Time share in USA query

sandt

Hi,

I was talking to a friend i hadnt seen in a while on boxing night and he was telling me that he and his missus were on their hols in florida before christmas and ended up buying a timeshare there. he said they had no intention of buying it, but he said the salesmen put a lot of pressure on them.

i dont know why he just didnt say no

but anyway, he says they regretted it as soon as they got home :rolleyes: but there was only a 10 day 'colling off period'? which they had missed by the time they got home. he says they now owe around €7000 for it but he dosent want to pay, however they already have his credit card details and he has signed up to pay about €125 a month for it.

im wondering if he just refuses to pay and instructs his bank not to allow any payments to go to the company, can they do anything to him?
will there be a warrant out for his arrest?
Will his credit rating in Ireland be damaged?

thanks.......

coylemj

We call December 26th St. Stephen's Day and if your 'friend' was stupid enough to sign up for a timeshare after all the negative publicity over the past thirty years then he probably deserves to be swindled.

What did he get for 125 per month - a shoe box? How did the salesman put him and his wife 'under pressure', surely one of them was sensible enough to just say 'no'?

Tell him to see a solicitor.

sandt

coylemj wrote: »

We call December 26th St. Stephen's Day and if your 'friend' was stupid enough to sign up for a timeshare after all the negative publicity over the past thirty years then he probably deserves to be swindled.

What did he get for 125 per month - a shoe box? How did the salesman put him and his wife 'under pressure', surely one of them was sensible enough to just say 'no'?

Tell him to see a solicitor.

Sorry im originally from Northern Ireland, im just used to calling it 'Boxing Day'.

The 125pm is only until the 7000 is paid off, thats it. but he was very complimentary about the resort, it is a 5 star, said it was a fantanstic place to stay. He told me they did tell them no several times but each time a person of higher authority would come back to them with a better offer, and in the end they caved in.

He has since been informed that he will be let go from his job in Feb 2011 and now does not have the funds to pay for the timeshare. so is looking for a way out of the deal if possible.

coylemj

Your friend needs to see a solicitor. If he is being laid off from his job then that may allow him to trigger a force majeure clause (if it exists) in the contract but at the end of the day he will probably lose whatever money has already been paid.

I think you're wasting your time asking for advice here, it all depends on what is in the the contract which your friend needs to bring to a solicitor - he was handed a copy of what he signed?

not even wrong

sandt wrote: »

im wondering if he just refuses to pay and instructs his bank not to allow any payments to go to the company, can they do anything to him?

His bank will not be able to stop the timeshare company debiting his credit card except in the case of fraud or misrepresentation, which it doesn't sound like is the case here. Even closing the credit card account won't help; the closed account can still be debited and he will still owe the bank the money.