplan with out contract! e-mail me if you received the same bait and switch.
    lhs1653@hotmail.com.
  • rip-off by Westgate
    Yes, the same thing happen to my husband and I. the sales representative showed us a two-bedroom and stated our timeshare would look just like this one, but in reality we got a one bedroom half the size
  • Amanda
    OOps. we got the floorplan "with" our contract package.
  • gymsean
    Westgate: Robber, Intimidator, and Racist
    Westgate took my money, refused to give what I had paid for and threatened to put my little girl into jail because I was a foreign visitor.
    More details at:
    http://tx.liberal.ntu.edu.tw/FB/Essay/Blog/Westgate-fraud.htm
  • Christina Ward
    Oh please, all these reviews are killing me. We are big time westgate owners and have had a few issues, just like I have with the cable company, sprint, and several other large companies. If you get ripped off, its because you didn't dig deep enough. They offer you x amount of time for x amount of dollars with x amount of yearly fees. If you sign up for it, then take responsibility for it. We have used our unit several times. I wouldn't receommend it to everyone, but they are certainly not a scam. They are a big business.
  • Link1943
    Just wait, they will get you too!!
  • Reganalbertson
    THey have to churn sells, and they get aggressive and make stupid claims ("If you don't buy it now, you can't buy it next week, month," etc) There were owners at the Palace that told me that they had to settle for times that were inconvenient, or lost out on their vacations all together. I think what really finished the presentation was seeing cheesy pix of Seigel with pop stars. 5 star? The catalog showing shared resorts listed only one 3 or 4 star location for the Dominican Republic. Yes, dig deep before you go to the presentation. If it's too good to be true.....
  • mark
    Sorry to burst your bubble but they are indeed a scam.
  • Rip- Offs
    Yes Christiana we read the fine print, and still got ripped off, because Westgate is a scam, along with false advertisment. So a few of us out there have read the contract carefully, maybe you were just one of the lucky ones. When was the last time you check there lawsuits?
  • audreymartinuk
    I agree with everyones comments on here. We bought a timeshare after massive sales pressure at Westgate Lakes in 2004. We've only managed to go back once in 2008 and we just want to get rid of it. The whole experience has totally put me off America. I wish I'd never been to the sales presentation and bought the timeshare. I'm desperate to get rid of it or even give it away.
  • B Knutsen
    b.knutsen@mchsi.com - help
  • was a victim once
    Hi, there is a way to get out of it, I was a victim, not anymore. I helped a few people get out of it. reply with your email and I will email you.

  • Oso9798
    oso9798@yahoo.com. Please email me how to get out of this nightmare!
  • Sjvard
    I was sucked in badly and am desperate to get out, any help would be greatly appreciated. My e-mail address is sjvard@bigpond.com.
  • Ciege2000
    please email me at ciege2000@hotmail.com on how u got out of the timeshare with westgate.
  • Sjptak
    sjptak@hotmail.com
  • Largebl
    Yes, would appreciate your help.
    largebl@yahoo.com
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