Fairfield Resorts Questionable Sales Practice Pressure Margarate Florida

For fairness sakes I have to voice my opinion regarding this individuals views and experience.

I have been a timeshare holder in the past and don't find the practice, discreditable.

I am currently in the hospitality field and in my experience the rate they must have gotten on their hotel room was exceptional, especially for Florida standards.

I agree that Matt (if that was his real name) doesn't come across as professional, in that he didn't offer a business card or his full name. This makes hime appear to have something to hide.

The pictures and website tour are tools available to the sales person, if they didn't impress you, that is fine. It is a representation of what is available. Did the individuals tour the property? Eeva didn't say. If she and her boyfriend combine their trips with work, then how are they vacations? But even so, maybe she should check with a tax specialist since business travel is, I believe, tax deductable, which would make part of their costs for their stay deductable. If they travel all over the world, and are getting paid for doing so, wouldn't it be nice to have a "home" like atmosphere to stay in?

As far as the "deal" is concerned... I have no comment since I wasn't there.

Paperwork, especially contracts are proprietary information. Even so, Matt should have been abel to better explain the companies policy on allowing prospects to take these papers home.

I doubt that Matt actually told these individuals that his customers usually were not interesteed in seeing the paperwork, especially since these are legal documents and MUST be signed, and often notarized.

The "leagal" (legal) issues Matt was probably referring to, probably had something to do with the nature of the contract wording. In other words, he was directed to say this.

Was this a rip-off attempt? Probably not. Was Matt unprofessional? Probably so. Was the company trying to conduct an illegal business? Decidedly not.

In the sales business, especially timeshare sales, there is normally a greater amount of pressure put on the individual at the time of the presentation. This is because they are there, in front of the sales person. And because the sales person gets paid by commission. The smaller his/her bank account, the more he/she will pressure the customer/client. Is this fair? Not from the standpoint of the person pressured. Does this make the sales person a bad person? Definately not, they have bills and expenses just like everyone else... they have to make a living.

Finally, a personal note.
If the reader of the report noted herein has noticed, there are several typos. This is very interesting for someone that travels for business, ostensibly all over the world.

Thanks for the opportunity to rebut.

1) Did I say somewhere in my report that I travel "all over the world"?

2) Fairfield Resort's $40,000 deal with $1,100 extra expences every year - My financial advisor can show how much that same money can be in 20 years, if I invest $10,000/year in next 4 years into my company 401K. Do the math yourself!

3) I would never sign any contracts without showing them first to my own lawer! Would you?

4)In real estate business, sales people usually work on commission. I am also in sales and always give to my customers the prices, terms and conditions, which are valid for 90 days!

5) I am sorry, but I don't follow your logic why, if someone has bills to pay, any kind of work is acceptable?

6) You are right about my English skills. I am not USA born citizen. In addition to English, I speak 3 other languages. - What is your excuse for the typos and bad grammar in your rebuttal?

I am writing this rebuttal as an owner of the Fairfield Resorts system which I have been since 2000, and as now a sales person since 2003. The purpose of this is to clarify what I understand happened at this presentation so that people can have an objective look at the claims made above.

"We were required to show two ID's both me and my fiancee...we were greeted my sales presentative Matt...he didn't offer his last name or business card...or any ID!"

First the reason that you were asked to show your ID is that Timeshares have several rules in order for you to qualify to go to their presentation. After all it is a sales presentation and they must qualify for the tour so as to not waste their time. There are many people who often go to presentation after presentation to get free stuff as often as possible. One of the requirements to going to a presentation is that if you are married then your spouse must be there in order for u to qualify for taking the tour. We need to have both decision makers on the day of the tour. So they want to see that you are who you say you are or no free gifts. As to Matt not showing ID, seriously do you expect every sales guy you meet at every business to flash his ID before he shows you their products. And I don't give someone my business card unless they buy or they ask for it, they cost money and I have to pay for them myself.

"First Matt wanted to know how much money we are spending every year for our vacations. Sorry to say, we couldn't put a number, since we both combine our business trips with vacations and also use our frequent flyer miles. He showed us lot of fancy pictures and sample of website showing Fairfield's vacation resorts all over the world. Since we both have been doing travelling all our lives this didn't impress either of us.

Well, the deal is this:
We put down $40,000 of our hard earned money and buy 300,000 yearly "points", which allows us to use any of Fairfield Resorts about 2 weeks every year for our lifetime.
In addition we should pay $1,100 maintenance fee yearly."

