Westgate Resorts is a family of resorts headquartered in Miami Beach, FL. Their timeshare program is often associated with Interval International. They have timeshare properties located across the United States, including in Myrtle Beach, SC; Orlando, FL; Williamsburg, VA; and Gatlinburg, TN.

If you have a timeshare with Westgate Resorts, you may have one of many reasons for wanting to cancel it. Perhaps you haven’t been able to access the property regularly like you were promised, or the timeshare itself doesn’t look like you were led to believe it would. Maybe you feel that you were unfairly pressured into buying your timeshare during a sales presentation and now regret your decision.

When we looked into why most people seek to get out of Westgate timeshare, the following reasons stood out:

• High-pressure sales tactics
• Bait-and-switch practices, including units that did not match up with the models shown
• Hidden charges and unexpectedly high maintenance fees
• Passing off repossessed properties to new customers

More specific reviews on various platforms not only reflected these kinds of complaints, but also noted complaints of a more serious nature. The following are just a handful of them.

From Consumer Affairs:

• “I don’t want to bore you with the details. These people are gainfully skilled to twist phrases, not completely answer questions and never issue the full contract until you are locked in. Take the free stuff, keep saying no. My family was told so many broken promises, were told it was unlimited weeks when there were speaking in reference to the hotels under interval international. We literally on[ly] have two weeks. We[re] told that certain benefits were available after 30 days, that was [a] lie, nothing was available til after the full deposit was paid not the initial coins you’re offered. When your salesperson or direct contact realizes the lie, they never call back. They wait days and months after til where you are just stuck. Their excuse is you can always sell back. … Run as fast as you can.”

From Trustpilot:

• “My husband and I were given a free stay by Westgate Resorts in Myrtle Beach, SC. We knew that there would be a timeshare presentation to attend, but was worth the free trip, at least we thought it was. We sat at the table with an enthusiastic young man and his “financial advisor” who worked together to get us a fair price and discount it as much as possible. Despite the many questions we asked they were never answered clearly. They made us feel like we were making a huge mistake if we decided not to buy that day! They failed to mention any kind of annual maintenance fees, fees for transferring my unused weeks to the next year, or what the actual cost of this purchase would be which I was absolutely floored by. We financed $44,000 and when we saw the insane interest rate of 15.9%, we decided to pay off a huge chunk ($30,000) so our investment would cost us less. We soon came to realize that we made a huge mistake allowing this company to convince us this was a real estate investment that would increase in value. In reality this purchase will have me and my family in debt for life. We will never stay with Westgate again, and I will advise the world that no one else should ever stay there. All they care about is the commission gained by the debt you will be walking away with, not only you, but your children too!”

• “Do not fall for Westgate’s timeshare scam! My family & I attended a “seminar” in return for promised tickets to Sea World. The representative who met with us made us believe that booking vacations without owning a timeshare was way too expensive. We decided very early on we were not interested but when we asked about receiving the tickets, we were told we had to finish the tour. They continued by offering us timeshares at a very high price and we continued to say NO! The representative told us he could offer us cheaper timeshares from ones that were repossessed or foreclosed on. A red flag that was not clear to us at the time.”

From the BBB:

• “With all the deception we uncovered, we simply wish to cancel with a fair refund and move on with our lives. In this time we have also faced undue financial hardship as our income has dropped by 52 percent, having faced unemployment and reduced hours at work. Unfortunately, we were preyed upon during the pandemic and misled into signing a contract that had misrepresented benefits, not once but twice, and the investment of thousands of dollars into this venture has been devastating for our family.”

Ultimately, it appears that not only do Westgate timeshare properties fail to live up to expectations, but their salespeople have fraudulent habits that they use to pressure and prey upon buyers.

Westgate Resorts’ ratings on these websites align with these reviews. We found that they were not only unaccredited with the BBB, but also had:

• 1.09 out of 5 stars; 636 complaints closed in the last 3 years, and 232 complaints closed in the last 12 months
• 1.4 out of 5 stars with Trustpilot
• 1.2 out of 5 stars with Consumer Affairs
• 1 star on Yelp
• 1.9 stars on Pissed Consumer

Clearly, Westgate’s poor business practices are notorious with past customers and guests, so wanting to get rid of Westgate timeshare is all too common. Fortunately, if you’re in this situation, you do have options.

