Festiva Timeshare Resorts Fined by Missouri Attorney General
According to an article published by the Springfield, Missouri News-Leader, Festiva timeshare resorts will pay $339,000 to the State of Missouri and to Festiva timeshare owners participating in the lawsuit, for using what was determined to be, “false and misleading sales tactics while selling timeshares at a Branson resort.” The action specifically refers to timeshare sales at the Cabins at Green Mountain near Branson, Missouri, which are owned and marketed by Festiva Resorts, an Ashville, North Carolina company.
Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office originally brought suit against Festiva timeshares in 2005. In the Attorney General’s news release, issued at that time, the lawsuit alleged that, “Festiva lured consumers by falsely promising to:
- Help them sell other timeshares they owned.
- Help them rent out timeshares they bought from Festiva.
- Help them get good deals on condo rentals in attractive locations.
- Help them get good deals on vacation packages.
- Give refunds to those dissatisfied with their purchase.
Nixon also says Festiva didn’t give consumers enough time to make decisions, creating a sense of urgency and a high-pressure sales environment.
An unidentified number of consumers will receive a total of just over $324,000 collectively, and the state will receive $15,000 for civil penalties and costs. Of the settlement to consumers, $106,885 will go to customers who complained to the attorney general’s office before June 25, 2005, and use their timeshare at least once. The balance, $217,508, will be distributed to consumers who filed their complaints before June 25 and never used their timeshares.
If a Festiva resort timeshare owner, who is part of this lawsuit, used his timeshare at least one time, he is given the choice to: deed the timeshare unit back to Festiva and receive a partial refund; keep the timeshare and receive a small cash payment; or keep the timeshare and receive a free upgrade from the resort. If the timeshare owners who participated in this lawsuit have never used their timeshare, they have a choice to receive a portion of what they paid Festiva and then return their deed to the company.
Criticisms of Timeshare Sales Practices, but not of Vacations at Festiva Resorts
Remember that this lawsuit deals with timeshare owners who are unhappy with timeshare sales practices at Festiva Resorts, and their perception that promises made were never fulfilled. These timeshare owners are not unhappy with their vacation experience; there are thousands and thousands of very satisfied timeshare owners at Branson’s Cabins at Green Mountain timeshares.
This problem goes back to what we say time and time again at SellMyTimeshareNOW.com…timeshares can be great to own and enjoy and offer wonderful vacation opportunities…if you understand what you are buying and can make a thoughtful buying decision without the pressure of unethical or inappropriate sales tactics.
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My wife and I also fell victim to the high pressure sales tactics of rep’s of festiva resorts. We have also tried to book with them with plenty of notice at different times, with no success. we have had our time-share up for sale with a certain company for over two years with no contacts. If you can send us any info. on settlements, or buy backs or refunds; it would greatly be appiciated. In a nutshell we are very dissatisfied with the whole ordeal with festiva resorts and can’t seem to find an escape route. We really need someone to help us with this situation.
My husband and I didn’t know about this lawsuit until today! Believe me, if we would have been aware of it we would want to be included! Festiva Resorts was a high pressured company to buy — they wouldn’t take no for an answer. We were promised as an owner unlimited bonus weeks at ANY Festiva Resort for only $199/week. That turned out to be false. There were more misrepresentations after the sale. We are very disappointed and are trying to sell it.
I just found this site while researching how to sell our tri-annual week with Cabins at Green Mountains. We bought in May of 2005 with all those promises also. We used it to trade into a resort in the Bahamas in 2006. I just received my maintenence fees that when I bought was $133 a year and now they are over $600 and they are telling me the “board decieded we can not pay each year anymore. Why would I pay those kind of maintenence fees to have one week every 3 years? That is over $1,800! I could have a pretty nice place for that.
My husband and I are also victims of Festiva. We have been trying to use the resort for a year now with no success. We were told that we could call at any time: a week or a year in advance to make reservations. This was a lie. We have tried both with no success. We are always told there are no vacancies. We are buying something we can’t use. Go figure. Well, with the economy situation, my husband is barely working 10 hours a week. We have paid faithfully until last month. We just don’t have the money to give away. What can we do? We are also very disappointed and need them to buy it back or resell. A company by the name of concord calls us 3, 4, or 5 times a day with threats. I have asked them to contact us by mail only, but they want us to send them mail with this request. Please help us! Thanks