Man Pays $84,000 In Fees To Get Rid Of $9,000 Timeshare

Our Comments: This just goes to show that even smart people can make poor financial decisions when put under high pressure sales tactics, something that the timeshare industry uses in vast amounts. The fact that timeshares have been the top complaint under new consumer laws passes in Singapore doesn't surprise us in the least bit.

This entire episode highlights why you should never pay an upfront fee for selling your timeshare.

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He paid $9,000 for a time-share membership plan in 2001. But to terminate the membership, sales manager K B Ong paid a mind-boggling $84,000 fee to a time-share resale company to help him do so...

It's like buying a car for $50,000 and forking out another $500,000 to scrap it...

'I was also not given time to think because the company was pressuring me to make immediate payments each time. I felt I had to pay because I was stuck, having already paid so much...

'I also felt misled when he told me that some time-share consumers who tried to terminate their memberships had been sued for more than $50,000 by time-share companies.'

Case said that under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, Mr Ong could file a claim against the resale company for alleging that it was in contact with ATC when this might not be the case.

The CPFTA was enacted on 1 Mar 2004 to curb unfair business practices and enhance protection for consumers.

Time-share companies have topped the list of breaches of the CPFTA since its enactment till end last year, reported The Straits Times... Entire Article