Our topic this week is how you can avoid timeshare cancellation scams by upgrading your membership to get the most out of you vacation ownership. When people get to a stage at which their timeshare memberships no longer suit their needs, they are more likely to fall into the traps laid by timeshare cancellation scammers; they begin to feel that there’s no other way to sort it but to get rid of their membership. This is how the scammers make it sound, anyway, but many people don’t realize that upgrading your membership is always an option.
Below you will read about some of the common worries people have about their timeshare and how to avoid timeshare cancellation scams by upgrading.
I’ve been told by a timeshare cancellation company that my timeshare is a scam.
Firstly, you should never believe what a timeshare cancellation company is telling you. Why? Because they are scams. How can I be so sure? Because you cannot cancel a timeshare. Your contract is legally binding. Once the cooling off period has passed, known as the recission period, there is no legal way (or any way, for that matter) of so called “cancelling” a timeshare. Timeshare cancellation scammers are experts at making you think that the timeshare you have bought is a scam.
How do timeshare cancellation scams convince you that your timeshare is a scam?
New timeshare owners are most at risk of being falsely convinced that their timeshare is a fraud by timeshare cancellation scams. Why? Well if you look at some of the more common timeshare complaints online you will note a common theme. Usually they are complaints from a person who bought a timeshare and found it was hard to reserve the weeks or suites that they wanted. Often this is because the timeshare member bought the lowest level membership available and so were restricted to booking the most popular days and units in each year. This means that demand is as high and so people can be looking at having to book two years in advance. New owners are therefore at a disadvantage as most of the best dates and units will already have been booked. At this point, people can start to worry that they have been scammed, and this is where cancellation fraudsters will step in to begin their manipulation. Timeshare cancellation scams play devil’s advocate, trying to convince you that the timeshare is a scam and that you should pay for their fraudulent services.
What’s the real solution?
The best solution in these instances is to think about upgrading; upgrading will offer greater flexibility and freedom, and will make it easier to book your vacations short notice (as well as letting you stay in more locations). More often that not, new timeshare owners think they have bought a scam because it seems that can’t make the reservation they want. But, when they have a higher level timeshare membership, they will have greater choice of suites and will not be competing with the more popular cheaper options.
What you need to watch out for when upgrading
Just make sure that you are definitely upgrading your timeshare rather than buying a second membership which will run in tandem; don’t be fooled into thinking that a competitor will buy and upgrade your membership for you, it’s simply a second membership and you will be expected to pay for both.
Alternatives to upgrading to avoid timeshare cancellation scams
Alternatively, rather than upgrading your timeshare, you could take less regular vacations and save your points up to have special getaways every other year (if you are short on points), or you could rent your week(s) out if you can’t get time off every year. Finally you could book any week that comes up and exchange it through companies like RCI and International Exchange if you fancy travelling the world on the back of your membership.
The key to successful timeshare membership
If you view your membership as an investment in your future vacations at today’s prices you will see the value in upgrading when and where possible; once you have become a timeshare member with a reputable company you can do this without issue. This way you will always get the very most out of your membership!
Beware timeshare cancellation scam companies
Be very, very wary of people who claim to be able to be able to recover your funds and cancel your membership. There are laws in place to protect consumers, of course, and this means there is a period of time in which you can simply cancel your membership. If you’re within this “cooling-off” period you don’t need help to cancel your membership, and if you’re not within that time period anymore these people cannot help you anyway. If you have a problem with your membership the first person you talk to should be a representative of your provider.