Official Exit Program

Some resorts have an official exit program. We looked into this and tried to find a way to cancel Westgate timeshare through the resort itself; while there wasn’t anything directly related to canceling a timeshare on their website, they do have an official timeshare page. Searching Google for “Westgate timeshares” should help you find this easily. From there, you could either use the phone number listed or navigate to the Contact Us page in order to try and get in touch with the sales team about canceling.

That said, based on the reviews and information we could find about Westgate, we think it’s safe to conclude that finding a different way to get rid of Westgate timeshare would be a wise choice.

Class Action Lawsuit

Further research showed us that Westgate Resorts has been involved in several lawsuits in recent years. The primary class action lawsuit — Hambacker v. Westgate — was filed by hundreds of timeshare members in June 2020. Their practices noted above have also taken a toll on employees, who filed a lawsuit suing for unpaid sales commissions back in 2010 (Fredrick vs. Central Florida Investments, et al).

Here is a brief list of the class action lawsuits that plaintiffs have filed with Westgate Resorts:

• Hambacker et al v. Westgate Resorts, Ltd., L.P. et al. – Case No. 4:20-cv-00833 (United States District Court Eastern District of Missouri)
• Fredrick v. Central Florida Investments, Inc., Westgate Resorts, Inc., and Westgate Marketing, LLC – Case No. 3:19-cv-00418 (Eastern District of Tennessee)
• Nathan B. Overton et al v. Westgate Resorts, Ltd, LP, et al. – Case No. E2014-00303-COA-R3-CV (Court of Appeals of Tennessee At Knoxville)
• Westgate Resorts v. Shaun S. Adel and ConsumerProtection Group, LLC – Case No. 20101017-SC (Fourth Judicial District Court in And for Utah County, State of Utah)

Westgate Resorts actually ended up filing a retaliatory lawsuit with the United States Supreme Court after losing an appeal of the Overton v. Westgate suit. While their case was ultimately declined, it’s quite telling that Westgate wanted to do this, most likely to set a precedent that discouraged further class action lawsuits.

That’s not Westgate’s only conflict involving the U.S. government. There was also the 2009 Central Florida Investments Inc., a Florida Corporation, et al., United States of America (for the Federal Trade Commission). This was filed by the FTC to hold Westgate Resorts accountable for violating the national “do not call list,” as well as for using other kinds of illegal marketing tactics.

You should know that, if you are eligible to receive compensation from any of these lawsuits, you will receive a check in the mail. There is no further action you’ll need to take on your own.

Get Out of Westgate Timeshare with a Reputable Timeshare Exit Company

When it comes to resorts and timeshare companies with unfair and dishonest practices like Westgate Resorts, your best bet is generally to work with a legitimate and trustworthy timeshare exit company. You especially want to find one that has a background in the legal field and a track record of success in releasing people from their timeshare contracts.

A timeshare exit company will not try to sell your timeshare. Instead, they will work directly with the timeshare developer or resort in order to get them to take your timeshare back and cancel all of your remaining fees. They may work with lawyers in order to do so. While using a timeshare exit company can cost a bit more than other routes to get rid of Westgate timeshare, it can ultimately be the most effective.

Summary

When you’re ready to take the next step to cancel Westgate timeshare, be sure you plan to work  with a company who has all of the resources to help you. You should definitely be sure, while exploring your options, to have a look at the companies that we recommend on this page. All of these companies have been thoroughly reviewed, and we can speak to their use of escrow for payment. Escrow is important because it means a timeshare exit company doesn’t get paid until their work is finished. You can learn more about why escrow is important on this page.

Still have questions about Westgate Resorts or your timeshare situation? Feel free to get in touch with us. You can give us a call at 949-229-7748, initiate the live chat, or fill out the contact form on the right side of the page.