WESTERN CAPITAL GETS ANOTHER VIP CLIENT A FULL REFUND FROM WYNDHAM RESORTS!!
Received On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 1:09 PM
Dear Mr. Paisola:
Just an update on our dealings with Wyndham. I did receive phone calls last week from Krystal Kline. She was turning our file over to Nina Barrington because she was going on vacation.
I received two phone calls Friday Nov. 21 from Nina telling me during the first call that she was reviewing the file. I told her that there was no negotiating to go on. She called back later in the day saying that management was reviewing our file and that she or they would get back to me Monday.
I gave her my home phone number to contact me on Monday. I received no phone call on Monday but when I turned my cell phone on on Tuesday morning there was a call from her on Monday asking me to call her back.
I received messages on my cell phone today Tuesday and also on my home phone to call her back, which I did and had someone at Wyndham give her a message to call me. I receive a call back about 2:45 this afternoon from Nina.
She told me that they would be putting the necessary paperwork together to cancel our contract in its entirety but it would take about 6-8 weeks to happen. I asked if that meant that everything would be canceled and it would appear that the contract never happened. She said yes, that we would be getting our deposit back and they would be dealing with their credit company to remove any negative credit information from our file.
We are to get a follow up call in the first week of December to confirm that the paperwork is being processed.
Thank You and your Team for your ONE OF A KIND SERVICE! YOU did what no law enforcement or State Agencies could ever have accomplished!
Have a happy Thanksgiving।
Wayne and Suzanne Clark
_____________________________________________________________
LISTEN TO THE LIVE CONVERSATION BETWEEN ROBERT PAISOLA OF CNN I REPORT AND THE VICTIMS LIVE AT:
http://www.mycollector.com/wyndham.mp3
The Full transcript of this call is now located at the end of this article!
This is a real life story of how one suburban family fell victim to the American Dream and lost. Listen as this family explains all that they have done and all that they have lost just to be able to fight back against Corporate America.
One families determination and ambition to stand up for what is right can change an entire industry. We at CNN I Report, present this story in it's complete and unedited form.
Reporting Live from Salt Lake City, Utah, this is Robert Paisola for CNN I REPORT. All comments should be forwarded to publicrelations@robertpaisola.com
Wyndham Vacation Resorts
Stephen P. Holmes, Acting CEO
Stephen A. Rudnitsky
8427 SouthPark Circle, Suite 500
Orlando, Florida
32819
August 27, 2008
Re: Contract #190804864
To whom it may concern:
We are still disputing the Wyndham decision not to allow us our legal right to rescind the contract of March 14, 2008. We have had numerous conversations and correspondence with your Dan Luke, Wyndham owner's relations representative; conversations with your Richmond Ross, salesman/real estate agent; and receipt of numerous unsigned letters, from you financial department without any resolution.
D.J. or B.J., an employee at the information desk, asked us to attend an evaluation, during the week. We asked if it was a presentation and we were assured that it was not. We attended what we were assured was just an evaluation on March 14, 2008. We interpreted the evaluation to be a marketing questionnaire to evaluate our enjoyment of the resort and Nashville sights. We thought it may take around one hour.
We met your employee, Richmond Ross, who gave us a history of Wyndham including the name changes of Cendant, Trend West, Fairfield, Worldmark and that they are number one in the business. We were asked about our "dream" to go to Hawaii and how we needed his help to achieve this "dream" and how it could be achieved through Wyndham's points program. Richmond told us that a salesman had to be a real estate agent to sell timeshare in the state of Tennessee.
We were informed that we could convert our RCI weeks to Wyndham's points at a discounted price, if we had not been invited to attend a points presentation in the United States. Richmond Ross- salesman/real estate agent then got the sales manager involved, who finally authorized the discounted offer to us.
With the information we received and the benefit of this old offer of converting from RCI weeks to Wyndham points at a discounted price, we felt that we would buy into the points program and additional programs. By this time we were becoming very overwhelmed, hungry and tired.
Prior to signing the contract we asked Richmond Ross, your salesman/real estate agent, if there was a cooling off period? Without hesitation, he said "yes, 15 days, why are you going to cancel?" He appeared surprised when we asked. We said no. Again when he was telling us about the other hotels that were under Wyndham's umbrella, where we could get discounts, we said, good, we will use that benefit on our way home.
Richmond Ross said no, that the registration of the contract would not take place until after the cooling off period, during which we could cancel the contract and therefore would not be able to use the benefits from the program until after that.
One page in the package titled "Contract Cancellation" clearly stated that there was a 10 day cancellation period if there is an on site inspection and a 15 day cancellation period where there was no on site inspection. As we had not been toured around the resort, shown other sized units or their furnishings, no conversation or information concerning the resort or future plans, and no indication from your Richmond Ross that by staying at the resort constituted an on site inspection, we felt no on site inspection had been held, and therefore we were entitled to the 15 day cooling off period, and would spend a few more days to evaluate the program to ensure if the program was for us.
At this point we were in touch with ARDA, CARDA, and our RCI POINTS REPRESENTATIVE, RAPID RESALE REPRESENTATIVE and our LAWYER.
We had a letter in our file from our property manager Gary Kennedy, in Collingwood, Ontario concerning the RCI points program in July 2007. We had not pursued this information because it was of no interest to us. Upon reviewing and pondering over the material that you sent home with us, and talking to the above mentioned parties, we determined that this program, Wyndham points, was not for us.
As you know, we sent a cancellation notice to you by certified mail on March 27, 2008 which was within the 15 days cooling off period which your salesman told us and our interpretation of an on site inspection. We were on site but did not inspect anything, and therefore we did not have an on-site inspection.
Our numerous phone conversations with your "Owner Relations", representative, Dan Luke have been unsuccessful in resolving this issue. It appears that he and Wyndham have no interest in listening to our understanding of the "cooling off period". We relied on the information that was provided to us by your salesman/real estate agent, Richmond Ross: re: the 15 day cooling off period.
The first indication that our contract would not be rescinded, occurred when we received a phone call from Lopez on May 8 in your finance department requesting payment of the contract. We told them that we had sent a letter cancelling the contract. They said they had no record but gave me the phone number of George in Fort Lauderdale. George acknowledged receipt of our letter and gave me the phone number of Dan Luke Senior Specialist Owner Care Lead Hand in owner relations Las Vegas to contact with regards to the cancellation. George said he would send him an e-mail.
I called and left a message on his voice mail to call me. His voice mail message said that he would call back within 48 hours. On May 12, I received a call from Dan Luke who asked a few questions and I emphasized that there was no on site inspection and therefore we were entitled to 15 days which matched what we were told by your salesman Richmond Ross.
Dan Luke said that the information had been sent to rescissions. He asked and we complied to send by fax cancellation letters and certified mail receipts to him again. We emphasized the fact that we had been told 15 days by your salesman and he indicated that because we stayed at the resort that constituted and on site inspection. He said that we would hear back in 7-10 days. He said he would contact Richmond Ross, the salesman/real estate agent at Wyndham, Nashville to see if that was what he told us. When he got back to us he said that Richmond did not say 15 days.
A call was placed to Richmond Ross and a message left to call Suzanne Clark. When he returned Suzanne's call he said he felt sick when he heard her message. He didn't want us not trusting him. He sounded shocked that we wouldn't want to be in the Wyndham Program. He will do everything he can to get us out of the contract. He will "go up the food chain". He said we were nice people and he didn't want us going through all this and he would get back to us in approximately 24 hours.
He said someone had called his office and spoke to someone in his office, but it wasn't him. Richmond is going to call Dan Luke in Nevada. He took both phone numbers ("another run around"?). Suzanne called Richmond back approximately one week later as he hadn't called back in the 24 hours. He said the person he wanted to talk to about cancelling the contract had been away, but he made the following suggestions:
1. That my husband Wayne had medical problems that created a financial burden and we needed to get out of the contract because it was a hardship issue.
2. Say we didn't get the new owner's kit; that they were out of new books. Was going to be "in the mail" but never came.
3. Periodically -letter "feet to the fire" told to sign it with Wyndham, re: books. had insisted on it.
4. Get an attorney to write a letter, get the right attorney. I said, "we can't do this it's not our style." He said they don't like that trouble.
5. He said others had defaulted on credit and were not prosecuted.
Richmond said he could get fired for sharing this information. He said they don't pay him enough to have us this upset with him. I told him we lost trust in their company and we wouldn't deal with them if it was free. There was no mistaking that.
He reminded me that Wyndham owns RCI. I mentioned we were good RCI members, paid up until May 2013 and we wanted this matter settled.
We have done considerable research on the problems other people have had dealing with your company and if we knew ahead of time of the reputation of your company we would not have entertained attending your "evaluation" and entering a contract to buy into the Wyndham Points Program.
We believe the integrity of your salesman that sold us the contract is questionable.
He will not admit that he told us that the cooling off period was 15 days. He never mentioned about the on site inspection. Further more, your Mr. Luke told us that he talked to our salesman regarding the 15 day cooling off period, when in fact he never did talk to him, confirmed by Richmond Ross, but talked to someone else in the office. I therefore wonder about the integrity of your Mr. Luke.
