The timeshare contracts are normally made for a period Report Scam of 25-30 years, and some for up to 99 years. At Mexican Timeshare Solutions, we receive several calls and emails per day from seniors who have been taken advantage of for thousands of dollars of their retirement savings.
Many of these clients will not be able to use their 30 year timeshare package as they are already in their late 70s or early 80s. We hear from many clients that they were either confused about what they were purchasing, or realized afterwards that the package was not presented in an honest manner. The following are some of the sales tactics that the timeshare scam companies use to attract seniors to buy:
Many seniors purchase the timeshare package thinking that it will be a nice inheritance for their family members to receive upon their passing. As the timeshare is sold under high pressure, they are not given the time to contact their families at home and consult with them as to whether or not they would like to own a timeshare in Mexico.
After returning home, most of the seniors find that their family members do not want the commitment of having a timeshare contract and an associated maintenance fee payment. When the seniors contact the resort to try to cancel the contract, it is often past the 5 day rescission period and the resorts do not give them an option to cancel.
Most timeshare owners are expected to pay an annual maintenance fee, which increases substantially each year. This is often a deterrent to senior citizens who are on a fixed income. The timeshare salespeople claim that because they are seniors, they do not have to pay maintenance fees due to a special type of contract they will have.
In some cases this is true, however, if a family member who is not a senior citizen inherits the membership, they will be required to pay an annual maintenance fee. In other cases, the promise of no maintenance fee is a lie that the timesharescamsalespeople use to entice seniors to purchase. The seniors are often shocked to receive a bill each year for several hundred dollars.
Many retired seniors have already been timeshare owners for several years and are used to travelling in this manner. They are accustomed to the idea of paying a maintenance fee and having a fixed vacation every year. Timeshare salespeople are skilled at asking leading questions to find out if the potential buyers already own another membership.
They used this old timeshare as a way to sell the new timeshare to the elderly people, claiming that they will sell the old timeshare for a high ticket value and use that money to pay for the new timeshare which does not have an annual maintenance fee. Even if the claim of no maintenance fee is true, the other property never sells, and the pensioners are responsible for paying the maintenance fee for the old timeshare as well as the total amount for the new timeshare purchase.
A good financial investment when pension funds are failing in a desperate economy. The recession that started in 2007 is the worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930’s. Many pensioners are suffering from large financial hits to their retirement savings, and are looking for other ways to invest to make their dollars stretch. It is difficult for many seniors to survive, let alone take a vacation, in these uncertain economic times.
The timeshare salespeople are aware of this and promise large returns for the rental of their timeshare weeks. If they choose not to use the weeks, the amounts they can rent them for can pay off the initial investment and provide the pensioners with extra money to live on. Unfortunately, this false promise of a financial investment is one of the most common timeshare scams.