Ok what Matt was doing to ask what you spend on vacation is trying to find out if this product would be a benefit to you. What he is trying to figure out is that are you spending money on vacation? What quality of rooms your staying in, and so on. He does not have a crystal ball, you must ask questions to find out how this product could work for you. Nobody ever knows what they spend on vacation, basically he is doing a cost analysis of your spending habits. The majority of the people just use their gredit card to make reservations and such and spend the rest of the year paying it off. Now you mentioned that he showed you the resorts and there locations and they didn't impress you cause of your extensive travel. Now if staying in a 2 bedroom condo in Hawaii or Fiji or Cancun is not your speed, or staying on a house boat in Venice, Italy is not for you, then yes this product is not for you. You stayed in the Holiday Inn Express, and maybe thats the quality of vacation you prefer. At least as they say in the commercial that the Holiday Inn Express makes you smarter. So for the mojority of the people who have not lived as priveleged lives as you clearly have, the locations are quite impressive and the rooms to die for. And to get to the point you did buy one of their largest packages they offer, so you clearly were impressed in order to spend $40,000 after only a couple of hours with a sales guy. And on the same note a $40,000 package is called a VIP package and that actually will get you up to 8 weeks every year in a 1 bedroom condo that sleeps four, for the rest of you and your childrens lives, that sounds like a bargin price to me. Seriously what would it cost to rent a condo for 8 weeks a year. DO the math!!

"I asked Matt to show me the agreement paperwork. He claimed that usually his customers were not interested to see this agreement. But I got a pile of papers, which I wanted to take with me and show to my financial advisor. But, read this, Matt said there are some leagal issues why they cannot let me have these papers. I have to ask...leagal issues for whom?"

This part is very hard to believe, I have to belive that you didn't buy it. You said that you put down the "hard earned money", is there any other kinf of money, then at the end you said "needless to say, we didn't waste our money to this nonsense." So this is a bit hard to follow. Anyways, buying timeshare from Fairfield is a Leagal Real Estate Transaction! You have to sign the same documents that you would sign when you buy a house, and you can't leave until you take your copies with you of everything you sign or the deal id nullified. You certainly didn't understand the final sales process. Most likely Matt was saying that you that you could not take the copies of how much everything costs. That information is company property, you have no right to them, you didn't buy so they have no obligation to do so.

"I feel very sorry for anybody who has signed these kind of agreement and is finding out later that this is not a good investment for them. The sales pressure is very high, and unless you put your foot down, they will pressure you to sign this ripoff."

I have owned this product years before working for the company. I have many, many friends and family that own it. I keep in contact with my huge owner base who have purchased from me. All of this boils down to this one point. Not one of these people who actually did buy it regrets it. Actually I often and selling more and more to the same people cause they can't get enough of it. Ask yourself if this is a good investment. Take all the money you have ever spent on any vacation, all the money that you will spend in the future on vacation, add it all up. Now with that figure you have expalin to me how that pile of receipts is going to make a return on your investment. Timeshare allows people to stay in the best accomodations available with a one time cost. Once that one time cost is paid in full, all vacations from that point on cost nearly nothing. Which investment makes more sense. Oh and you can sell a timeshare later in lifem but you can't sell a pile of receipts.

"Fairfield Resort's $40,000 deal with $1,100 extra expences every year - My financial advisor can show how much that same money can be in 20 years, if I invest $10,000/year in next 4 years into my company 401K. Do the math yourself!"

If you are not putting $10,000 in a tax deffered account like an IRA allready then fire your advisor, you should be doing that anyways...it should not be NEWS! And the point of buying timeshare is to stop inflation on the price of vacations going up, raise the quality of the rooms you stay in, See Holiday Inn Express, and to stop wasting money on the travel industry.

"I would never sign any contracts without showing them first to my own lawer! Would you?"

I currently own two house, both I bought without the consent of a lawyer. WHy? Because real estate is a smart investment. What does a lwayer know about timeshare amd your vacation needs, seriously? Do you ask him permission to go on vacation everytime. What would a lawyer say when asked, "should I buy this timeshare?" If I were him I would say no. Because as a lawyer I am mostly concerned with covering my butt. What if you bought it and something went wrong, then you would blame him for his advice. Make your own decisions.