With the amount of material we were given it took days to go over every detail to ensure that the contract we were entering could be the right thing for us.
We drove over an hour each way to Lewiston, New York because your instructions were that it had to be sent from a U.S. post office, to mail the cancellation notice, which you acknowledged as being received within the 15 days. We faxed copies of the cancellation notice to your offices in Las Vegas and Orlando.
We would not have gone to all this trouble if we were aware that we had missed the allowed cooling off period. We firmly believe we acted within the time frame that was presented to us, for cancellation of this contract and that we are within our rights to ask for the return of our deposit and the cancellation of this contract and all extra programs.
Yours truly,
Wayne Clark
Suzanne Clark
Additional Information gathered over several months to support that our right to rescission, cancel the contract, were ignored by Wyndham employees.
It is a Civil Right to make contracts. Our right to rescind was taken away by the Wyndham employees.
1. We came to the Nashville Resort as RCI Weeks Exchange Owners. We were asked to attend an evaluation? This became a history of Wyndham, into a points information session, then a sales presentation. We were not prepared!!
2. We weren't a short stay deal or reduced rates or trial offer or Vacation Package. Those people are required to go to a presentation and they know it and would have done their homework.
We relied on the salesman, Richmond Ross who said you have to have a real estate licence to sell Timeshare in Tennessee. (Implies Trust). He wouldn't want to lose his licence. I asked him directly about "a cooling off period". "He said 15 days, why are you going to cancel?" He looked up and looked surprised. I said no. We entered into the contract in good faith. We felt that 15 days would give us enough time to check things out, so we signed a contract, knowing we had the right to cancel a contract with no explanation.
I didn't find these articles until, July 4, 2008. Excerpts from Time Sharing in the United States (J STOR, by Curtis J. Berger).
Page #144-The Tennessee statute also provides for a "cooling off" period of 10 days for buyers who have been given an on site inspection and 15 days for those who have not visited the site. This was not indicated to us by your salesman.
Page #145-Some states now require a license for all timeshare sales agents. The purpose of the licensing requirement is to bar unethical and incompetent parties from engaging in sales activity and to provide an incentive, the threat of revoking their license, for continued unfair dealing with prospective buyers.
Code of Ethics and Standards- there should not to be misleading terms. Presentation should be presented in a clear manner, not intended to confuse the consumer. Again. 10 days for those who were given an on site inspection. We know we didn't inspect any thing, nor were we offered to do so. Of course the 15 days for no inspection matched up with real estate/salesman's answer to the cooling off period. Why would we question this?
Act of Omission
The act or an instance of omitting something that has been left out or passed over. The point that we are sitting in Tennessee in the timeshare office which means we are on site?
-The act of missing out or failing to do something (silence).
-A substantial monetary loss (not being allowed to rescind).
Wayne and Suzanne's Information about an on site inspection:
Some definitions of the word inspect:
to inspect - to examine or look over very carefully for flaws, to examine or review officially, inspection.
inspection - quality control, the act of inspection or verifying, a formal or official examination, check out , examination, scrutiny , the act of examining closely (as for mistakes, Inspection and repair, Inspection and maintenance.
Wyndham Resort Managers job description- perform regular building and unit inspections to ensure resort standards are met and the resort is safe for guests, owners and staff. There was an item on the computer that discussed an on site inspection. They were looking for chemicals leached into the land, an environmental problem on a Timeshare property in Tennessee.
We believed we purchased Undivided Ownership Interest Contract and Instalment Note - Contract Number 00019-0804864 No 174/Rev. 2- 07. Tenants in common with the other owners in the units in Building Ph.3, Bldg. 15 of the Fairfield, Nashville at music city U.S.A timeshare regime located in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee ("Property"). We weren't offered to tour this facility and inspect if for age, wear and tear, whether it needed refurbishing, layout, size, major repairs, etc. Building condition.
Under Duress
Previous Saturday we had arrived in a snow storm, having been travelling Friday and
Saturday (ordered off the road)/ worrying about mother back in Ontario who broke her shoulder. We were hungry, tired, fed too much information about extra programs. Husband is a diabetic and has an illeostomy. We needed a break. We knew that we had the 15 days rescission time to get educated. We tried to get clear answers to our questions. We had been in the presentation centre for about 4.5 hour. Again the evaluation turned into a history about Wyndham, points information into a sales presentation. We weren't prepared for it.
No Warning.
We didn't like this "palsy walsy" that we would have to deal with Richmond to get to Hawaii. What if he was not available or had moved on and we had to deal with another person who didn't want to do this? He said we needed to work together. He put his personal information in our Fairshare Directory by Wyndham book, name, address phone number, e-mail address. After all that transpired, we would not deal with Richmond Ross again.
In this situation, Richmond Ross chose to say nothing and let us assume that we had not had an on site inspection, because we hadn't seen what we bought, or left his desk in 4.5 hours, no tours, etc. This along with his saying that 15 days was the rescission time we had, has caused us to lose or rescission rights in Dan Luke's, customer relations, opinion; and everyone else that we have dealt with at Wyndham, saying they will not refund our deposit, and cancel the contract. The pat answer is you only had 10 days.
We are not stupid people!!! If we had been given the correct and complete information (Wyndham's interpretation of on site inspection and 10 days) we wouldn't have waited 14 days to finish checking everything out, writing the letter and travelling one hour to the United States to mail the letter to three different addresses, and fax the same information through when we returned. We were put in a "no win" situation and didn't know that our cancellation notice had not been acted on until we received a phone call from Lopez in the Orlando finance department on May 8, 2008. They had no record of our cancellation notice. He gave me the phone number to call George at owner relations in Fort Lauderdale. He gave me the phone number of Dan Luke, senior specialist owner care in Las Vegas. George would send Dan Luke an e-mail. We called Dan Luke and left a message on his voice mail.
His message told us that he would get back to us within 48 hours. When Dan called back he asked a few questions and then told us that the information had been sent to rescissions. He also indicated that being on site meant that we had an on site inspection and were only entitled to a 10 day cooling off period. He said we would hear back in 7-10 days, maybe sooner. At his request we faxed copies of all letters and postal receipts that were sent on March 27, 2008 to him. We received a letter unsigned from your financial department in Las Vegas, May 22, 2008 at which time we were in contact with Dan Luke and your salesman Richmond Ross.
Suzanne's left an angry message on Richmond Ross's personal phone number first thing in the morning. He returned my phone call at 7:30 pm that evening and promised to call Dan Luke and would help us get out of the contract even if it he had to "go up the food chain". Richmond did not call us back within 24 hours as promised and we called him again approximately May 28. The content of that conversation is included in our covering letter. After this conversation, Richmond did not talk to Dan Luke and ourselves and was squirming out of everything rather than admitting that he made a mistake and told us the wrong information and omitted other information, that we used to base our decision.
We heard nothing again until the letter dated May 23, 2008, received June 11, 2008, when Dan Luke told us that the rescission period had been exceeded and that our request had been denied.
We are very angry that we were targeted by your licensed salesman and that your Dan Luke didn't look into our claim that we were told 15 days cooling off any further. Dan Luke did not offer any other name to contact that would listen to our side. Wyndham representatives conducted business with us, in an unprofessional manner with low standards for ethics and customer relations. There was no willingness to take ownership and solve our problem.
We feel that we were bullied and abused.
We are officially "In Dispute". I Suzanne got a book from the library, "The Book of Hard Choices". How to make the right decisions at work to keep your self respect; by James A. Autry and Peter Roy. I have renewed it also. Two quotes from this book helped me. I needed to know that big Corporations could have Ethics.
1. You get paid to know even if you don't know you still get paid to know.
2. Understand that only the truth sounds like the truth.
What we want - The buyer is the most important person and must trust the seller.
1. Cancellation of the contract and all the other programs.
2. Refund of our deposit (return all payments made by us without penalty).
3. If we are in collections, have it cancelled and return our excellent credit rating.
4. An apology for what we have gone through, letters, postage, phone calls with your Wyndham Representatives over many months.
5. Reprimand to Richmond Ross for his deceptive and misleading business practice. He could have been a man, stepped forward and made it right. If he is still denying everything, ask him to take a lie detector, we would.
6. Reprimand to Dan Luke for his poor follow up to our information about Richmond Ross, saying 15 days for rescission, and then Dan Luke sending us a letter saying he values us, our family and friends.
Our daughter has a Shell Vacation. We were invited to join them the week of August 3 to August 6 as it was her birthday August 4. They had an extra accommodation that had to be cancelled, because we have been working on this Wyndham problem for months.
We didn't set up a payment plan to pay the balance of the contract, as we had our own source of credit. If we had wanted to be owners we would have used this source. We don't want to participate in your program and just want this night mare to be over. We cannot and we are sure that you would not deal with a company or anyone who can not be trusted.
