World Traveler's Advocate, Inc.
Complaint 12361 Details

I was approached by an agent who said WTA was hired by RCI to discuss conversion of our Weeks program to Points, over dinner (in fact, RCI has never heard of WTA). In a high-pressure pitch, he said that if we purchased a foreclosed timeshare from his company for $7,500 (that we knew to be less than worthless at the time), that we coud bank the points with his company, then we would receive 6.5 cents/point GUARANTEED. The timeshare generates 37,500 points annually, but we could bank up to 100,000 points by including our other timeshare and get the 6.5 cents. "The guaranteed rate is set at the beginning of each year". So we bought.

The reality is that the points are not deposited with WTA, but another company Elite Exchanges. They instruct the person to contact RCI and transfer the points into an individual's account, to get around RCI's policy of prohibiting commercial transactions. They do NOT guarantee the rate up front, but wait until the year is over and extract their expenses, including profit. Then they divvy up the remainder according to points in the pool. They said they have only done this the last year, and the return was less than 0.7 cents/point. They said that in a good year it might be 0.8 cents/point, but we won't know until next March when we receive payment.

So, now I have bought a timeshare for $7,500 and have to pay $795 annual maintenance. I have to pay $199 additional each year to be a member of EE, not to mention RCI fees. For that I receive 0.008*37,500 = $300, or less. This doesn't even cover the annual maintenance!

Since I was lied to from the beginning, and the signed contract clearly states that the points earn 6.5 cents, WTA does not return phone calls or respond to e-mails. They have violated the terms of the contract. Therefore the contract should be reversed completely. Incidentally, I was not able to confirm the EE return until the property was transferred and points recorded by RCI. By this time the 60 day window for recovery of the $2,000 deposit had passed.

What I am looking for is: 1. refund of my $2,000 deposit, 2. cancellation of the contract for remaining $5,500, 3. cancellation of the timeshare deed