The timeshare companies have a lot going in their favor. Their high-pressure sales tactics are, for whatever reason, largely legal. Though they have little compunction about engaging in widespread abuse of consumer trust and causing hardworking people to part with large amounts of money for relatively little in return, the proof of wrongdoing is on the consumer in most cases. And yet some of them still manage to push their advantage beyond the pale. One way they do that? Including in their contracts a waiver of the statutory timeshare cancellation period.
Florida gives a consumer a solid ten day period following the signing of a contract to purchase a timeshare to cancel the contract. (Yes, the process of cancellation is more complex than most would imagine, and making any mistakes in doing so can mean that the contract does not get cancelled. That’s an easy way to get stuck with a timeshare—and all the associated costs—while thinking you’ve rid yourself of the burden. Not a happy scenario.) But some timeshare companies—and their pushy salespeople—still try to get people to sign waivers of this cancellation period. These waivers, by their language, would mean that if you sign the paper then you no longer have the right to cancel your contract if you want to.
But the thing is, according to Florida Statute 721.10, the right to a cancellation period cannot be waived. In fact, if a company even tries to get a consumer to sign a waiver of the cancellation period, the contract can be voided for a full year following the end of the cancellation period!
So why do some of these companies still get people to sign these waivers? For one thing, they know that most people will be reluctant to get a lawyer involved. And they know that most people don’t know the law on this matter. So, if a customer contacts the company or salesperson within the cancellation period and the company simply points them to the place in the contract where they signed the waiver, most people will consider the waiver a valid part of the contract—and therefore enforceable. They will consider the matter settled—to their vast detriment.
Have you signed a contract containing a waiver of your cancellation period? That means your cancellation period is now, effectively, longer. If you want to try for cancellation of the timeshare contract, contact us. We here at The People’s Advocate take on the timeshare industry from our home-base of Hollywood, Florida, to help people who are put through deceptive sales marathons and pressured into signing contracts by dishonest sales-people using lies and manipulation tactics.