Who are we!! - Wayne & Suzanne Clark
1. We are timeshare owners since April/May 1987.
2. Our RCI dues are paid until May of 2013
3. Three weeks deposited-07, 08, 09
4. Excellent credit rating
5. Truthful, excellent character
6. Married and homeowners for over 31 years
7. Parents of 4 children and 3 grandchildren
8. Husband retired for 4 years, was a Certified Management Accountant, worked for a major Steel Company for 39 years
9. Husband was awarded one of two awards for community service by the Society of Management Accountants of Ontario in 2007
10. Husband has volunteered for over 30 years with the Boy Scouts of Canada as a leader and in other capacities.
11. Wife is employed with the Halton District School Board
12. Wife is an educational assistant for 18 years working with special needs students 14-21 years old
13. Volunteers for the M.S. Society
14. Resent having to go through this amount of work to clear up this matter. The stress has made Suzanne's arthritis worse, lost time from work, increased medication strength
At this point we started to investigate various sources on the internet which would help us with claim for rescission.
We have many files of information of agencies that will help with this matter ie: Tennessee Real Estate Commission, Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee, Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs, etc. Also, ARDA President Howard Nusbaum, Richard Ragatz of Richard Ragatz Associates who will be the key note speaker at the CARDA annual conference at the Fairmont Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia October 29-31, 2008 and Robert Paisola C. E. O. and President of the Western Capital Foundation about our experiences with Wyndham. Copies of this letter have been sent to the above along with a copy to our lawyer. We are aware that Wyndham is an ACE award winner. We will approach Wyndham's Senior Management to give us a voluntary discharge of the contract. It is a legitimate form of forgiveness and releasing a claim. Please rectify this situation immediately. We are new Tug members July 15, 2008.
Wyndham has two programs, Count on Me and Magic (making a good impression on the customer). The above programs talk about corporate values, - integrity, accountability, exceptional customer service.
Service promise - to be respectful, responsive, delivering a great experience.
Sales - Many states require a real estate license for time share and adhere to Company and Industry best practices. Sales people are to be Dream Brokers and Memory Makers. Wyndham is a member of CARDA and ARDA,
We will return the Wyndham literature (Kit) at our own expense.
Note: The contract reads
Purchaser Cancellation
"You may cancel a contract to purchase a timeshare interest within ten (10) days from the date of the contract, where you have made an on-site inspection of the timeshare project before signing the contract, and, if you have not made such an inspection, within fifteen (15) days from the date of the contract. If you elect to cancel, you may do so by hand delivering notice to the seller within the designated period, or by mailing notice to the seller (or his agent for service of process) by prepaid United States mail, postmarked any time within the designated period to post office box 94443, Las Vegas, Nevada 89193"
A copy of our letter dated and sent March 27, 2008, cancelling the contract is enclosed.
Copies to:
Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Financial Services,
10750 West Charleston, Boulevard, Suite 130
Las Vegas, Nevada
89135
Richard Ragatz of Ragatz Associates
Robert Paisola of Western Capital Financial Corporation
Howard Nusbaum - President of ARDA
Better Business Bureau-Middle Tennessee Headquarters
Tennessee Real Estate Commission
Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs
Christopher Breen, LLP
Ross Perlmutter, CARDA
Copyright Robert Paisola 2008 for CNN I Report
No Portion of this article or recording may be reproduced without the expressed written consent of Robert Paisola, Western Capital or CNN I Report or it's assigns
FULL TRANSCRIPT OF CALL WITH VIP CLIENT AND ROBERT PAISOLA
SEPTEMBER 25, 2008
http://www.mycollector.com/wyndham.mp3
ROBERT PAISOLA: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Robert Paisola with the Western Capital Foundation. We're based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Today we're speaking to two of our VIP clients, Mr. and Mrs. Clark. They're based in Canada. They're having problems with one of our favourite companies that we deal with at Western Capital and the Time Share Chronicles located online at www.timesharechronicles.com. You can search the Time Share Chronicles by simply going to Google and typing in Time Share Chronicles.
The property they visited was the Wyndham Nashville Resort. Good evening and welcome to Western Capital, Mr. and Mrs. Clark.
WAYNE CLARK: Hi, Robert.
SUZANNE CLARK: Hi.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Tell us your story. Boy, it sounds -- from everything I've seen, like you guys have been through the ringer.
SUZANNE CLARK: We sure have.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Tell us what happened.
SUZANNE CLARK: What we're doing -- pardon me?
ROBERT PAISOLA: Tell us what happened.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. We're still disputing the Wyndham decision not to allow us our legal right to rescind the contract of March 14, 2008.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, let's start at the beginning. Let's start at the beginning. You ended up at some property. How did you end up at Wyndham Resort in -- let's start -- let's talk to our friends and tell them how you even ended up showing up at their resort.
SUZANNE CLARK: Go ahead, dear.
WAYNE CLARK: Okay. We traded our week at RCI for a week in -- at Wyndham Nashville.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. What's RCI?
WAYNE CLARK: Resorts International -- Resorts...oh...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. It's a resort exchange place, right?
WAYNE CLARK: Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, you wanted to leave the place you already had a commitment with and you wanted to go to a different location. Is that about right?
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct, yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, you contacted who? Somebody at RCI?
WAYNE CLARK: We contacted the RCI exchange people.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And...
WAYNE CLARK: And we tried to find a place that we -- we asked if there was any openings during the -- it was Canada's start -- Ontario's March break.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
WAYNE CLARK: And we were successful in getting an exchange into the Wyndham Nashville site.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Now, was that your -- was that a choice to go to the Wyndham Nashville Resort?
WAYNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: It was. Okay. So, you got a permission -- yeah, permission from RCI to go to the Wyndham Nashville Resort, and then what happened?
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, actually, we drove through a snowstorm to get there.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So...
SUZANNE CLARK: We left on a Friday.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And that's approximately what date? Maybe back in March sometime?
WAYNE CLARK: Yeah.
SUZANNE CLARK: Correct.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
WAYNE CLARK: The 8th, I believe, it was.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, the 8th of March. Okay, go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: And we were ordered off the road because the weather was so bad, and we finally arrived there on a Saturday and the snow had just finished stopping [ph] [00:03:00]. We'd seen about 30 vehicles off the road, and so we're just grateful to be there.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, you got there.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yup.
WAYNE CLARK: We got there, we checked in and we were asked to go to another desk and these people -- you can tell -- you know better than I, Suzanne.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. There was a fellow named D.J. or B.J., an employee at the information desk, and he asked us to attend an evaluation during the week. And I said, "This isn't the presentation." I said it really loud. And he said, "Oh, no. Just an evaluation."
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, what I'm understanding is you were already a member of an RCI program. They transferred you to this program. You get to the desk at this Wyndham Nashville Resort, a Wyndham property, and then they tell you they want to show you an evaluation view of their property?
SUZANNE CLARK: We didn't know what an evaluation was. They said it would take about an hour.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Got it.
SUZANNE CLARK: And we thought maybe it might be some marketing questionnaire or something about our enjoyment of the resort in the Nashville site.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, you just want to help him out and try to see if you like their location?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yup.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Got it. Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: And we ended up going to that presentation at 10:30 in the morning. We didn't book...
WAYNE CLARK: It was a Friday.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes. We didn't...
WAYNE CLARK: We specifically booked it for the Friday because that would give us a lot of the time to evaluate the property, I guess -- not the property, but evaluate the Nashville, et cetera, et cetera.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, I guess you're planning on staying there for about seven days. Is that right? That was...
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: So, while we were there, we went to this presentation. Well, we thought of -- first, it was just an evaluation. So, we met an employee, Richmond Ross, who gave us the history of Wyndham including all the name changes, Cendant, Trend West, Fairfield, Worldmark, and that they were Number 1 in the business.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Now, how did they explain all the name changes? Because it's kind of weird for a company to be as big as they say they are and then they change their name all the time. What did Richmond Ross have to say about that?
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, he said that they were Number 1 in the business and that they were just acquiring a lot of different locations and growing bigger and bigger, and...that's basically what he said, that it was...
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, we're just -- they changed names so they kept acquiring different brand names then?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes. What he said actually was that it was kind of like the mafia.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, explain that. What does that mean?
SUZANNE CLARK: Just all these takeovers.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, they were -- they said they were like the mafia and they just take over companies?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's what he said. And we kind of laughed about it. We thought it was just like a joke.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: And then he went on to talk about -- if we had any dreams and we said, yes, it would be to go to Hawaii and said that they could do this with this Wyndham's points program. And we had heard about the points program. We had some other tour in our files from 2003 and 2007 but we had never acted on it. We weren't really interested in this points program.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Sure.
SUZANNE CLARK: We felt our RCI weeks were fine.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Sure.
SUZANNE CLARK: And then he went on to say that to be a -- to do this presentation thing, that he had to be a salesman and to be a real estate agent to sell timeshare in the state of Tennessee and that they had a discounted price if we hadn't been invited to attend the points presentation in the United States before.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, I thought it was simply just a review of their property. When did the word "presentation" come up?
SUZANNE CLARK: It never really did. He had started talking about these points and pulling out his books and drawing us pictures and telling us what our RCI weeks would be worth.
WAYNE CLARK: And he's -- he was telling us that we could transfer our RCI weeks into Wyndham points.
SUZANNE CLARK: [Inaudible] 00:07:12 listening to all this and then I asked him as we're going along if there was a cooling off period.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Now, what do you mean cooling off? Because you're simply just evaluating the property and you're doing it on a Friday, so you got there earlier. You're just answering questions about how was the beach or how was the room. Are those the kind of questions they ask you or...?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's what we thought it would be but it wasn't. It ended up being all about all their programs that they have and how we could go to these nice Wyndham places around the world. We saw their brochure and the books. And he said if we work with him, we could get to Hawaii.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, he was trying to sell you.