Thank you for your time.

These are my comments to "objective look at the claims made above" made by James – (Fairfield Resorts) Sales Rep. - Cathedral City, California.

1) "And I don't give someone my business card unless they buy or they ask for it, they cost money and I have to pay for them myself."

Why Fairfield Resort is not paying your business cards? Usually in business, it is the FIRST thing you get from the sales person.

2) "And to get to the point you did buy one of their largest packages they offer, so you clearly were impressed in order to spend $40,000 after only a couple of hours with a sales guy."

What part of my report ending you didn't understand? I wrote: "I feel very sorry for anybody who has signed these kind of agreement and is finding out later that this is not a good investment for them. The sales pressure is very high, and unless you put your foot down, they will pressure you to sign this ripoff. Needless to say, we didn't waste our money to this nonsense."

3) "And on the same note a $40,000 package is called a VIP package and that actually will get you up to 8 weeks every year in a 1 bedroom condo that sleeps four, for the rest of you and your childrens lives, that sounds like a bargin price to me. Seriously what would it cost to rent a condo for 8 weeks a year. DO the math!!"

Seriously, this is a first time I see any price information in writing from a Fairfield sales rep! However, if I am not mistaken, you were not there with us 16 months ago. But above deal surely would be a bargain for YOU (not for us).

4) "If you are not putting $10,000 in a tax deffered account like an IRA allready then fire your advisor, you should be doing that anyways...it should not be NEWS! And the point of buying timeshare is to stop inflation on the price of vacations going up, raise the quality of the rooms you stay in, See Holiday Inn Express, and to stop wasting money on the travel industry."

For many years I have been investing the maximum tax free amounts to my company's 401K and IRA. Thanks to my financial advisor, I own my house, 3 rentals, money in a bank and lots of stocks. Only reason we were staying in Holiday Inn Express was because Fairfield Resort's $119 gift.

5) "What does a lwayer know about timeshare amd your vacation needs, seriously? Do you ask him permission to go on vacation everytime. What would a lawyer say when asked, "should I buy this timeshare?" If I were him I would say no. Because as a lawyer I am mostly concerned with covering my butt. What if you bought it and something went wrong, then you would blame him for his advice. Make your own decisions."

I have always made my own investment decisions! There have been cases, when I wanted a lawyer to read the contract before I sign it. This has never been a problem until I asked a copy of Fairfield Resort agreement.

1. If you have been all over the world, and two bedroom condos for the same price as hotels dont impress you, what the hell are you doing on a timeshare presentation for maybe a $100.00 in free gifts?

2. Your ownership of "a house, 3 rentals and ..." is highly dubious. This is because of point number 1.

3. du·bi·ous adj.

A. Fraught with uncertainty or doubt;

B. Arousing doubt; doubtful: a dubious

distinction.

C. Of questionable character: dubious

profits.

4. High pressure and timeshare sales are synonomous. What where you thinking accepting gifts from strangers without thinking there would be some kind of catch. Nothing is free pal.

5. Read the voucher you signed before you came in. It clearly stated that you were on a timeshare presentation, that the offer was good that day only, and the price ranges of the packages offered. You know how I know this; because all that information is required by law. However, before you signed that contract, you know the one that obligated you to take a presentation in exchange for free gifts, you forgot to call your lawyer or he would have made all this clear.

6. Nobody tried to rip you off. You simply walked into a situation you expected to control and were confronted with facts you wern't ready to face. Can't blame you, I see it every day. However, most people are not as obstinate as you are and realize that staying in hotels and getting reciepts is a paradigm of the past.

7. ob·sti·nate adj.

1. Stubbornly adhering to an attitude, opinion,

or course of action; obdurate.
2. Difficult to manage, control, or subdue;

refractory.
3. Difficult to alleviate or cure: an obstinate

headache

8. par·a·digm n.

1. One that serves as a pattern or model.

A set or list of all the inflectional forms

of a word or of one of its grammatical

categories: the paradigm of an irregular

verb.
2. A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and

practices that constitutes a way of viewing

reality for the community that shares them,

especially in an intellectual discipline.

Thank you.

Last year Fairfield contacted my wife. She paid the fee and made resevations. Some things happenned and we were not able to go, she tried to CANCEL and get a refund. The fairfield rep said no, she didn't need to cancel and get a refund now, she could reschedule anytime in the next year.

