My spouse and I are sharing our experience anonymously because we believe it contains an important warning for anyone attending a timeshare sales presentation.
We went into the meeting believing we were being offered a Wyndham product that suited the way our family travels.
We left believing we owned Wyndham Club Access with VIP benefits and access to the wider Wyndham network.
It was only much later that we began to understand that the product described deeper within our paperwork appeared to be something very different.
And by then, the rescission period had long passed.
It began with a supposed “system problem”
Years earlier, we had held a Wyndham Discovery trial package that had since expired.
During the sales presentation, the representatives told us there was some form of corporate system problem or error connected with that old Discovery package.
But instead of presenting the supposed problem as something negative, it was described as an unusual opportunity.
According to what we were told, because the old Discovery package was still appearing in the system in a particular way, they could effectively pull it back, recognise some value or “equity” from it, and use that towards a significantly discounted new purchase.
The way it was explained made it sound as though we had unexpectedly qualified for something that would not normally be available.
It also created urgency.
We were led to believe that this unusual situation in the company’s system meant the opportunity needed to be dealt with there and then.
In our minds, this was not simply another sales offer. We believed a genuine administrative issue involving our previous package had created a special opportunity specifically for us.
We were asked to sign a separate document
During this part of the presentation, we were asked to sign a separate handwritten or specially prepared document connected with the proposed equity arrangement.
We signed it and then asked for a copy.
According to our account, the representatives refused to give us one.
Looking back, that should have been a major warning sign.
If a document was important enough for us to sign, we believe we should have been able to leave the room with a copy.
But after hours in the presentation, surrounded by explanations about the system issue, equity and the opportunity being offered, we continued.
We believed we were buying Wyndham Club Access
Throughout the sales discussion, we were presented with what we understood to be Wyndham Club Access, together with VIP benefits and the broader Wyndham vacation network.
That mattered enormously to us because we were very clear about how we wanted to travel.
In particular, we specifically told the sales team that access to resorts on the East Coast of the United States was important to our family.
Based on what was shown and explained to us, we believed the product being offered could meet those needs.
The paperwork initially reinforced that belief
When we began signing, nothing immediately alerted us that we might be purchasing something different.
The first page and a significant part of the paperwork contained Wyndham Club Access branding, VIP references and the Wyndham product information we had just spent hours discussing.
That reinforced our understanding of the sale.
So when we left the presentation, we believed we owned Wyndham Club Access.
That is also why we did not use the rescission period to cancel.
We did not discover that we had bought something different and decide to keep it anyway.
We did not rescind because we still believed we had purchased the product that had been presented to us.
Then the paperwork changed
What we did not appreciate at the time was that further into the documents, the product references changed.
Partway through the paperwork, the agreement began referring to Shell West Points.
At the time, we did not understand the significance of that change.
We had already spent hours discussing Wyndham Club Access, VIP benefits and the destinations we wanted to visit. The paperwork had begun by reinforcing that same understanding.
Had someone clearly explained that the ownership we were purchasing was Shell West Points and that it might not provide the geographical access we believed we were getting, we would have declined the offer.
The problem was only obvious when we tried to use it.
After the purchase, we began trying to book holidays. That was when the problems started.
We repeatedly struggled to access resorts on the East Coast — precisely the area we had specifically discussed with the original sales representatives.
At first, we assumed we were simply experiencing availability problems.
Why would we think otherwise?
In our minds, we owned Wyndham Club Access.
We had discussed our travel requirements, seen the Wyndham Club Access and VIP presentation, and signed paperwork that initially appeared to confirm what had been sold to us.
We did not yet realise there might be a more fundamental issue with the ownership itself.
The turning point came in Florida
The situation became much clearer this year while we were staying in an Airbnb in Florida.
We were invited to attend another timeshare presentation.
During that meeting, a representative reviewed our existing ownership. We explained what we believed we had bought, where we wanted to travel and the problems we had experienced trying to book.
According to our account, the representative then told us something that completely changed our understanding of what had happened:
We had been sold the wrong product for our needs.
Suddenly, the booking problems began to make sense.
The geographical access we thought we had purchased did not appear to match the product we actually held.
That was when we began examining the original paperwork much more closely, and the references to Shell West Points took on a very different significance.
Why we believe the distinction matters
For us, this is not about buying a timeshare and later deciding we preferred something else.
We believe we explained what we needed before buying.
We believe we were presented with Wyndham Club Access and VIP benefits.
We believe the beginning of the paperwork reinforced that understanding.
But later sections referred to Shell West Points, a product that did not appear to provide the access we had understood we were purchasing.
Had that distinction been clearly explained before we signed, we would not have gone ahead.
The financing increased the consequences
The purchase involved approximately $18,700 of financing at 15.99% APR.
We entered the transaction with a credit score of around 750, so the cost of the finance itself surprised us.
But our main concern is not simply the interest rate.
It is that we became financially committed to a product that, in our view, did not match either the product being presented to us or the travel requirements we had explicitly explained beforehand.
We started asking questions
Once we understood there might be a fundamental difference between what had been presented and what we actually owned, we began trying to obtain answers.
We wanted to understand:
Why were Wyndham Club Access and VIP benefits central to the presentation if the ownership ultimately referred to Shell West Points?
Why were our specific East Coast travel requirements not taken into account?
What exactly was the supposed system problem involving our previous Discovery package?
What happened to the value or “equity” we were told could be used from that old package?
And where is the separate document we were asked to sign concerning that arrangement?
We have tried to raise these concerns through the company’s internal channels, but we do not believe the central issue has yet been satisfactorily resolved.
What we wish we had done differently
Looking back, several things now stand out.
The supposed system problem made us believe we had stumbled into an unusual opportunity.
The equity arrangement made the offer appear more valuable.
The suggestion that it needed to be dealt with immediately discouraged us from slowing everything down.
And the Wyndham Club Access branding and VIP presentation gave us confidence that we understood what we were buying.
We should have stopped.
We should have taken the paperwork away.
We should have compared the exact product name throughout the contract with the product being presented at the sales table.
And when we were refused a copy of a document we had just signed, we should have treated that as a reason to walk out.
Our warning to other buyers
Do not assume that because a particular brand, membership level or network dominates the sales presentation, that is necessarily the exact legal product you are purchasing.
Before signing, ask:
What is the exact name of the ownership product I am buying?
Which club, trust, association or network will I actually belong to?
Which resorts will that ownership genuinely allow me to access?
Are there geographical restrictions?
Does the product named later in the contract match the product being discussed at the sales table?
And if somebody tells you that a computer problem, old package, special equity arrangement or unusual corporate situation has suddenly created an exceptional deal that must be completed immediately:
Stop.
Take the paperwork away.
An opportunity that genuinely makes sense today should still make sense after you have had time to understand exactly what you are buying.
TSN Note
This story has been anonymised and reflects the owners’ account of their experience. References to Wyndham Club Access and Shell West Points are included because the distinction between the products forms a central part of the owners’ account. Timeshare Support Network has not independently determined the legal merits of the dispute.
The wider consumer lesson is one of the reasons behind our Never Sign Today campaign.
Never Sign Today.
Take the paperwork away.
Check the product.
Check the network.
Check the destinations.
Check every document you are asked to sign.
Then seek independent advice before committing.