SUZANNE CLARK: Oh, yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Richard Ross turned this informational interview into a sales pitch.
SUZANNE CLARK: A vacation -- yeah.
WAYNE CLARK: A sales pitch, yes.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yeah.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Which is kind of the same thing that you went through with RCI 20 years ago?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes, yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Interesting. Okay, go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. So, we thought we'd listen to this information and we asked if there was this cooling off period, and he said yes, 15 days. So...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Now, why did you ask about the cooling off period? Were you planning on -- did you like what he had to say?
SUZANNE CLARK: Oh, we were listening and we thought we really couldn't possibly take all this information in right now. We would take it home and we would seriously consider it, see if it was for us, and we would have actually done our homework, we were going to do homework because we didn't get an opportunity beforehand because we didn't know that this was going to be a presentation or we would have checked things ahead of time.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Now, this is in the hotel, right? This is some place in the hotel where you're staying and eating and you're...
SUZANNE CLARK: No, we're over into another building now.
WAYNE CLARK: It's a condominium.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Got you.
WAYNE CLARK: The whole place is a condominium, then this is the sales presentation part of the resort, I guess.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: We didn't know that. We walked in and he's got this little boy's picture there and a guitar in a little room, and -- so we're just kind of chatting again initially, and then things started to move along here. And...
ROBERT PAISOLA: When you say it moved along, he talked to you for how long?
SUZANNE CLARK: We were in there for four and a half hours.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Did you walk through the property with him?
SUZANNE CLARK: No. No, we did not leave that room.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, you sat for four and a half hours and you talked about how great his property was at the Wyndham Nashville Resort. Is that basically what...
SUZANNE CLARK: No. Actually, we talked about a lot of different things. We asked a lot of questions. And actually, we told him we wouldn't even be there if we hadn't been in another situation with Time Share, that we lost out after being involved for 10 years.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Did they offer you any incentive to come to this...
WAYNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: ...meet and greet or feedback session? What did they offer you?
WAYNE CLARK: They offered us $60.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, they offered you $60 to just come and tell them how you felt about the property?
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct. That's basically it, yup.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, then you asked about this cooling off period. So, obviously, that was from your previous experience of working with RCI and knowing that, hey, it wasn't a big deal because you can go home and if you look at it, you can call them up and cancel and -- whatever it is, it doesn't matter or you just didn't want to, you know, you wanted to get out of there and -- what -- is that...?
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, Wayne is diabetic, and we hadn't had lunch. We thought this was going to be an hour.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: But we felt, "Okay. We should be finding out what we can about these programs, if this is the thing of the future."
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: And we knew we couldn't possibly take all this information in like I said. So, the 15 days sounded like it could work for us. And...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Now, when you say he's diabetic, did that mean that he almost -- he made you stay there? You felt like you were obligated to stay there and you couldn't go eat?
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, we just kind of went along. We just kept thinking this is going to be finished soon, it's going to be finished soon, and it just kept going on and on and on.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And he couldn't go eat and he didn't offer you food or anything because your husband was diabetic?
SUZANNE CLARK: Right. We just said, you know, we have to. Finally, at the end it was like we just signed some things and got out of there.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, just anything you could just to get the heck out of that place?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yup. And actually, he gave us a coupon because he knew that we were very tired and overwhelmed by everything.
ROBERT PAISOLA: What kind of coupon did he give you?
SUZANNE CLARK: To go to lunch.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And that was on the property, I assume?
WAYNE CLARK: No.
SUZANNE CLARK: No, it was off the property.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: And...so, we took all this information and we drove back home.
WAYNE CLARK: Well, before that, we had to emphasize this point about the 15 days. One of the programs that he was talking about was the fact that they had all these different hotels that were under their umbrella, I guess, and that -- where we could get discounts. And I said, "Oh, that's great." We will use one of them on the way home.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Sure.
WAYNE CLARK: Stop at one of their hotels. And he says, no, we can't do that because this program won't take effect -- we won't be registering this contract until after the cooling off period of 15 days.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, he mentioned the cooling off period. So, what I'm assuming then is you signed documents purchasing into this program that he explained to you that you thought was, at the time, it was okay. Just knowing that you could go home and cancel it and it'd be no big deal.
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
WAYNE CLARK: Yeah, if we felt it wasn't for us, yeah.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Or if it wasn't for you, after you did your evaluation. Okay, great.
WAYNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, now you got some free food. You're diabetic, you're able to get out of there, and he tells you that you could go ahead and change because you had a 15-day cooling off period if you wanted to...
WAYNE CLARK: Yeah.
ROBERT PAISOLA: ...and that was on March 15, 2008, and that's Richmond Ross, the salesman.
WAYNE CLARK: That would be March 14 -- it would have been actually March 14th.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yup.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And that was with Richmond Ross, right?
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct, yeah.
ROBERT PAISOLA: At the Nashville -- at the Wyndham Nashville Resort. Okay. So, then what happened?
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct, yeah. Then we went home. And over the next few days we looked over the information. Suzanne, you can do a better job on this than I can.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. At the same time Wayne's 89-year-old mother had fallen and broken her shoulder before she left.
WAYNE CLARK: Before we left.
SUZANNE CLARK: Before we left on our holiday.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: And -- so, she was in a seniors' residence. They told us that she had to -- there wasn't any more respite time; that she either had to make a decision to go into the seniors' residence or not be able to fit in this place anymore. So, we had this on our mind to deal with at the same time. Then at the middle of it all, we contacted ARDA which is the American Resort Development Association.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Why would you contact them whenever you can just simply cancel in 15 days if you didn't like it?
SUZANNE CLARK: We wanted to know what the background of the people were.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, so you were just doing your research then on the company.
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right. The homework that we would have done if we didn't know we were going to a real presentation and not just an evaluation.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Sure. Got you, got you.
SUZANNE CLARK: So, then I called -- also called CARDA, which is the Canadian Association for Resort Development. We also called the RCI points representative.
ROBERT PAISOLA: The people that connected you up with this resort to begin with?
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, this is actually the letter that we got from our resort management people in Canada. I want to know what the RCI points representative would say concerning this American presentation.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: And we also talked to RAPID Resale representative to find out what the dollar value was of everything.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: And we just wanted to -- trying to, like I said, do that homework.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So...
SUZANNE CLARK: And after doing all that...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Yup.
SUZANNE CLARK: ...we decided this Wyndham points was not for us.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, at the time you were there you thought it was for you but you knew it didn't really matter because you had 15 days; so you'd go home and do your research, and you actually went to extreme depths of doing research by contacting the associations in Canada and in the United States and you decided it wasn't for you. But hey, no big deal because you can cancel and get 15 days; it's no problem.
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: So, we went along and we sent a cancellation notice by certified mail on March 27th. It was [inaudible] 00:15:55 the 15th...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Now did he tell you -- say you could do that? You could cancel, no problem, just send him a letter?
WAYNE CLARK: They said -- it said that we would come across one of the letters in their file that we'd -- that we had 15 days to cancel.
SUZANNE CLARK: I can read that.
WAYNE CLARK: Okay, read it.
SUZANNE CLARK: It's called the Purchaser Cancellation.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Why don't you go ahead and just fax that to me? And to our listeners around the world, this is Robert Paisola with the Western Capital and the Western Capital Foundation. This is a live broadcast for CNN iReport and for the Western Capital Foundation, the Western Capital Radio Network.
No portion of this call may be retransmitted or reproduced without the expressed written consent of Western Capital. If you find yourself that you're in a situation similar to this, it's essential that you contact Western Capital at editor@mycollector.com.
All right, and the telephone number or fax number directly is 408-889-2415 with the toll free number internationally of 877-517-9555.
So, anyway, you go ahead and fax that to us. If you could write that down, that'd be great. We'll go ahead and provide that to our listeners. That'd be awesome. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. So I can read this out?
ROBERT PAISOLA: You actually -- yes, you can. Go ahead, please.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. You may cap -- under Purchaser Cancellation, you may cancel a contract to purchase a timeshare interest within 10 days from the date of the contract, where you have made an on-site inspection of the timeshare project before signing the contract, and, if you have not made such an inspection, within 15 days from the date of the contract. If you elect to cancel, you may do so by hand delivering notice to the seller within the designated period, or by mailing notice to the seller, or his agent for service of process, by prepaid United States mail, postmarked any time within the designated period to Post Office Box 94443, Las Vegas, Nevada 89193.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, Las Vegas, Nevada, I guess, would be their headquarters. Is that right?
SUZANNE CLARK: One of them, we had to actually send this to three different locations.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
WAYNE CLARK: We took the liberty of sending it.
SUZANNE CLARK: Just to make sure and we also registered that mail.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, let's just get the time period right. You visited the property on the 15th -- or you visited the property on the 8th and you had the sales presentation on the 14th...
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And during the period of that presentation when you met with Richmond Ross, who was the sales agent for Wyndham National Resort, he at no time took you on a tour of the property and showed you the amenities or anything to do with the property. Is that correct?