We are scheduled to go later this month. She wrecked her motorcycle causing extensive physical damage, broken jaw, cheek, eye socket, nerve damage, blurred vision... We can no longer go on any vacation this year, maybe even next. Now they tell us that we can no longer get a refund. They NOW say that we could only have gotten a refund in the first 30 days?!?! This was a fact that they convienently left out the first time we tried to cancel. Or maybe they are just making it up as they go along. An honest business would have made all the facts clear up front instead of trying to hide them.

With all the surgerys, hospital stays, and doctors visits. I though for sure that they would make an exception and refund us the funds. This would really help us out with all the bills we now have. Obviously we are not going to be doing any travelling or big spending anytime soon. They said no way. No legitimate, honest company could be this cold and heartless. It is because they are scam artists that they do not care. An honest business would make exceptions for these types of situations.

Went to Vegas in April and on every street corner is someone offerring free shows and meals. The catch is you have to go to a presentation about a timeshare. If you agreed to take their free/discounted trip, what did you expect? If you didn't want to waste your time why bother? Can we say cheap? Just say no to the freebies and the presentations. I'll bet the golf was more expensive then the trip or was that a freebie too?

As a Fairfield Owner, my husband and I are quite happy with what we were told the first time we ever attended a Fairfield Resort. We do not make alot of money and haven't really had time to plan vacations like most families. With us purchasing "points" into Fairfield, we are able to make sure that we use these points every year and make it a family vacation that we know our kids will never forget. We actually own 2 "timeshares" in Fairfield. We own in Nashville, TN and in Myrtle Beach. Fairfield is NOT a joke. Our sales people have always been upfront and honest with us, as we also asked ALOT of questions the first time we ever went to Fairfield. My husband and I have spent time in several of the resorts and have been quite pleased. As for a "financial" advisor, sure they can tell you how to "spend" your money and where it will work the best, but only YOU can decide what you really want to do with your MONEY. I would tell anyone who is thinking of purchasing from Fairfield to do so. It is very worth it and I am sure that there are many other owners out there who would agree with me.

Seeing a low-pressure presentation at Fairfield lead me to join them as an employee. The product is great and serves hundreds of thousands of family members as promised. Do companies and individuals make mistakes? Sure they do. Does that reflect on the company? Most certainly. Is the company one individual? No!

The reason we don't use business cards is that tend to end up littering the resorts and our neighborhoods. One can draw their own conclusions, but while we are making an effort to be good citizens, some will find fault with the fact that we don't use them. Go figure.

Concerning the financials, I have been involved in financial modeling, owned individual vacation property, talked to others in finance and have found many variations on money, real estate, vacations, etc. that would fit one individual and not another. I have always been interested in the fact that most financial advisors will fudge the numbers on investment returns by refusing to use "real ROR" in their calculations.

For instance: I could say that if one saves $10K/yr and gets 8% ROI for 20 yrs they would have $46.6K. First it would be nice to get 8% ROI but historically this is not an average. Secondly, one must discount the 8% by the current rate of inflation to see what real return is. If inflation is running at 3.5% and one assumes 8% ROI the value of the investment would return $24.1K in twenty years. The factors here are both assumptions, but the result let's one know that $46.6K is not worth it's full value in 20 years, and that's what really matters.

If one looks at vacation costs a picture develops like this: A 35-year-old couple would like to retire in 30 years and really start traveling. They would like a vacation lifestyle allowing them to travel 30 days each year while staying in the future equivalent of today's $150.00 per night hotel. They would like to continue that lifestyle for 15 years (to age 80)after their retirement.

If they traveled like this today they would spend $4,500 on hotels alone each year. In 30 years, because of the affect of 7% inflation (current average affecting hotel/motel properties), they will spend $34,255 the first year they vacation.

In order to continue vacationing for 15 years while the inflation rate continues to affect the price of hotels, the couple will need a nest egg of $860,795 the year they retire.

To have the nest egg in place, the couple needs to start saving $24,796 this year and continue to save the same amount each year for the next 30 years. They must also get an 8% return on their money. In fact they will need more than this since we haven't accounted for income taxes, hotel taxes, meals and transportation, and any other expense that will be experienced. Also they will have to wait thirty years before beginning to vacation.

If a couple is ten years younger they will need a bigger nest egg at retirement, but they have longer to save. Therefore they would save smaller amounts each year.