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct. That's correct.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And in that letter that you just read to me, would you please reread that section that talks about if you have toured the property versus if you have not toured the property? That caught my interest.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. Just a moment please. You may cancel a contract to purchase a timeshare interest within 10 days from the date of the contract where you have made an on-site inspection of the timeshare project...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: ...before signing the contract.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, had you made an on-site inspection with him, walking you around, showing you all the amenities with your sales rep, the person who was trying to sell you when you were there at that time?
SUZANNE CLARK: We didn't leave the building for four and a half hours.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, you did not have an on-site inspection. So, even...
SUZANNE CLARK: We didn't inspect anything.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So -- and I also assume that when you were there you simply went to your front from the -- went from your -- outside to the parking lot into through the lobby, up to the hotel, down through, up to your room, and back down; outside, you didn't walk around the facility. You simply used it as a room and that was your basis of where you were and that was it. You didn't do your own personal tour or anything of that sort?
SUZANNE CLARK: We walked from building to building, a couple of buildings.
WAYNE CLARK: No, we went into the main office. That's all. The reception area, that's all we went into.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, you went to the reception area. Did you feel that you got a -- would that be considered a tour to you?
SUZANNE CLARK: No.
WAYNE CLARK: Not at all. We didn't even know where the swimming pool was.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. That's what I wanted to know. Okay. Go ahead, please. So, you sent this letter.
WAYNE CLARK: Yeah. We sent this letter with the registered -- or certified mail on the...
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, can I read the letter?
WAYNE CLARK: Yeah.
SUZANNE CLARK: Would you like me to read the letter?
ROBERT PAISOLA: Sure, why not?
WAYNE CLARK: We had that letter, don't we? Anyway...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Yeah, go ahead and read the letter, please.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. Purchase Cancellation. March 27, 2008. Our contract number. We, Wayne and Suzanne Clark give notice that we are cancelling the contract to purchase timeshare at Fairfield, Nashville at Music City, USA. We have not made...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. If you'll tell us the contract number, that's important for our listeners because they want to cross-reference this at Wyndham whenever their attorneys review this.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. That contract number is 190804864.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So that the attorneys at Wyndham who are listening to this, it's essential that you pull this contract out. Go ahead and let's have you restart that letter, please.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. We, Wayne and Suzanne Clark give notice that we are cancelling the contract to purchase timeshare at Fairfield, Nashville at Music City, USA. We have not made an on-site inspection of the timeshare project before signing the contract. The contract is, and the number again, dated Friday, March 14, 2009. We wish to exercise our right to cancel this contract within the 15 days of the date of this agreement. You will see that the registered mail was postmarked Thursday, March 27, 2008 United States mail within the designated period to Post Office Box 94443 Las Vegas, Nevada 89193. We anticipate that all money paid to date will be refunded. Also, we will not be members. We will have no need for the member special program. Please be sure to cancel and do not renew them or Fairshare Plus, and we both signed the contract -- the cancellation letter.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And during that -- in that letter, you mentioned that you had paid some money. How much money had you given these people?
SUZANNE CLARK: The deposit is $1,805.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And how did you pay that?
WAYNE CLARK: MasterCard.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Was there any other form of payment that you made to them?
WAYNE CLARK: No.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
WAYNE CLARK: No, that was it.
ROBERT PAISOLA: I want to give you very specific advice and to our listeners around the world, it's very important -- in situations like these, it's very, very important, number one, that you contact your credit card company and that you let them know that you're disputing the charge; number two, it's important that if you do not receive any type of positive reinforcement or positive notification from the company that charged your credit card that you immediately close that account, ask for a brand new card. If you've given them access in any way to your bank account, which is called ACH for monthly dues or anything of that sort, it is also essential to cancel that also. So, that's for your own protection. The $1,800 is to be disputed immediately upon knowledge that you do not want to continue with your relationship with the company. That is your obligation under the Fair Credit Billing Act, and the relationship with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express protects you provided you do exactly what I just said. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: All right. Well, the first indication that our contract would not be rescinded, and that's the word we found out means will not cancel...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: ...the contract. We didn't even know what rescinded meant.
ROBERT PAISOLA: I assume -- just for our listeners, what do you, folks, do for work? Just in general. Are you -- what's your employment status like? What do you guys do?
SUZANNE CLARK: I'm an educational assistant for 18 years with our school board.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, you...
SUZANNE CLARK: And I deal with special needs young people, 14 to 21 years old.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, you're in education. Sir, what kind of work do you do in general?
WAYNE CLARK: I'm retired.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And -- so, you don't do anything. Before you retired...
WAYNE CLARK: I was an accountant.
ROBERT PAISOLA: You're an accountant. Okay.
WAYNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, you're reasonably articulate and reasonably smart people but you simply knew you had to do your due diligence when it came to checking this -- checking out this situation you put yourself that this -- that you were put into...
WAYNE CLARK: Yup.
ROBERT PAISOLA: ...and that's what you did. Okay. I just want to make sure our listeners understand that it doesn't matter whether you're an accountant, a teacher, whether you're homeless, you all -- everybody has the same rights. So...
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct. Okay.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Go ahead. You received a letter or...
WAYNE CLARK: Okay. Until then about -- we have the dates here.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes. We've -- so that the -- our first indication that our contract wasn't going to be rescinded occurred when we received a phone call from Lopez on May, the 8th...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Now, who's Lopez?
SUZANNE CLARK: ...from the Finance Department.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Who's Lopez?
SUZANNE CLARK: He is in the Finance Department.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Is that his name?
SUZANNE CLARK: He's requesting payment for the contract.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Is that his name, Lopez?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's the name we're given.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Did you stop payment on that $1,800 to your credit card company?
WAYNE CLARK: No, we never.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Have you done that yet?
WAYNE CLARK: [Inaudible] 00:25:29 like that was back in March.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. But have you contacted them to dispute that charge right now, sir?
SUZANNE CLARK: No.
WAYNE CLARK: No, I haven't.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
WAYNE CLARK: And I don't know [inaudible] 00:25:35
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, it seems to me like you've been taken advantage of so far. So, if you were told you'd cancel it, there's no reason to give them money if you can cancel it in 15 days and you did cancel it. You gave them a certified letter, and that means there'd be no money coming to them. So, I would advise you, you know, I'm not your attorney and I'm certain I can't give you legal advice in any way, but I would think you would contact your credit card company and stop that charge and create a dispute. And when you create a dispute, that means you contact the telephone number on the back of your credit card and you tell them that you dispute the validity of the charge and you demand that they give you a provisional credit.
WAYNE CLARK: Okay.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Do you understand...
WAYNE CLARK: All right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Do you understand that?
WAYNE CLARK: No. I just think in six months [inaudible] 00:26:20. But anyway...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, then...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Lopez calls, Financial Department.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes, Lopez called. And we told him about the letter cancelling the contract. They said they had no record. They gave the number to George in Fort Lauderdale.
ROBERT PAISOLA: But you said you sent it certified.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, I guess it doesn't matter whether they had a record. You sent it certified, right?
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct.
SUZANNE CLARK: Three locations.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, interesting. And you have a copy of that?
SUZANNE CLARK: Oh, yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Have you sent that over to Western Capital?
SUZANNE CLARK: No.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Why don't you go ahead and make a note to send that to us, please?
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay.
ROBERT PAISOLA: I'm sure our listeners would love to see that.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Because it's interesting how you can send a letter certified to three different places and they say they don't have it.
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, then we had George acknowledge the receipt of our letter.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, George. Who's George?
WAYNE CLARK: He was another guy.
SUZANNE CLARK: He is in Fort Lauderdale.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, this guy named Lopez tells you to talk to George, and then George finally says, "Oh, oh, that's a mistake. We do have your letter."
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And it was sent within the right time because he has a certified letter?
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay, great.
SUZANNE CLARK: He gave us the phone number of Dan Luke, the Senior Specialist Owner Care Lead Hand in Owner Relations in Las Vegas.
ROBERT PAISOLA: That sounds like a long title. What does that mean?
SUZANNE CLARK: I'm not sure. It wasn't too helpful.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Let me get that right. Dan Luke is the Owner Relations Senior Specialist Owner Care Lead Hand, and that came from George, the Owner Relations guy that was given to you by Lopez.
SUZANNE CLARK: That's correct.
WAYNE CLARK: Yeah.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Interesting. Okay. Go ahead. This is getting interesting. I hope our listeners are having fun with this because I sure am. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. And this is, again, with regards to the cancellation of our contract.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Yup. Because all of a sudden they said you didn't cancel it, then they found the paper work that was just mysteriously missing and now there it is and now you got to talk to Dan Luke.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yeah. Well, George said he would send to Dan Luke an e-mail.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: So, Wayne called and left a message on his voice mail to call him.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And what number did they give you for Dan Luke?
SUZANNE CLARK: It's in my file. I'd have to look through that.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. If you can just send us a note on that, that'd be great. Just make that as a note.
SUZANNE CLARK: I'd be glad to. Yup.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Great. So, Wayne -- your husband, Wayne, called and left a message for Dan Luke.
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And then it looks like on May 12, Dan Luke called you back.
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: He asked a few questions and emphasized there was -- we emphasized there was no on-site inspection.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Yup.
SUZANNE CLARK: Therefore, we were entitled to the 15 days which matched what the salesman/real estate person Richmond Ross said.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Yes.
SUZANNE CLARK: Now, Dan Luke said that he would send us information to Rescissions.
ROBERT PAISOLA: To the what -- to what?
SUZANNE CLARK: To Rescissions.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, you've gone through, how many different -- I guess, five different departments so far?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And now he's sending you to a department called Rescissions?
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, he said he's going to send our information and he asked us to compile all the information and send it by fax, the cancellation letters and everything, certified mail to him.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Did he give you a fax number to send it to?
WAYNE CLARK: Yeah, we did have -- yes.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, if I can have the fax number also, and also the address that you sent all this information to would be helpful that when -- the address that you sent to Dan Luke.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay.
WAYNE CLARK: Okay. Uh-huh.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: We emphasized the fact again that we had been told 15 days by the salesperson.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Uh-huh.
SUZANNE CLARK: And he said that by staying at the resort, that constituted as an on-site inspection.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: And he said that we could hear back from him in 7 to 10 days. He said he would contact Richmond Ross, the salesman, at Wyndham Nashville to see if that's what he told us.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Interesting. Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: Then he got back to us and said that Richmond said he didn't say the 15 days.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, Richmond. So, Richmond told you this but then he said he didn't say it.
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Now, did you also -- you told me at an earlier conversation we had that Dan Luke told you that in Tennessee regardless of what he said you only have 10 days anywhere because you -- they called it a site tour even though it wasn't a site tour, so they just gave you 10 days?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, okay. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: So, when I heard this I just felt just sick. I was so upset. So, I called...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Explain how sick you were. Tell me about that.
SUZANNE CLARK: Oh, I was -- I got a hold of Richmond Ross on a special phone number that he gave us in this -- in a special book because we're going to work together to get to Hawaii. And...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. You said Richmond Ross and a special book, you called your salesman, and do you have his phone number?
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, he had it in our special book...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: ...so that we could work together.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And you can get me that telephone number also, right?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay, great. And the special book is a special thing that he made just for you so you can go to Hawaii. He sat there and copied it, do whatever it took to get you to go to Hawaii, to help you?
SUZANNE CLARK: Uh-huh.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yup.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Sounds like a nice guy to me.
SUZANNE CLARK: I guess he's -- he was very, very, very pleasant.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: He's very nice.
ROBERT PAISOLA: But he lied to you.
SUZANNE CLARK: Until I called him back.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Then what did he say?
SUZANNE CLARK: He said he's so upset too when he heard my message. Didn't want us...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Ooh. Tell us about the message you left.
SUZANNE CLARK: I yelled at him. That how dare he not own up to saying the 15 days. Wayne and I were both there. He said it very clearly. He looked up and he said, "Fifteen days. Why? Are you going to cancel?" And it was very clear. And -- so, he was really shocked that we didn't trust him. He sounded that -- then that we wouldn't want to be in the Wyndham program and that he was going to do everything to get us out of the contract.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Wayne, I have a very direct question to ask both of you. Wayne, did you hear Richmond Ross say you had 15 days to cancel?
WAYNE CLARK: Absolutely.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Ma'am, did you hear Wyndham Ross -- or excuse me, Richmond Ross, the representative of Wyndham, state you had 15 days to cancel?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. You then left a message and he called back and he said that he would do all he could to get you out of the contract because...
SUZANNE CLARK: Because we were nice people and he didn't want us not trusting him.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Not trusting him although he had already lied to you.
SUZANNE CLARK: Right. And he would go up the food chain is the way he said it.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: And he didn't want us going through all this, and he would get back to us in approximately 24 hours.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And that was dated on...what? May...that would be May 12. You talked to Dan Luke. He called you -- no, wait. Excuse me. Yeah, May 12th is when you talked to -- May 12, 2008 is when you talked to Dan Luke, and he said he'd contact you 24 hours after that, after you spoke to Richmond Ross.
SUZANNE CLARK: So -- actually, it was May 22nd that I was talking to Richmond Ross originally...
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: ...giving him then Luke's two phone numbers and he said he would call him.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: And -- so then it was around May, the 28th, when I called back and he said that he'd get back to me within this 24 hours.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Yes.
SUZANNE CLARK: And that he was going to find out from other people the best way to get us out of the contract.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Now, I noticed you told me earlier that he made five suggestions to help get you out of the contract, and I assume that was Richmond.
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Why don't you tell us about that?
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. The first one was that my husband Wayne had medical problems that created a financial burden and we needed to get out of the contract because it was a hardship issue.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, you're telling me the salesperson who sold you this is giving you five ways to get out of the contract?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right because he's feeling so bad that we're so upset.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Because he lied to you?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So, Number 1 is you have medical problems. Okay. Let's go with Number 2.
SUZANNE CLARK: That we didn't get the new owner's kit, that they were out of new books that was going to be in the mail but never came.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Did you receive the new owner's kit?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes, at the first -- at the evaluation that turned into a presentation.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So, he turned -- he told you to lie to them and tell them that?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: And he said periodically there's a letter that you have to put your feet to the fire and told to sign it with Wyndham, read the books, and that they had insisted on it. He didn't make any sense.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So he said there's a letter you had to sign and then he told you to say you didn't sign it or you did sign it but you should've signed it?
SUZANNE CLARK: That they had insisted on it.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Did you sign it?
SUZANNE CLARK: We don't even know what this is.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. But he's saying to tell them to get out that he forced you to sign it? Whether you sign it or not, you don't know?
SUZANNE CLARK: Our feet were to the fire and told to sign it.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Because he's admitting…
SUZANNE CLARK: [Inaudible] 00:35:41
ROBERT PAISOLA: He's admitting that he put your feet to the fire, so-called?
SUZANNE CLARK: Sounds like it.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Interesting. Okay. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: Then he said to get an attorney to write a letter and get the right attorney. I said, "We can't do this; it's not our style." He said, "They don't like that trouble."
ROBERT PAISOLA: They don't like that trouble. So Richmond Ross, the salesperson, is telling you to get an attorney to fight his own company?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yeah.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And the reason he said to do that is because they don't like that style. What does that…
SUZANNE CLARK: They don't like that trouble.
ROBERT PAISOLA: What does that mean to you?
SUZANNE CLARK: It just supports what we were already dealing with and that was that he is going to dance [ph] 00: 36:21 out of everything he can and he wouldn't take ownership for what he said.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So did he give you another suggestion?
SUZANNE CLARK: Oh, yes. He said others had defaulted on credit and weren't prosecuted.
ROBERT PAISOLA: They weren't prosecuted. Did he use the word "prosecuted"?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. I'm going to ask you this, sir, did you at anytime hear the salesperson -- bear with me one second -- the salesperson Richmond Ross mention the word "prosecuted"?
SUZANNE CLARK: This was a conversation just with Wayne and me.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Yeah. Wayne, did you hear -- did you hear them mention the word "prosecuted" in any way?
WAYNE CLARK: No.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Ma'am, did you hear the word "prosecuted" mentioned in any way?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So when I say the word…
SUZANNE CLARK: During this conversation.
ROBERT PAISOLA: When I say the word "prosecuted," what does that mean to you?
SUZANNE CLARK: To me, it means getting in a lot of trouble with the law.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Which means what?
WAYNE CLARK: Going to court.
SUZANNE CLARK: Going to court, losing our credit rating, being in a lot of trouble.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Because when you get prosecuted that seems to me like someone's going to threaten to take you to jail, you're going to have problems. I mean, it just seems real serious to me.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So you're…
SUZANNE CLARK: Very serious.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So you're worried about being prosecuted and so he told you that -- he told you what about being prosecuted?
SUZANNE CLARK: That if we defaulted on our credit that other people hadn't been prosecuted.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So other people who had done it say, "Hey, don't worry about it because it happens all the time and this is the way they do business and it doesn't matter because nobody -- you're not going to get prosecuted anyway."
SUZANNE CLARK: Right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So don't worry about your credit because it happens -- kind of like it happens all the time?
SUZANNE CLARK: There's always you can take that but the big thing he said was he could get fired for sharing this information but he said they don't pay him enough to have us this upset with him.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Explain what that means or what he meant by that.
SUZANNE CLARK: I'm guessing that because I had been yelling at him and so upset on the telephone that I don't think he was used to people dealing with him that way.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: But this is our ethics and we just -- this isn't our like I said our style.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And then he said straight up, "I don't get paid enough to deal with this kind of stuff."
SUZANNE CLARK: Yup.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Got it. Okay. So then what happened?
SUZANNE CLARK: I told him that we had lost trust in their company and we wouldn't deal with them if it was free. There was no mistaking that. I yelled at him. And he reminded me that Wyndham owns RCI.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Wyndham owns RCI. He said that to you?
SUZANNE CLARK: Maybe even affiliated.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. They're affiliated. Okay, that's fine. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: And I mentioned we were good RCI members, again paid up till May 2013 and we wanted this matter settled.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And just for our clients around the world that are listening to this, you've been an RCI member for how many years?