If a couple is ten years older they will need a smaller nest egg at retirement, but they have less time to save. Therefore they would save larger amounts each year.

Personally, I think vacation ownership is an excellent investment and Fairfield has more owners than anyone, anywhere making it an excellent choice.

On an investment basis, an owner has diversified his vacation investment by sharing in properties in various locations. If one owns a vacation property in one location, what happens to the value of the property if there is a localized economic downturn? This has happened to me and others in the past. What if vacationers decide they don't like the local of your individually owned property? Who will rent the property?

The maintenance fee question is pretty simple. I like the idea of paying for the service people, utilities, upkeep, taxes, insurance, trash pick up, etc. in one check per month. Additionally, one may choose to once yearly. The latter is even better in my opinion. Any property owner knows that these charges and assessments have to be paid. Hoteliers charge these fees too. They are built into the rack rate and then they have to add occupancy tax (now averaging 11%) on top of that.

As far as seeking the approval of an attorney before buying, the time-share industry is one of the most regulated industries in the country. How many lawyers does it take to approve a contract? Who knows better than the state's AG and regulatory agencies? Another lawyer? Every state requires a cancellation policy. Doesn't that work?

High pressure? Everyone is free to leave a presentation. However, every tour agreed to the presentation in exchange for the gifts and lodging compensation. If a tour doesn't want the gifts and are willing to pay for their own lodging, that's allowable. All one has to do is say, "Excuse me, this not for me. Goodbye." However, I have noted that most tours like this tend to get rude and belligerent because they want the freebies in spite of the contract they made with Fairfield.

I sometimes realize that some of the tings we may say to guests may hit them where they live and bring them to a realization that is troubling to them, but is it my fault that sometimes the truth hurts? Some people need a wakeup call to shake them out of their boring lives, restore a relationship, or get them to focus on their families, and themselves. What's the point of getting upset? Not enough stress already?

Personally I think that Eeva has too much time and low self esteem. She should put her creative efforts into something more creative. Life's too short to use it up griping about such trivial matters as business cards, maintenance fees, marketing questionnaires (used to determine future resort development), and the like.

Eeva you are right.
Fairfield is a conniving company preying on helpless uninformed consumers like you and me. They take advantage of our desire to enjoy a wonderful vacation (which everyone deserves). They put you up and treat you like royalty until you sign on the dotted line. After that you are a number in a herd of cattle. If you have a complaint you can forget it. They are under the assumption that their company can do no wrong, but I am one of the 1% (because they claim that 99% of their customers are completely satisfied) who hates Fairfield with a passion.

I had the worst experience yet this year when my family went to Fairfield Palm Aire (Fla). Let me preface this by saying I have been an unsatisfied member of Fairfield resorts for 7 years, and I'd advise everyone to NEVER JOIN!!!!! Anyway my daughter was annihilated by bed bugs in their Palm Aire facility and we were compensated with a dinner card and some more points in a company I DESPISE. How about that for a slap in the face. Then they told me this experience wasn't grounds for contract cancellation. What do I have to do die?

After all that I was finally comforted by Debbie Marshall who said my contract would be cancelled. Then on her day off her supervisor Andrea Allen called me unaware of any of our (Debbie and mine) previous conversations. She said we wouldn't be released from this prison they call Fairfield resorts and that Debbie would verify it. Would you believe they called back on speaker and Debbie boldfaced lied in front of her supervisor saying she never told us our contract would be cancelled? I should have taped our phone calls like they do. Just know you haven't experienced your last lie and they'll keep getting bigger as long as you are in Fairfield.

I'm sorry for you. I also feel sorry for all the evil individuals who work for their company and take advantage of everyday consumers. They will pay in judgment if God doesn't take them out before that. And unless you find an attorney willing to fight their tons of red tape you, like me will have this Fairfield noose around your neck forever.

If anyone is willing to take them on in court feel free to contact me.

My family paid $14,000 cash for a VIP membership at this in-human company in Las Vegas, and after one year, we have nothing to show for it. This is the most deceptive business out there. You can read the horror stories like mine on rip-off.com. They promise you the world and give you nothing. Unfortunately I am one of the victims they were successful at dupping. I cannot even take a vacation now after $14,000 down. That would buy a lot of first class vacations anywhere. My advice to anyone thinking about buying a time share is take their freebies and walk away. It is not worth the aggravation. Better yet don't even take their freebies, just say NO!