SUZANNE CLARK: Twenty-one years.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Very well. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: So after all this happened, we did more research on the internet with other people that were dealing with problems with the company and we said if we had known ahead of time, we wouldn't have entertained attending their evaluation or entering a contract to buy into the Wyndham points program.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, you also mentioned -- thank you for stating that. You also said you received a letter dated May 23rd and post-marked on June 11th from Dan Luke…
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: …that said he couldn't cancel the contract and welcomed you to the program?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: That's after you…
SUZANNE CLARK: I thought that was like rubbing salt into the wound.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And this is after you had already done everything that you were told to do?
WAYNE CLARK: That's correct. That is correct, yes.
SUZANNE CLARK: I've got the letter here.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And if you could fax that to us, we…
WAYNE CLARK: Yeah. You'll get that tomorrow.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And then again on July 9th you received a letter from the special services department for revision. What was that?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's -- excuse me. We started receiving all kinds of letters from Wyndham Consumer Finance and Fairshare Plus Collection Programs and all these things but most of them were unsigned.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So they're trying to collect money from you on a cancellation?
SUZANNE CLARK: Oh, yes. And it's going up and up and up and now actually they're charging us daily interest as well.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Really.
SUZANNE CLARK: They're cancelling our -- excuse me -- our travel -- there's a whole lot of things in their letters, yeah.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Well, if you just fax those letters because really we don't care if they can't -- what they cancel because we don't want anything to have anyway. It sounds to me like you wanted to cancel. So what they cancel or what they don't cancel really doesn't matter to you. You just don't want to deal with the program.
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, this is part of it. We have never -- we haven't paid because we don't consider ourselves members.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Sure.
SUZANNE CLARK: They're just going ahead and billing us for -- we're almost -- we're over $1,000 and they say they're accelerating the note and charging us for this other program we're not using and there's going to be conversion fees and it just goes on and on and on and on.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So are they sending you threatening letters on a cancelled contract?
SUZANNE CLARK: They're sending us letters, a couple of letters at least a week and we've let them know that we're in dispute. I did send them a letter, sent everybody letters about an eight-page type letter of what we found on the computer, our whole story of our experience with Wyndham.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Have you given that to Western Capital?
WAYNE CLARK: Yes.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And if you could send it to us in digital form that'd be great because I'm sure our listeners around the world will want to read that also because this is becoming something that is one of the most unique stories we've heard. I've never heard where a client is getting collected on -- it sounds almost like a collection agency is coming after you because I -- and I notice you mentioned assessment recovery group? On August 15 -- August 5th you got a letter from assessment recovery group. That's like -- that's sounds to me like a collection company on -- a fake collection. They're trying to extort money out of you.
WAYNE CLARK: Well, what it all boils down to is they're saying that we were not allowed to resend this contract. And therefore they're just going on as if we're still members and continuing the bills.
SUZANNE CLARK: And we have an excellent credit rating and it's going to be ruined but we just cannot in good conscience go ahead and be members of something that we felt that we had the right to cancel.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, yeah, because you were told by their authorized legal representative in the state of Tennessee that you could cancel and you did exactly what he said and you did so under the least sophisticated consumer statute -- I'm not an attorney; however this is what we've been told by attorneys -- and you did exactly what they said and then they're sending you from person to person and then they're trying to extort money out of you on a contract that you cancelled and now they're trying to say that, "Sorry, you're not doing -- you're not cancelling but we're not going to give you the benefit even if you didn't cancel but you owe us a bunch of money." Does that sound right?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's just about it. And we felt we were targeted by this licensed salesman who told us that you have to be a real estate agent so that implies trust.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, so he -- so Richmond Ross is a licensed real estate agent in Tennessee?
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes. And that's why we trusted him when he said the 15 days cooling off and then we read the contract and knew we didn't do any onsite inspection, which we didn't know that they just consider being onsite and visiting the site is an onsite inspection.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, it really doesn't matter because he told you he was the representative and if he's a licensed realtor that takes it to a whole different level. Again, to our listeners around the world, in a situation like this, the first thing I would do is I'd file, number one, a complaint with the Tennessee State Division of Consumer Protection. The second thing I'd do is I'd file a claim against his license personally and I would file a lawsuit through a Tennessee attorney against him as an individual and the company. So those are the three things I would do. So the easiest thing to do is to go online, look for the Division of Consumer Protection for Tennessee and the Division of Occupational and Safety Licensing which regulates the real estate division in Tennessee, file it against him, along with all of this documentation. I assume that hasn't been done yet. That is now something that we need to make sure that you do. So add that to…
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, actually I did send copies of our letter to the Better Business Bureau Middle Tennessee Headquarters, the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, and the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. Have you received a response from those people?
SUZANNE CLARK: Not for…
ROBERT PAISOLA: I'm sorry? This is Robert Paisola with Western Capital. The time is 7:24:15 on the 24th of September 2008. We're now on hold, waiting to complete the contract -- to complete the conversation. This call is now on hold.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are now back again. This is Western Capital and the Western Capital Foundation. All contents of this call are recorded and are the private collateral materials of Western Capital, the Western Capital Foundation, CNN iReport, and Robert Paisola. No personal -- no provision or a portion of this material may be replicated or reused. That's out the expressed written control -- excuse me, the expressed written consent of Western Capital, Robert Paisola, CNN iReport, or its assigns. All right. So you sent a letter to those divisions and they didn't respond to you?
SUZANNE CLARK: No. We also sent letters to ARDA and CARDA.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And those of course are the two divisions that handle the United States and Canada.
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right. For timeshare.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Tell me about the conversation that took place on August 28, 2008 when you talked to Adeline at the call center?
SUZANNE CLARK: When I talked to who?
ROBERT PAISOLA: It looks like you spoke to Adeline, A-D-E-L-I-N-E, Adeline?
SUZANNE CLARK: Oh, Adeline?
ROBERT PAISOLA: Yeah. Tell me about that.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. I called Adeline and just actually trying to [inaudible] 00:47:29 and -- sorry. I called up and I asked -- I told her a little bit about what was going on and I asked her after seeing your information on the internet about taking it to another level and how we should be in touch with Wyndham and the VP department.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, yeah, let me just ask you about that I guess the point you reached frustration. How did you even find out about myself, Paisola, and Western Capital? Can you tell us the story and tell our listeners how that happened?
SUZANNE CLARK: I have been on the internet since about -- after speaking with Richmond over the last time the end of May, I ended up being off work for a week with my body and spasms. I have really bad arthritis. And I went on heavy-duty medication and pain killer and muscle relaxant…
ROBERT PAISOLA: Was that…
SUZANNE CLARK: …because I…
ROBERT PAISOLA: Was that because of…
SUZANNE CLARK: …just could not believe that this was happening to us.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So you…
SUZANNE CLARK: It was a nightmare.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So you experienced medical problems because of what they did?
SUZANNE CLARK: Oh, yes. And they actually gave me a prescription for physiotherapy and massage therapy, which I didn't even feel like to do right now because this has not -- this has been escalating and it hasn't stopped. There's been no resolve.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Wayne -- I want to stop you right there. Wayne, do you notice a difference in your wife medically because of this?
WAYNE CLARK: Absolutely. Yes. She's certainly suffering a lot more than she did and she's not sleeping and the pain from her arthritis and spasms in her back certainly have increased dramatically since this has happened.
ROBERT PAISOLA: In your opinion, would you say that this is a direct result of her interaction with Wyndham?
WAYNE CLARK: Certainly the stress of that. It certainly would be a big contributor for sure.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So let's go back to the conversation that took place on August 28th. After you prepared your eight-page letter to Wyndham, you contacted owner relations and you spoke to Adeline. Let's go from there.
SUZANNE CLARK: Okay. Yes. After months of calls and letters, I talked to Adeline and found out that she was a -- at a call center. There's three call centers.
ROBERT PAISOLA: And where are they located?
SUZANNE CLARK: I don't really know. I ended up calling back another person. I ended up calling back after our conversation with Adeline and ended up talking to Sonia and that she's the one explaining that there was three call centers.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So she told you and I guess she was a call center worker also?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: So when I spoke to Adeline, actually she was very pleasant and she said they don't take inbound calls.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Oh, so they have a telephone call center. They just call out and -- or do they call out for money? Is that all they do?
SUZANNE CLARK: I don't know. It's just owner relations to deal with members and contracts.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Is there a telephone number or something that…
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: What number would that be?
SUZANNE CLARK: 1-800 -- that's a 1-800-251-8736 and you press 3.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. And at that point you spoke to her and she said the issue would be re-escalated, which is now we're talking about eight, ninth, tenth time. I don't know. Our listeners are very good, so they'll send us emails telling us exactly how many times. But she said she would re-escalate it and you would get a contact within 48 hours?
SUZANNE CLARK: Forty-eight actually to five days.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Forty-eight hours to five days. Okay.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes. And it's called the escalation process to deal with the issues and that's owner concerns, policy procedures and standards.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Even though you're not an owner…
SUZANNE CLARK: [Inaudible] 00:51:27
ROBERT PAISOLA: Even though you're not an owner, this is the only way to deal with it?
SUZANNE CLARK: That's right. And there's supposed to be a specialist and I asked to deal with the VP because you had said that in your website?
ROBERT PAISOLA: Yeah. Well, that -- let's get back to that. How did you find out about Western Capital? Because I know you were on the internet. I…
SUZANNE CLARK: Yes.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Go ahead. Let's talk…
SUZANNE CLARK: I was on there. I went on in June and I went through until the end of August. I kind of put my family life on hold and just did the things that we needed to do and there was plenty of things that came up in the family so that a whole lot of added stress was with this Wyndham and trying to get to the bottom of it. But I had to try to understand how in the world this could keep going on like this and -- without any results. So they said at this re-escalation process that it would be a second review and the VP would work hand in hand with the different specialists and that this was not rescissions.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. A vice president, meaning somebody in the call center?
SUZANNE CLARK: I don't know. They just said owners care department and that somebody would get back to us.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So at what point did you decide that it was time to contact Western Capital?
SUZANNE CLARK: Well, we decided that the letter should go out right then and that everybody that could maybe help us would have the letter, including this new owner care specialist person.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Did you find anybody that really cared about your letter?
SUZANNE CLARK: No. We had a speaker who's going to be speaking at our CARDA International Program in Victoria, BC and he just said -- he wished us well and said it really didn't have anything to do with him. And…
WAYNE CLARK: The person -- the only person that really came back to us was yourself, Robert.
SUZANNE CLARK: Yup.
WAYNE CLARK: And -- which we're grateful for now because it's the only acknowledgement that we've gotten that somebody might be able to help us.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So how did you…
SUZANNE CLARK: And that was even sending it to Howard Nusbaum, the president of ARDA.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Okay. So when I con -- I received your letter obviously from my office, my office escalated it to me, I contacted you because I couldn't believe what I was reading and how did you feel that you possibly had an advocate?
SUZANNE CLARK: It was wonderful. We just -- this was like somebody was thinking that we had our -- a right to resend this contract, to cancel it, and we just felt this was like a human right and nobody else had listened.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So…
SUZANNE CLARK: We were very, very grateful.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So…
WAYNE CLARK: We felt that our prayers have been answered I guess is the best thing that somebody that could help us along with this situation.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So naturally you went on the web and you did some research on who I am and you just researched…
WAYNE CLARK: Oh, absolutely.
ROBERT PAISOLA: …on Western Capital and what did you come up with? What did you feel as you were reading all the information? Because there are a lot of people out there that literally try to scam people all the time.
SUZANNE CLARK: We found that on many levels, not just our timeshare but homeowners all around the world, people were there that you helped. And I know that you do a lot of travelling and speaking, so this is a real honor actually to have you think that you would like to help us. And we just saw your credentials there and realized that you were somebody that could be trusted.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, I…
WAYNE CLARK: But don't get me wrong here but I -- there was some that -- skepticism as well, okay? Don't believe that because we talked about it for quite a while before we did contact you and decide to go ahead and talk to you.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So the skepticism which is natu -- which was there, what made you decide that, "Hey, we need to run with this and do this?"
WAYNE CLARK: We thought this was probably one of our better chances of resolving this situation.
SUZANNE CLARK: We were desperate.
ROBERT PAISOLA: So how do you feel…
SUZANNE CLARK: Really desperate.
ROBERT PAISOLA: How do you feel right now?
SUZANNE CLARK: We feel very relieved that you're listening to us and allowing us to share this information with people around the world.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, let me ask you one question, what do you have to say to all the corporate attorneys at Wyndham who are sitting behind their mahogany desks, listening to this, to all the people who have been abused by Wyndham, and to all of the people who work in all of these call centers, and all of the sales people like Richmond Ross who have taken advantage of people for years and have made millions of dollars? What do you have to say to those people?
SUZANNE CLARK: We look at this as a giant corporation. And when I was actually in the middle of dealing with all this, I went to the library to find a book on corporations and ethics because I just really felt that we were -- we weren't going to get any help and I just had to know to be able to go on here through all this that there really were people out there that could be trusted. And…
WAYNE CLARK: But I think with Wyndham itself when you're dealing with somebody like that and with the lies that came out during this conversation or during this process and I just felt that, you know, there's no way that we could even deal with a company this -- that does that and that has their employees not trained properly or whatever to properly advise or give potential clients the correct information.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Do you think it's a possibility that they set this up so that they make it so complicated that most people throw their hands up and say, "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do because of the simple frustration of dealing with such a behemoth or a perceived behemoth of a company"?
WAYNE CLARK: I think that's a great way of saying it.
SUZANNE CLARK: They just wear you down.
WAYNE CLARK: They just wear you down, wear you down, and, you know, the amount of paper, paperwork and information and everything else, is just overwhelming. And before you know it, you're bogged down and that's why it took us the extra time to decide that, "Hey, this was just a -- this was beyond us and it was not going to be helpful to us."
ROBERT PAISOLA: Well, let me make a statement now, and I appreciate everything you said, but this is very important that I am very clear on this.
To the people at Wyndham Resorts, we've dealt with you before. We have dealt with you on many occasions. This family is by far not wealthy. You again have violated the trust of the American people. You violated the trust of the people who you bring into your resorts with your offers of free lunches and $60 meals. You violated the right of these people, the right to cancel their contract. You've taught people like Richmond Ross how to manipulate, lie, and steal.
Ladies and gentlemen who are listening to this, and especially to the CEO of Wyndham Resorts, bring it on. We challenge you to hold this couple liable for this contract because I'll tell you what, we at the Time Share Chronicles and I, Robert Paisola, for CNN iReport will make sure that this is broadcast all over the world.
And to anybody else who is similarly situated, I want you to go to www.mycollector.com and I want you to listen to some of the conversations. I want you to go to Google and I want you to type in Time Share Chronicles and listen to the horror stories. I want you to watch the dateline episode that we have on our site exposing these companies. I want you to type in Tahiti Resorts and look at what they're doing to the people in Las Vegas. I want you to type in the CEO's names of the companies that we expose.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is an example of wanton disregard for the rights of the American public. And to the politicians that are listening who have the right to make change, step up. Because if you don't do it, we're going to do it. And it's going to happen through the media because this couple does not deserve to have these types of terroristic threats thrown at them.
So I'll tell you what, we're going to give you 48 hours to resolve this matter voluntarily. Once this goes live on the Western Capital Radio Network, on the Time Share Chronicles, and on CNN iReport.com, you can simply find out by going to CNN iReporter.com what you're dealing with. We can promise you it will never come down. And all of those people that visit your properties throughout the world, again, we'll see how Wyndham treats people just like they treated our dear friends in Canada.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are upset. We're not going to take it. The clients aren't going to take it. And if you've been a victim, it is your obligation to take a stand. Because if not now, when? If not who, who will do it? Contact our offices, toll-free 1-877-517-9555 local 801-619-4700; via email at vipsupport@mycollector.com.
The more time you waste, the more money you're going to lose. We've given you free tips. Cancel your account. Do not pay these extortionist fees, these extortionary fees. Do not give them access to your account and do not take a free $100 meal or a free $60 voucher or a four-and-a-half hour presentation with someone like Richmond Ross, a licensed realtor in Tennessee or you too will become another victim.
In conclusion, we invite you to go to our website by going to Google and typing in three words: Playa, P-L-A-Y-A, Del, D-E-L, S-O-L, Sol Scam and you'll see what happens when you type in the word Ken Molinaro, M-O-L-I-N-A-R-O, who happens to be the CEO.
Ladies and gentlemen, this will not end until you take a stand. To our customers, to our clients around the world, this is what we do. I want to commend you, our VIP clients, for taking the time to talk to the American public tonight and tell them your story because you are making a difference.
And I challenge the people at Wyndham as you're listening to this to feel the intensity in my voice and listen to all the other calls and all the other people that you've taken advantage of and look at the results of all the things that have happened to you in court and be prepared if you let these people be abused by your team because everything is documented.
SUZANNE CLARK: Robert, may I say just a couple more words?
ROBERT PAISOLA: You may. Go ahead.
SUZANNE CLARK: Thank you very much. I just like to say that Wyndham representatives conducted a business with us in an unprofessional manner with low standards of ethics and customer relations. There's no willingness to take ownership in some of our problems. We feel that we were bullied and abused.
But the other thing I'd like to say to people is we have felt ashamed about being scammed and weren't telling anyone and then realized that we had been targeted and victimized. We started to tell our friends and family why we weren't available for family functions, et cetera, and then we found Robert Paisola who will help tell ordinary people about our experience and help us deal with Wyndham. Thanks again. Thank you, Robert.
ROBERT PAISOLA: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that sums it up. For the Western Capital Foundation, for the Western Capital Radio Network, and for CNN iReport, this is Robert Paisola reporting live from Salt Lake City on a recorded call with two victims of Wyndham Nashville Resort, a division of the Wyndham Corporation. This call is now concluded. Today is the 24th of September 2008. The time is 7:43 pm. This call would be broadcast live on our international network. This call is now concluded. Thank you.
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1 comment:
This experience does not surprise me in the least. Wyndham, in my opinion, is a prime example of self-serving corporate greed, without regard for the casualties left behind.
That's why I posted this video outlining my experience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7qELwa0Ius
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